Louisiana Legislature Higher Education Report Card 2015 Louisiana State University Student Government Dear Readers and Supporters, On April 30, over one thousand LSU students, faculty and staff, supporters, and other members of the higher education community rallied together on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol as a sign of solidarity against the daunting budget cuts proposed by Governor Jindal. The point we were trying to make to legislators was clear: we will no longer stay quiet while our neighbors downtown let our school dwindle away. During this trip, I had the opportunity to address members of the Senate committees Andrew Mahtook on Education and Finance whilst two overflow LSU Student Body President rooms of my peers watched on. I promised a renewed interest and involvement from the LSU student body, and a constant watch of our elected officials. In saying this, LSU Student Government has had a State Capitol Advisor at the capitol every day of the session, constantly giving updates and briefings on important bills and advocating on behalf of the students. The Higher Education Report Card is the next step in keeping our promise. With this completely student driven report, we hope to spotlight and publicly thank each official who kept higher education at the top of their priority list. Going forward, we hope to publish legislation of interest before the session, and to have a full time student lobbying commission research and administer the Report Card on a yearly basis. To be short: we students are here to stay. In developing our Higher Education Report Card, we laid out three main goals that we wished to see accomplished. We wanted to ensure a fix for the current budget deficit, long-term revenue sources for higher education, and increased administrative autonomies that bring decision making closer to the students. From here we graded each bill on their weight and importance. The results we saw were encouraging, and we thank each legislator for their tireless work to save higher education. For many officials, the promise made to students at the beginning of the session was kept. Not only did we find allies in our fight, we found legislators who went above and beyond on behalf of students. To these legislators, I would like to once again thank you, and it is an honor to feature you on our Honor Roll. With the publication of the Higher Education Report Card, we hope to 2 open a new chapter in student-legislator relations, one where votes are not casted on behalf of the school as merely a public entity, but on behalf of the individual students who make up our colleges and universities. With each vote, we hope to remind our elected officials that their decisions affect the career paths and standard of living of thousands of young Louisianans, and ultimately, the future of our great state. At the end of the day, while we are appreciative of the restored funding that was granted by the legislature, we must also remember that this 2015 number still reflects over $600 million in cuts since 2008. My hope is that through student participation and initiatives such as the Louisiana Higher Education Report Card, we can secure stable funding for higher education and put our schools on track to compete amongst the best in the country. Forever LSU, Andrew J. Mahtook LSU Student Body President 3 The Syllabus Total Possible Points Every piece of legislation that mattered to LSU students was evaluated by the LSU Student Government. Each one of those pieces of legislation were assigned a point value (1-5) depending on its value to LSU. Because of the demand for higher education funding in this year's session, no revenue bill was assigned a value lower than 3. The final score was determined by adding the total points received by a legislator based on his or her voting record and dividing by the total possible points. That resulted in their percentage performance which was then transferred to a standard grading scale. Fortunately for this year's legislature, we did not implement a plus/minus system. Floor Votes Votes in Favor of Floor votes make up the majority of the point Higher Education opportunities. Each floor vote contributed to the final grade. A vote in favor of higher education resulted in the Committee Votes full point value of that bill. Committee votes were not taken into consideration for the 2015 HERC; however, Votes Against they may be included beginning in 2016. Higher Education Absences A vote against higher education resulted in zero Absences are unexcused. An absence from points voting on a bill resulted in zero points for that bill. Bonus Legislators who authored a bill for higher education were eligible for bonus. They received double the point value of that bill. 4 5 On April 30, 2015, over 1,200 LSU students, parents, and alumni gathered at the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol for the Make the Change March to the Capitol. We would like to thank you for that effort and the continual higher education vocal support throughout the Legislative Session! 