Wednesday, November 4, 2020 FROM: Jim Harris NOVEMBER 3 PRIMARY ELECTIONS…While the seat of the U.S. presidency remains contested, Louisiana also saw an eventful election night. Elections for state and legislative officials occur in “off years,” but there were contests for congressmen, one U.S. senator, judges and several other positions last night. Overall voter turnout in the state neared 70 percent. U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, handily won reelection with 59 percent of the vote. Of his 14 opponents, the next highest was Democratic Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins, who took 19 percent. Each had the backing of their respective national parties. All sitting congressmen were easily reelected: 1st District U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie (72 percent); 2nd District U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans (64 percent); 3rd District U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette (68 percent); 4th District U.S. Rep. Mike 521 LAUREL STREET BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA 70801 1.800.545.3404 225.344.0381 FAX 225.336.0211 Johnson, R-Shreveport (60 percent); and 6th District U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge (71 percent). All had multiple opponents. In the 5th Congressional District vacated by U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham, R-Alto, who did not seek reelection after a failed attempt at the governor’s seat, there will be a runoff on December 5, as predicted. The candidates remain Luke Letlow, R-Start, who served as Abraham’s chief of staff and campaign advisor, and state Rep. Lance Harris, R-Alexandria, former head of the House Republican Delegation. They got 33 and 17 percent of the vote, respectively. A close third-place finisher was Democratic political newbie Candi Christophe, who trailed Harris by fewer than 500 votes. However, her name appeared first on the ballot, and she was the first Democrat listed. There were two Louisiana Supreme Court seats up for grabs. As anticipated, 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Jay McCallum, R- Farmerville, bested 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal Shannon Gremillion, R-Alexandria with 57 percent of the vote. McCallum was supported by the business community as well as many local officials in his district. In the 7th District, Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, D-New Orleans, was unable to seek reelection due to age restrictions. There will be a runoff between Judge Piper Griffin (44 percent) and Judge Terri Love (32 percent). Both serve on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal and are Democrats from New Orleans. Five of the seven proposed constitutional amendments passed. All enacting legislation can be found at the included links: • CA No. 1 (HB 425 by Rep. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe) prohibits the right to abortion and the funding of abortion (62 percent approval). • CA No. 2 (HB 360 by. Rep. Mike Huval, R-Breaux Bridge) allows the presence or production of an oil or gas well to be Page 2 of 23 included in the methodology for determining fair market value of an oil or gas well. Currently, wells are subject to ad valorem property tax based on the well’s fair market value. Severance taxes are also assessed on certain natural resources. The presence of oil, gas or sulfur is not allowed in the assessment of land value. This amendment allows the presence or production of oil or gas to be included in determining fair market value (58 percent approval). • CA No. 3 (HB 267 by Rep. Gary Carter, D-New Orleans) allows deposit into the Rainy Day Fund the same amount of federal money given for reimbursement of costs associated with a disaster and allows the Legislature to appropriate a third of the fund during a disaster by written ballot (55 percent approval). • Proposed CA No. 4 (HB 464 by Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia) would have allowed the state’s expenditure limit to grow by no more than 5 percent annually in an effort to stabilize the funding formula (FAILED with 44 percent). • Proposed CA No. 5 (SB 272 by Sen. Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles) would have allowed for cooperative endeavor agreements between local governments and manufacturing facilities for new facilities or additions to allow for payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for ad valorem taxes (FAILED with 37 percent). • CA No. 6 (HB 525 by Rep. Stephanie Hilferty, R-Metairie) increases from $50,000 to $100,000 the income qualification for special assessment for the homestead exemption (62 percent approval). • CA No. 7 (SB 12 by Sen. Mike Fesi, R-Houma) creates the Louisiana Unclaimed Property Payment Trust Fund. This is an attempt to address concerns from Treasurer John Schroder that the state uses unclaimed property funds in the state general fund to shore up the state