With Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne expected to announce he\u2019s running for governor \u2014 he already has a campaign website \u2014 the post he would vacate is attracting a large field of potential successors.<\/p>\n
Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden is dangling his cowboy hat above the ring, telling radio host Jim Engster recently he is \u201c80 percent sure\u201d he will run for the No. 2 office in 2015.<\/p>\n
In 2004, Holden, who is African-American, beat Republican incumbent Bobby Simpson in a parish that had just 38 percent black registration at the time. His crossover appeal and ambassadorial style could give him the best shot of making history as the first black candidate to be elected statewide.<\/p>\n
His appeal to Democrats is deepened by the African-American turnout he would help drive, which would in turn aid a Democratic candidate for governor.<\/p>\n
But he\u2019s hardly alone in wanting the post.<\/p>\n
Holden could have north Louisiana competition for the African-American vote if state Sen. Rick Gallot, D-Ruston, follows through on his interest. And state Sen. Elbert Guillory of Opelousas, who made history over the summer by switching parties to become the first black Republican state senator, might try for more. \u201cWe\u2019ll see how things shape up in the next couple of years,\u201d he told LaPolitics in an interview.<\/p>\n
Things are taking shape \u2014 and fast. Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser, who took 47 percent of the vote against Dardenne in 2011, held a kickoff party for his campaign last month. Fellow Republican, John Young, the popular president of Jefferson Parish, is also looking at the race.<\/p>\n
Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle may be lowering his sights after pondering a run for governor.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Vitter Works To Clear\u00a0The Field<\/strong><\/p>\n If there were any confusion about who\u2019s playing point on the 2014 U.S. Senate race for the Louisiana Republican Party, wonder no more. Junior Sen. David Vitter has become very serious about taking out his senior counterpart and is personally calling Republican hopefuls \u2014 but not to welcome them to the fray. Rather, he\u2019s asking them to step back to give Congressman Bill Cassidy of Baton Rouge enough running room to tackle incumbent Sen. Mary Landrieu in the open field.<\/p>\n The latest to get the call was state Rep. Paul Hollis, R-Mandeville, who\u2019s considering putting his name on the ballot next year. \u201cPaul had a cordial and respectful telephone conversation with Sen. David Vitter,\u201d a source close to the state rep said. \u201cThe senator expressed his concerns about the importance of electing a Republican in 2014. Paul assured Sen. Vitter that if he ran, the campaign\u2019s focus would be on offering voters an alternative to Mary Landrieu, rather than criticizing the other candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n A friend of Hollis said it\u2019s still an \u201cactive decision\u201d regarding whether he\u2019ll enter next year\u2019s race for the U.S. Senate. But the decision could come soon.<\/p>\n Vitter also reached out to state Rep. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, before the north Louisiana lawmaker announced he wouldn\u2019t crowd Cassidy and challenge Landrieu.<\/p>\n Republican Rob Maness, a retired Air Force colonel from Madisonville, is the only other announced GOP candidate thus far.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lawmakers \u2018Launder\u2019\u00a0Amnesty Money<\/strong><\/p>\n Sources in the Legislature and the Dept. of Revenue tell LaPolitics.com that this year\u2019s tax amnesty program generated in excess of what was budgeted for it. That means lawmakers will indeed have some extra cash to spend.<\/p>\n They desperately needed the amnesty program, which allows taxpayers to settle back taxes with reduced penalties and interest, to bring in at least $200 million this year. The sum is required to cover a gap in the Dept. of Health and Hospital\u2019s Medicaid program and draw down $340 million from the federal government in matching funds.<\/p>\n There are restrictions, however, in state and constitutional law that stipulate how any dollars over that threshold can be spent. If past actions are any indication, lawmakers will more than likely use some clever accounting to get around those prohibitions to funnel all the money into the state budget.<\/p>\n But before that can happen, the Revenue Estimating Conference \u2014 a panel that identifies how much money the state has coming in \u2014 will need to determine whether the extra amnesty money is recurring or non-recurring. There are restrictions on where non-recurring funds, known as one-time money, can be placed; for instance:<\/p>\n \u2014 25 percent must go into the Rainy Day Fund savings account.<\/p>\n \u2014 5 percent must be used to pay down unfunded accrued liability, or retirement debt.<\/p>\n \u2014 70 percent can be spent on either of the first two categories, or on coastal restoration, \u201cdebt defeasance,\u201d \u201chigher education deferred maintenance projects\u201d and highway construction.<\/p>\n There\u2019s more flexibility for the recurring portion of the excess. House Ways and Means Chairman Joel Robideaux, R-Lafayette, is already urging his colleagues to approach with caution.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the dollars recognized as recurring, this amount can be spent in our operating budget,\u201d Robideaux wrote in a letter to lawmakers last week. \u201cWe may want to set these funds aside until the budget situation becomes more clear.\u201d<\/p>\n As for how much of the current haul will be recognized as one-time, or non-recurring, the last tax amnesty program held in 2010 offers some guidance. It had an overage of $482 million, of which $242 million was identified as non-recurring.<\/p>\n While it wasn\u2019t legal for that money to be placed directly into the operating budget, lawmakers still found a way to do it. They put the entire sum in the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund, as allowed by the Constitution, then moved it into the Over-collections Fund, as permitted by statute. From there, lawmakers put all the money in DHH\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n The other $240 million from 2010 was identified as recurring and spent as follows:<\/p>\n \u2014 $76 million went to the Dept. of Revenue to cover costs related to the amnesty program.<\/p>\n \u2014 $75 million went into the Rainy Day Fund; it was subsequently swept out and appropriated to the Board of Regents.<\/p>\n \u2014 $90 million was deposited into the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund; that was also yanked out after the fact and appropriated to DHH.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bottom line is that all the $482 million in 2010 amnesty proceeds eventually ended up in the operating budget,\u201d writes Robideaux.<\/p>\n The first four quotations were excerpted from last month\u2019s Harper\u2019s Magazine, which included an article tracing the oil and gas industry\u2019s long history as Louisiana\u2019s dominant political power.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Maginnis and Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.<\/em><\/p>\n With Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne expected to announce he\u2019s running for governor \u2014 he already has a campaign website \u2014 the post he would vacate is attracting a large field of potential successors. Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden is dangling his cowboy hat above the ring, telling radio host Jim Engster recently he is \u201c80 [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[161,157,63,62,160,32,159,158],"yoast_head":"\n