6 The Honor Roll - Senators LSU SG would like to highlight and extend a thank you to the following twenty senators who scored a 90 percent or higher on the 2015 LSU Higher Education Report Card. With their support, the Louisiana Legislature was able to overcome the severe budget gap and fully fund higher education for the upcoming fiscal year. Sen. Robert Adley Sen. Jack Donahue Sen. Sharon Broome Sen. Norby Chabert Sen. Danny Martiny Sen. Rick Gallot Sen. John Alario Sen. Ronnie Johns Sen. Bob Kostelka Sen. Blade Morrish Sen. Barrow Peacock Sen. Bodi White Sen. Gerald Long Sen. Sherri Buffington Sen. Bret Allain Sen. Troy Brown Sen. Francis Thompson Sen. Dan Claitor Sen. Mike Walsworth Sen. Conrad Appel 7 The Honor Roll - Representatives LSU SG would like to highlight and extend a thank you to the following twenty representatives who scored a 90 percent or higher on the 2015 LSU Higher Education Report Card. With their support, the Louisiana Legislature was able to overcome the severe budget gap and fully fund higher education for the upcoming fiscal year. Rep. Chris Broadwater Rep. James Fannin Rep. Walt Leger Rep. Bryan Adams Rep. Thomas Carmody Rep. Steve Carter Rep. Joel Robideaux Rep. Rob Shadoin Rep. John Berthalot Rep. Erich Ponti Rep. Patrick Jefferson Rep. Jeff Arnold Rep. Bubba Chaney Rep. Frank Hoffman Rep. Dalton Honore Rep. Darrell Ourso Rep. Steve Pugh Rep. Chuck Kleckley Rep. Roy Burrell Rep. Karen St. Germaine 8 Legislation that Mattered Budget Legislation HB 1 Fannin—State Budget—5. This bill was only to be considered complete when it provided funding for the $573 million budget gap. • A vote FOR final passage was a vote with LSU SG. The bill passed the Senate 36-3-0 and passed the House 65-37-3 with full funding. HB 2 Robideaux— Capital Outlay—5. This bill was only to be considered complete if it included the following projects: Studio Arts, Nicholson Gateway, the Lakes, Patrick F. Taylor Hall, French House, LSUA drainage project, LSUHSC New Orleans’ dental school, and LSU HSC Shreveport’s wellness center • A vote FOR final passage was a vote with LSU SG. The bill passed the Senate 35-2-2 and passed the House 100-0-5 with full all projects included. Revenue Legislation HB 81 Carmody—Mineral Revenue Dedication—5. This bill would have dedicated mineral revenue for higher education and would have provided an estimated $90 million. • A vote FOR final passage was a vote with LSU SG. The bill was never brought to a vote. 9 HB 119 Ritchie—Cigarette Tax—5. This bill raises the cigarette tax by 32 cents per pack bringing Louisiana’s cigarette tax to 68 cents per pack—the same as Mississippi and will generate an estimated 188.5 million. • A vote FOR final passage was a vote with LSU SG. The bill passed the House 78-27-0 and passed the House 31-8-0. HB 218 Broadwater—Close Tax Loophole—4 This bill eliminates a corporate tax loophole that allows businesses that lose money to apply those losses to reduce taxes and is expected to generate $29 million. • A vote FOR final passage was a vote with LSU SG. The bill passed the Senate 38-1-0 and passed the House 93-11-1. HB 366 Adams—Refundable to Non-refundable—5. This bill changes certain refundable tax credits to nonrefundable tax credits as part of Governor Jindal’s original plan to restore higher education funding. • A vote FOR final passage was a vote with LSU SG. The bill was never brought to a vote. HB 383 Jackson— Refundable to Non-refundable —4. This bill would have dedicated mineral revenue for higher education and would have provided an estimated $29 million. • A vote FOR final passage was a vote with LSU SG. The bill was never brought to a vote. HB 386 Leger—Deepwater Horizon Dedication—3. This bill dedicates interest earnings of the Deepwater Horizaon Economic Damages Collection Fund to higher education. • A vote FOR final passage was a vote with LSU SG. The bill passed the Senate 39-0-0 and passed the House 95-0-10. HB 402 Stokes—Income Tax Credit Requirements—4 This bill adds requirements for eligibility for the income tax credit for taxes paid in other states and is estimated to generate $34 million. • A vote FOR final passage was a vote with LSU SG. The bill passed the Senate 37-2-0 and passed the House 96-7-2.