LEGISLATIVE & GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

2011 Legislative Session Recap

     This year’s legislative session was cataclysmic.  All the issues collided to produce a unique, jumbled experience leaving is all speechless.  First, there was the legislative redistricting session, following a heavy hurricane season, in which the state lost a Congressional seat and the legislature truly shifted to accommodate growing population bases with the exception of New Orleans. Redistricting occurred while 75% of those doing the redistricting were focusing on how this hurts or helps them in the fall election.  Take a Governor who swore off of taxes, renewals and fees, combine it with a budget shortfall in the billions, and you get a bunch of disgruntled people just hoping to survive until the chaos ends.
     Of course, there is a silver lining to all of this.  Chaos is generally good for trucking, as it makes it really difficult to build coalitions willing to help pass those radical agendas – not that people didn’t try.

A few of our favorite bills included:

INDEMNIFICATION REPEAL.  The Louisiana Chemical Association came with two pieces of legislation that they claimed were “fixes” to last year’s anti-indemnity legislation passed by LMTA. Oddly, their definition of “fix” and ours were vastly different. Their “fix” would have essentially repealed our 2010 legislation. Rep. Neil Abramson (D-New Orleans) introduced HB 490, and Rep. Michael Jackson (I-Baton Rouge) introduced HB 447 both of which would have gutted last year’s legislation.

After early meetings proved futile, LMTA went into immediate action lobbying members of the House to ensure the bill did not come out of the Commerce Committee. The biggest reason to keep the legislation from being heard was the pending lawsuit. Everyone felt that we needed to allow the courts to review the issue before any changes were made. That did not keep us from playing the “will he or won’t he” game for the first six weeks of session though.

By the time we got to the last Commerce Committee meeting, the members of the Committee were actually lobbying the authors to not make them do this again in an election year. And in the end they didn’t do it again. Both bills died on the Committee calendar.

LANE RESTRICTIONS.  Same old song and dance, new partner.  Sen. Rob Marionneaux (D-Livonia) brought his bill, SB 139, would have restricted trucks from using the left lane of a multi-lane highway anywhere in the state except in urban areas. Despite LMTA’s objection (and logical testimony), the bill did come out of the Senate Committee – by the vote of the Chairman to break a tie.

Keep in mind that the Federal Highway Administration, Louisiana State Police, Department of Transportation & Development, LMTA,  and others participated in the study by the Louisiana Transportation Research Center (LTRC) which concluded truck lane restrictions were not effective traffic safety control measures statewide and could lead to more accidents.

In his opening comments, Sen. Marionneaux referred to the catastrophic accident on the Atchafalaya Basin in 2003 as the justification for this legislation which was addressed eight years ago with the support of all parties.  More importantly, the current Atchafalaya Basin study does not support imposing these restrictions statewide. It merely suggests that the improvements (surface abrasion, reflectors, lane restrictions, etc.) made to that highway were effective.

When Sen. Marionneaux got the bill to the Senate floor, we did see one of the oddest happenings of the legislative process. The majority of the Senators in the chamber voted for the bill, yet he still didn’t have the requisite 20 votes to pass the bill. And so the bill got returned to the calendar. By the next day, we had managed to make sure our votes who weren’t there understood the importance of this legislation’s effect on our industry. The bill died on the calendar, an achievement we attribute directly to an active grassroots campaign which generated phone calls and e-mails from our members to the Senate to oppose the bill.

Special thanks to Sen. Robert Adley (R-Benton) and Sen. Mike Walsworth (R-West Monroe) for their vocal opposition to the legislation on behalf of the trucking industry.

TRUCK REGISTRATION TAX INCREASE. Rep. Hollis Downs (R-Ruston) filed HB 546, which would have increased truck registration fees by 330%. As in recent years, LMTA listened to testimony on why this would be a good bill to pass, but we didn’t get the opportunity to testify against the bill. Rep. Downs put on his show and then pulled the bill back. It would seem that the Governor’s pledge of “no taxes” worked for us, as the committee got word that they need not pass the bill.

