There aren’t many lessons I remember vividly from grade school, but Schoolhouse Rock’s “I’m Just a Bill,” circa 1976, was, for whatever reason, burned into my hippocampus. I can remember watching that rolled up piece of paper sing, dance and walk up and down the steps of our nation’s capital like it was a Broadway musical.
At 7 am, we loaded the bus at the SEED Center and drove down to Baton Rouge. After shuffling through security, the kind folks over at Landlocked Aviation let me explore the capitol with them. Our group went up to the 27th floor where there was an observation deck. “The city looks beautiful,” I thought for roughly three seconds before the intrusive thoughts took over. “Don’t look down. Don’t drop your phone. Don’t accidentally jump to your death.” After that last one I knew it was time to make my way back inside and wait for my friends. I don’t get along with heights.
The capitol was very busy, with groups and schools from all over the state touring the grounds and popping in on committee meetings. On the first floor of the capitol I found a wall dedicated to the assassination of Huey Long. I’ve already outed myself as someone who doesn’t remember many of the things I learned in school, so I can tell you I didn’t remember learning about this.
In case you also need a refresher: Long was shot inside the capitol in 1935 only a month after announcing his plan to run for president. His assassin was the son-in-law of a political enemy, and his last words were “God, don’t let me die. I have so much to do.” After reading that and getting sufficiently depressed I made my way to the senate floor.
The Senate and House are on opposite ends of the building but on the same floor. It was really interesting to see the difference in cleanliness between the Senators’ and Representatives’ desks. (I’m going to let you take a guess at which of the two was neater.) Both houses were not convening until the afternoon, so the floors were relatively empty except for a few interns flipping through binders, ripping out paper and occasionally walking over to one another to ask a question.
We were encouraged to attend committee meetings, but I couldn’t make myself walk into the room knowing the meeting had already begun. I sort of regretted that after the fact. Apparently, they’re used to people walking in and out as needed. I heard from SWLA group members there were a couple really interesting committee meetings. One was on in vitro fertilization and the other had to do with a drink being sold at local grocery stores that contains a significant amount of THC. Those who attended committee meetings were allowed to fill out little cards stating their agreement or opposition.
Around 11, we loaded the buses again and headed to the old state capitol, where we had lunch and heard from SWLA’s elected officials. George Swift, president and CEO of the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance, introduced everyone. It was my first time meeting Mr. Swift in person.
Sen. Mark Abraham spoke about the now-dead media transparency bill, saying, “No one was going to support it. It’s dead.” Abraham also shared with the group other bills he was working on, including one addressing contractor fraud. The bill would require any structural work totaling more than $50,000 to be done by a licensed contractor. “I expect it’ll pass,” Abraham said.
It was really neat to get an insider’s look into what was happening with state government — without having to watch the (depressing) news.
Sen. Jeremy Stine shared with our group that the Blue Cross Blue Shield bill was officially dead. “On July third, I received a three-way phone call from a doctor, an attorney and an insurance agent in a panic over this bill,” he said. Stine had been fighting to kill the bill ever since, even sharing social media posts about his position. If the bill had passed, Stine said, “premiums would’ve increased, jobs would’ve been lost, and service levels would’ve gone down.”
As an aside, I don’t know if you’ve ever had the chance to meet Sen. Stine, but he has a gift for being incredibly kind and welcoming and for making everyone feel comfortable and important. He went above and beyond to make sure our group was announced on the Senate floor later when they were in session and made sure to take a picture with the group. (Later, once we made our way back to the bus, there was a little bit of rumbling among the passengers about his bright future in Louisiana politics.)
Other issues mentioned were the I-10 bridge, insurance premiums, carbon capture, possible redistricting, the LNG pause and a very interesting bill on raw milk. Apparently, it’s illegal to buy raw milk federally but not on the state level. “It’s very likely you will be able to purchase and consume raw milk in Louisiana,” said Rep. Troy Romero.
It was nice to hear that the bills most important to our representatives reflected the issues I hear so many of our citizens speaking about. I know I can be positive to a fault, but I walked away from that lunch feeling like Southwest Louisiana is well represented at the state level.
After lunch, we watched “The Ghost of the Castle,” a short movie on the history of the old capitol and how it fell into ruin after Long built his own capitol. People apparently used to party in the capitol. Drinking in the capitol? In Louisiana? Imagine that.
Before we left, we made our way to the Senate floor so Sen. Stine could introduce our group. The Senate convened at 2 pm, and I was surprised to see that once the clock struck 2 the senators were still leisurely making their way to their desks, greeting people as they walked in. The senators’ wives all made a line in the back of the room, and the senators went over and hugged them before the wives filed out and the senators started official business. (There are five female state senators, and I didn’t see any husbands in line.)
Sen. Jeremy Stine
Sens. Abraham and Stine with SWLA group on Senate floor
REP. DESK
While the Senate was in session people were talking amongst themselves and not paying much attention to the speaker. Because I am who I am, this gave me great anxiety, and I wanted to shush everyone.
I heard a few senators’ names called, after which they’d lift up their thumbs. Perhaps it was roll call, I don’t know. I couldn’t hear because of the aforementioned side talk. I just remember thinking I must’ve missed the thumb raising portion of the “I’m Just a Bill” cartoon and made a mental note to google that later.
Around 3 pm, we made our way back to the bus, where I made everyone sitting near me take an enneagram personality test for fun. We were back in SWLA by 5 pm. I got off the bus, really grateful to be back home, and made my way to 1910 for a glass of wine with friends. It was a great day with a lot of walking (in heels — why, Diana?) around the capitol, and I learned a thing or two.
In My Experience, SWLA politicians care deeply about the issues affecting their constituents — at least that’s what they said.
Have an idea for Diana’s next experience? Let her know by emailing her at diana.vallette@gmail.com.
Comments are closed.