budget (64 percent approval). Page 3 of 23 There was a proposition in all 64 parishes to allow sports betting in any parish where voters approve it. This was not a constitutional amendment. Sports wagering is currently prohibited in the state, except for online fantasy sports in 47 parishes that approved it in 2018. Parishes that approved sports wagering will likely see activity in 2022, after the state Gaming Control Board develops rules and regulations for the industry and licensing process. The proposition passed in 55 parishes — all but Caldwell, Catahoula, Franklin, Jackson, Lasalle, Union, Sabine, West Carroll and Winn parishes. The Louisiana Public Service Commission, which has staggered terms, had two seats up for reelection. In District 1, incumbent Commissioner Eric Skrmetta, R-Metairie, had six opponents and will face Allen Borne, D-New Orleans, in a runoff. Borne was the first Democrat on the ballot; he previously mounted an unsuccessful campaign for state Senate. Skrmetta ran first with 33 percent and Borne took 25 percent of the vote. Former state Rep. Kevin Pearson, R-Slidell, came in third. In District 5, incumbent Commissioner Foster Campbell, D-Bossier City, who has served on the PSC since 2003, previously served in the state Senate for 26 years and won reelection with 53 percent of the vote. Though the Legislature did not have elections this year, there will be an upcoming contest — yet to be scheduled — to fill a seat. Rep. Stephen Dwight, R-Lake Charles, won the race for district attorney in Calcasieu Parish with 68 percent of the vote, setting up a vacancy in the critical chairmanship of the House Committee on Governmental Affairs, which will oversee reapportionment next year. Rep. Joe Marino, I-Gretna, will continue to serve in the House, after failing to make the runoff in a Jefferson Parish judge race, trailing behind the Democratic and Republican candidates in a large turnout election. The other legislator running for another office, Rep. Lance Harris, as mentioned above, is in the runoff for Congress, but will be able to retain his legislative seat if he loses. Page 4 of 23 As anticipated, Republican President Donald Trump won Louisiana, garnering 58 percent of the vote in the state. The race remains uncalled, as state results, including early and absentee, remain to be tallied. THE COST IS HORRIFIC…Insurance industry analysts estimate storm damage from Hurricane Zeta in Louisiana could cost between $1.7 billion and $2.8 billion in repairs. Analytics business CoreLogic estimated that when storm damage in Mississippi and Alabama are factored in, Hurricane Zeta caused $3.5 billion in destruction. That includes both residential and commercial losses for wind and storm surge but does not include any losses reported to the National Flood Insurance Program for homeowners. Hurricane Zeta was the fifth named storm to make landfall and broke the record for the number of named storms during one season dating back to 2002. Hurricane Zeta made landfall near Cocodrie in Terrebonne Parish before barreling through New Orleans last week as a Category 2 hurricane with wind gusts up to 110 miles per hour, which is just shy of a Category 3 hurricane. Zeta was the third hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana after Laura and Delta hit near Lake Charles several weeks ago. Hurricane Laura brought between $8 billion and $12 billion in damages, while Hurricane Delta was estimated to cause between $700 million and $1.2 billion in damages. SHELL DOWNSIZING…As part of its plans to reduce its refinery portfolio over the next five years, Shell will retain its facility in Norco, but the fate of its refinery in Convent remains unknown. The facility is up for sale but there are strong rumors that it will close if no buyers are found. Shell announced plans last week to shrink to six sites from 14 by 2025, Independent Commodity Intelligence Services, or ICIS, reports. See enclosure. Page 5 of 23 On another subject, Rhoman Hardy, Shell V.P. for the Gulf Coast and General Manager at Shell’s Geismar facility in Ascension Parish, was profiled in the 10/12 Industry Report. He offers some great advice about improving plant operations. See enclosure. ITEP…It seems just about every new filing for the state’s Industrial Property Tax Exemption Program is now getting noticed in the news media. The latest is in the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. It is about three smaller projects in Iberville and West Baton Rouge Parishes planned by Shintech. See enclosure. WEYERHAEUSER MODERNIZES…Forest products manufacturer Weyerhaeuser expects to invest $16.1 million at its Natchitoches sawmill for equipment upgrades to modernize the facility. The Seattle-based timberland business already has 200 employees in Louisiana at the 250,000-square-foot sawmill and expects to hire 20 more people in the coming years. The modernization work is expected to begin in 2021 and continue for three more years.