AUDUBON BRIDGE.  In the middle of a budget crisis and flooding emergencies, the legislature got caught up in a push by the Marines to rename the newly opened Audubon Bridge after Generals LeJeune and Barrow. While a lovely sentiment to two deserving men, the groups impacted had to fight the effort. Since the state spent $300,000 ensuring the bridge is known as the Audubon Bridge and not the “other” bridge, the Zachary Taylor Parkway Commission offered to help the Marines name the approaches after the generals instead of the bridge. The Marines refused and the bill became one of the most watched debates of the session. In the end, Sen. Joe McPherson (D-Woodworth) was able to amend the bill in the Senate Transportation Committee to keep the bridge named Audubon, name the approaches for the Generals, and require DOTD to put up memorials for each General, which finally allowed the bill to pass.

EXTORTION.  At the request of LMTA, Rep. Ernest Wooten (I-Belle Chasse) introduced legislation amending Louisiana’s current extortion statute. HB 497 defined extortion to include “threats to cause harm as retribution for participation in any legislative hearing or proceeding, administrative proceeding, or in any other legal action.” It took Rep. Wooten all of 45 seconds to pass the bill out of the House and Sen. Danny Martiny (R-Metairie) even less time to get it out of the Senate. Signed into law:  Act 243 effective Aug 15, 2011.

Other Legislation of Interest…

The Good Stuff:

HB 76 (Hutter-Chalmette) Permits movement of oversized vehicles and loads up to 16 feet in width on interstate highways if the movement does not endanger the public. This legislation could be amended to allow 102 inch trailers to travel on all state highways. Signed into law:  Act 162 effective Aug 15, 2011.

HB 137 (Cortez-Lafayette) Authorizes producer fees as opposed to commissions for property and casualty insurance.  Signed into law:  Act 9 Effective 8-15-11.

HB 209 (Robideaux-Lafayette) Provides for the use of managed and sampling audits of tax returns. Signed into law:  Act 171, effective June 24, 2011.

The Interesting Stuff…

HB 174 (Burns-Bossier City) Allows certain commercial motor vehicle drivers who do not meet federal vision standards to drive certain commercial motor vehicles intrastate only. Signed into law:  Act 257, effective Aug 15, 2011.

HB 228 (St. Germain-Plaquemine) For Class 1 trucks, tandem trucks, and truck-tractors under 10,000 pounds, the license plate fee is a flat $28. Signed into law:  Act 85, effective Aug 15, 2011.

HB 238 (Lambert-Gonzales) Vehicle registration fees are to be deposited into the State Highway Improvement Fund.  Signed into law:  Act 390, effective July 1, 2012.

HB 250 (Morris-Oil City) Restructures offices within LA-DOTD. Signed into law:  Act 261, effective June 28, 2011.

HB 278 (Monica-LaPlace) All semitrailers and trailers with a loaded gross weight capacity of up to 10,000 pounds newly registered after Jan. 1, 2012, to be equipped with an approved safety device. Failed.

HB 337 (Badon-New Orleans) Using a cell phone while driving except when using a hands-free device and in emergencies is a secondary offense. Failed.

HB 338 (Stiaes-New Orleans) Operators of motor vehicles shall not text or communicate using a hand-held wireless telecommunication device and the violation shall be enforced as a primary offense. Failed.

HB 346 (Willmott-Kenner) Requires insurers to notify claimants of settlement in 3^rd party liability claims. Failed.

HB 347 (Arnold-Algiers) Requires voter approval before local governing authorities may impose civil fines for traffic violations captured by automated traffic enforcement systems. Failed.

HB 361 (Roy-Alexandria) Revises provisions relative to access of accident reports. Signed into law:  Act 280, effective Aug 15, 2011.

HB 392 (Hazel-Pineville) Authorizes employers to obtain arrest records and national criminal history information on prospective employees who consent to the release of such records. Signed into law:  Act 283, effective Aug 15, 2011.

HB 470 (Henry-Bossier City) Creates mechanism whereby a motor vehicle title can be received on an expedited basis (electronic) and provides for fees for the service. Signed into law:  Act 288, effective Aug 15, 2011.