BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A divided House Education Committee backed an effort to make Louisiana’s state education superintendent an elected job, rather than an appointed on.
Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Napoleonville, took two different approaches, and both advanced to the full House for debate with votes from the committee Wednesday.
Under one measure (House Bill 125), voters in the November statewide election would decide whether to make the position an elected one, instead of having the superintendent chosen by the 11 members of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. The constitutional amendment would bypass the desk of Gov. Bobby Jindal, who opposes making the job elected.
The other bill (House Bill 127) would make the change in law, without a vote of the people, but could be vetoed by the governor.
Supporters of an elected superintendent took specific aim at the current superintendent, John White, who was hired by BESE after Jindal hand-picked him for the job. Both teacher unions with whom White and BESE have clashed supported the bills.
Harrison said people should be given the choice to determine who guides the educational direction of the state. He said an elected superintendent would be more accountable to state residents, and he said about a dozen other states hold similar elections.
Opponents said most members of the state education board are elected, so they are accountable to the public for the person they hire as superintendent.
Rep. Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette, said BESE wouldn’t necessarily be able to work well with a superintendent that the board doesn’t hire.
“I’ve seen on a local level what happens when the board and the superintendent don’t get along. It creates dysfunction and nothing gets accomplished. It makes no sense to have both an elected superintendent and an elected board,” she said.
The committee voted 13-4 for the bill that wouldn’t go to the voters and 9-7 for the one that would.
A proposal to have an elected superintendent failed in the Senate last year.
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The House unanimously agreed Wednesday to create a higher education incentive fund that would steer money to high-demand programs, but it remains to be seen if lawmakers will set aside the $40 million Gov. Bobby Jindal wants to pour into the fund.
The bill (House Bill 1033) by House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, R-Lake Charles, would set up the Workforce and Innovation for a Stronger Economy Fund, called the WISE Fund. It would direct dollars to science, technology and research programs at Louisiana’s four-year universities and community and technical colleges.
Dollars for the fund would have to be allocated through the separate budget process, and Jindal proposes $40 million for the upcoming 2014-15 fiscal year. Lawmakers in the House, however, have questioned whether the state has enough money to start a pricey new program.
The Jindal administration has attracted billions of dollars in new investment, much of it in the petrochemical industry, but administration and higher education leaders say Louisiana needs to better prepare workers for the jobs coming with those projects.
“This bill is about ensuring that we are directly investing in meeting these workforce demands,” Kleckley said.
An eight-person council that includes higher education system leaders and the state economic development and labor secretaries would decide how to divvy up money across campuses, and the Board of Regents would make the final decision.
Each campus wouldn’t be guaranteed a slice of the money.
To get the dollars, schools would have to work with private businesses and get a 20 percent funding match, which could include cash or donations of technology, construction materials, scholarships, endowed faculty or other items.
The bill heads next to the Senate for consideration.
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Lawmakers on the House criminal justice committee backed a proposal Wednesday to give members of the military a discount for concealed handgun permits.
The bill (House Bill 280) by Rep. Barry Ivey, R-Baton Rouge, would apply to veterans, active-duty military members and reserve military members seeking a concealed handgun permit.
Currently, the permits cost $125 for a five-year term. Ivey’s bill would drop that price tag for the military to $62.50. A lifetime permit costs $500, but it would be reduced to $125 for the military.
The proposal was backed without objection and moves next to the full House for debate.
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In other legislative action:
-Concealed-handgun permit holders and armed off-duty police officers would be able to enter restaurants serving alcohol, under a bill backed by the House in a 79-19 vote Wednesday. The Senate next will consider the proposal (House Bill 72) by Rep. Joe Lopinto, R-Metairie. Under the bill, sheriffs would ultimately decide whether their officers could carry guns into bars and restaurants by creating policies for their department.
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Online:
Louisiana Legislature: www.legis.la.gov
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