WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |Legislators ask for an end to feuding

Legislators ask for an end to feuding

By Caroline Moses - bio | email

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - As the legislative session nears its final days, the latest feud has shifted from House versus Senate to House versus House in a dispute that turned into hours of voicing frustrations rather than taking action on proposed bills. 

Tuesday, some of the female legislators called it quits. Representatives Jane Smith, Regina Barrow, and Karen St. Germain took on an almost babysitter-like role. They asked legislators not to repeat the name-calling and emotional distractions displayed on the House floor Monday night. "Come on, let's all get along because when you go home, it's our people," said St. Germain, D-Plaquemine. "It's not about what I don't like about this representative or they don't like about me."

Several House members spoke out against the so-called game playing. They face a 6:00pm deadline this Thursday to resolve issues like higher education and healthcare funding. "We've been playing a whole lot of games in here lately and we've got some pretty serious issues we're debating," said Representative Walt Leger, D-New Orleans. "We spent way too much time on things that don't deal with our budget," said Representative Hunter Greene, R-Baton Rouge.

The House and Senate have yet to come to an agreement on how best to find more money. Both chambers have thrown out several ideas. One proposed by the Senate would delay a tax break for the middle and upper class on their itemized deductions. "The demise of higher education is not an option," said Representative Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans. Senators amended one of Peterson's bills, designating the millions that would be saved for higher education. The House was supposed to vote on that bill Tuesday afternoon. Instead, a majority voted to send it back to the Senate, to ask for reconsideration on amendments.

"If you don't think they know what they were doing, then we can send it back to them and ask them to take the amendment off, but 29 of them put it on here and sent it over to us to vote on," said Leger. "The Senate may go back and decide they don't want to have this amendment on this bill," replied Greene.

The Senate got word of the House's move about an hour later. Senators immediately voted to send the bill back over to the House so that representatives would have to take a vote on the bill. The House ultimately rejected the measure by a vote of 34-69. Now, real budget compromise discussions can progress with this option out of the picture. 

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