{"id":8741,"date":"2019-05-16T12:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T17:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=8741"},"modified":"2019-05-16T11:33:56","modified_gmt":"2019-05-16T16:33:56","slug":"team-gleason-license-plate-approved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2019\/05\/16\/team-gleason-license-plate-approved\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Gleason License Plate Approved"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jeremy Alford and\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Mitch Rabalais<\/i><\/p>\n

While a proposed hike in the state\u2019s gasoline tax has been hogging the limelight in terms of transportation chatter at the Capitol, members of the House panel that has oversight of the broader policy issue have been wading through less controversial bills.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

That action included votes to create a new specialty license plate to benefit the ALS work of former New Orleans Saint Steve Gleason and to reject a limited proposal that would have allowed a small community to use golf carts on streets.<\/p>\n

The tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee will get the first crack at hearing the gas tax bill over the next few weeks. But it\u2019s ultimately up to members of the House Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee to help guide future policy on roads and bridges, and all things connected to them.<\/p>\n

That means an agenda of half a dozen bills for the transportation committee, which held discussions on classifications in the state highway system, public-private partnerships, permit fees and toll violations.<\/p>\n

The committee also approved HB 318 by House Speaker Pro Tem Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, which creates the \u201cTeam Gleason Foundation\u201d specialty license plate. If at least 1,000 plates are ordered, royalty monies connected to the $28.50 fee will help those who have neuromuscular diseases similar to Gleason\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Gleason is best known for his blocked punt during the first game in the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina. But Leger told the committee his impact is much wider. \u201cHe\u2019s more famous now for the courage he\u2019s displayed since being diagnosed with ALS in 2011,\u201d Leger said.<\/p>\n

Receiving a red light from the transportation committee was HB 117 by Rep. Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, which sought to authorize golf carts to be used for crossing certain Louisiana highways in the town of Church Point.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just have some major, major concerns,\u201d said House Transportation Chairman Terry Landry, D-Lafayette, echoing other sentiments voiced before lawmakers put the bill on pause.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Senate Chair Reaches Out To Hank Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you were a Louisiana legislator pushing legislation that\u2019s connected to the legacy of the late Hank Williams and one of his classic country ditties, who would you call for help?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re Senate Natural Resources Chairman Norby Chabert, you reach out to the dude with the beard and the shades from Monday Night Football \u2014 Hank William, Jr., who was born in Shreveport in 1949. In a nod to that mile-marker, Hank Jr. wrote \u201cBorn to Boogie\u201d in the 1980s, noting he was \u201cBorn on the bayou on the Texas line. Loved Louisiana and [was] raised on jambalaya.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chabert, a Republican from Terrebonne Parish, has filed SB 192 for the regular session to designate Hank Williams, Sr.\u2019s \u201cJambalaya (On the Bayou)\u201d as one of the state\u2019s official songs. The bill would also designate the Cajun waltz as the official state dance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The senator\u2019s staff has asked Hank Jr. to consider making a trip to the Capitol to support the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think just having him here would be awesome,\u201d Chabert said, admitting a Bocephus sighting this session is probably unlikely. He did say he has received letters of support from a country and western museum in Alabama.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While Louisiana already has two official songs on the books, Chabert believes that Williams\u2019 song touches on the Bayou State\u2019s culture far more than the others.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Jambalaya\u2019 speaks to the iconic status of a lot of the symbols that represent Louisiana,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The bill would not remove any of the state\u2019s current official songs, \u201cGive Me Louisiana\u201d and \u201cYou Are My Sunshine,\u201d the latter being the signature hit of late Gov. Jimmie Davis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in no way trying to change \u2018You Are My Sunshine,\u2019 as a state song,\u201d Chabert said. \u201cThis is just us trying to add another song to our official playlist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chabert said that he first noticed some glaring issues with Davis\u2019 song after hearing it at an event for the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame and Museum in Winnfield.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018You Are My Sunshine\u2019 is great, but it is a pretty depressing song if you get past the first few lyrics,\u201d he said. \u201cPlus, it is not really representative of Louisiana in any way other than Jimmie Davis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chabert said he wanted to designate the Cajun waltz as Louisiana\u2019s official dance after learning that other states had similar categorizations in place. Traditionally, other governors perform a state dance as the opening to their inaugural ball \u2014 a custom that Chabert hopes to bring to the Bayou State.<\/p>\n

Con-Con Idea Lives On\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

No bills or resolutions have been introduced for the regular session to address the issue of another constitutional convention, which had otherwise become a perennial topic at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge.<\/p>\n

And even if a proposal did surface, passage would still be a long shot.<\/p>\n

On the political side, however, the issue is still very much alive. Public advocacy groups and business associations are expected to take up outreach campaigns this summer, and a well-funded activist organization intends to make the matter a campaign topic.<\/p>\n

The Louisiana Committee for a Conservative Majority and Associated Builders and Contractors, for example, have asked candidates to discuss the issue in questionnaires.<\/p>\n

Constitutional Coalition 2020, founded by businessman Lane Grigsby, has even gained commitments from\u00a0 <\/span>newly-elected Reps. Chris Turner, Ryan Bourriaque and Mike Johnson, who all voiced support for a \u201cPeople\u2019s Constitutional Convention,\u201d as consultant Kyle Ruckert calls it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that I am definitely interested in looking into,\u201d Turner said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Political Eyes Turn To Decided House Race<\/strong><\/p>\n

When a special election on the west side of the Mississippi River, in House District 18, yielded a 25-percent turnout \u2014 a nearly-unheard of number in this era of extraordinary legislative races \u2014 many politicos were left scratching their heads.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Democrat Jeremy LaCombe carried the district with 69 percent of the vote, crushing challenger Tami Fabre and ending the GOP\u2019s hopes of picking up a district that had been a longtime target.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked our butts off knocking on doors,\u201d Rep. LaCombe said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Republican consultant Chris Comeaux, who managed Fabre\u2019s campaign, said the election carries big implications for other races that will be waged this fall.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a wake-up call,\u201d Comeaux said. \u201cThis is what they are going to do in October.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Comeaux credited LaCombe\u2019s victory with a huge GOTV effort, which the consultant believes could be deployed by the Democrats statewide in the regularly scheduled races this fall \u2014 or at least in cherry-picked legislative districts.<\/p>\n

Maybe, he added, it revealed the working strategy of Democrats.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hope is that they played that card unnecessarily,\u201d Comeaux said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Democratic consultant Michael Beychok, who managed independent expenditures related to voter turnout, said that a targeted, professional ground game was key. But he wouldn\u2019t divulge much more.<\/p>\n

Those close to the process, though, suggest other high-profile consultants were involved, from New Orleans and Chicago, with one having firm connections to the successful campaigns of former President Barack Obama.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know on what doors to knock,\u201d Beychok said. \u201cAs contact increases so does voter turnout.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For more Louisiana political news, visit LaPolitics.com or follow Alford and Rabalais on Twitter via @LaPoliticsNow.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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