Bobby Jindal: Blog of New Orleans, Gambit

Louisiana Supreme Court benchslaps Jindal funding mechanism for school vouchers

Kevin Allman — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:49:00 -0500

A blow — and a decisive one — for Gov. Bobby Jindal's attempt to remake the Louisiana public education system:

Louisiana's Supreme Court has ruled that the funding method for a private school tuition voucher program pushed through the Legislature last year by Gov. Bobby Jindal is unconstitutional.

Tuesday's 6-1 decision upholds a state district court ruling that the state constitution forbids using money earmarked for public schools in the state's Minimum Foundation Program to pay for private school tuition.…
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‘Deliberative’ secrets

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:46:00 -0500

Four years ago, Gov. Bobby Jindal hoodwinked lawmakers, the public and most of the Louisiana Press Association into supporting legislation that he uses to keep virtually all his administration’s records from public view. He also uses his enormous power to prevent that law from being overturned or narrowed.…

Another budget stalemate?

Jeremy Alford — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:04:00 -0500

Over the past several weeks, conservative lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee have questioned if, not when, the budget will be passed during the ongoing session that adjourns June 6. That means, not long after Gov. Bobby Jindal has “parked” his controversial tax swap plan, his budget could be stalling.…

Advice … and a warning

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:44:00 -0500

A lot of folks can take credit for convincing Gov. Bobby Jindal to “park” his much-maligned “tax reform” plan last week, none more so than Dan Juneau, president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI). In the Capitol’s pack of lobbying hounds, LABI is The Big Dog — particularly on tax matters.…

D.O.A.: The demise of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s tax plan

Jeremy Alford — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 17:30:00 -0500

It was as if Huey Long’s Capitol building had been overinflated and suddenly punctured, blowing back hair and rustling papers, letting waves of angst and uncertainty escape over the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, and ultimately restoring the proper pressure inside the limestone skyscraper. A number of lawmakers even gave Gov. Bobby Jindal a standing ovation for his dramatic retreat on the opening day of the annual legislative session April 8, when he declared his tax-swap plan politically untenable.…

Jindal to appear at NBC's Education Nation panel

Alex Woodward — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:28:29 -0500

Previewed in this week's Gambit, NBC's Education Nation is a three-day "summit" with panel discussions and town halls focusing on schools, teachers, students and job opportunities in New Orleans. All events are streamed live on the Education Nation website and the final half-hour will air on partner station WDSU-TV.…

I’ll have what he’s having

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:10:00 -0500

There’s a classic scene in the movie When Harry Met Sally where Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal are sitting in a crowded deli arguing about whether a man can tell when a woman fakes an orgasm. Crystal insists he can tell — and that no woman ever faked it with him.…

Playing Bobby Jindal’s game

Clancy DuBos — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 11:58:00 -0500

Even though he still doesn’t have a final draft of his tax-swap plan, Gov. Bobby Jindal has launched his statewide campaign to sell his gospel of wealth. He’s hoping to generate citizen support that will convince wary lawmakers to back his proposals.…

Children's Hospital agrees to reopen New Orleans Adolescent Hospital (Update: Maybe not)

Charles Maldonado — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:22:37 -0500

Update (4 p.m.): Laura Maggi reports in The Times-Picayune that Children's Hospital this afternoon issued a statement saying it is in fact not planning on reopening the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital.

From the story:

"We articulated the hospital's position that relocating mental health services from the Calhoun campus to the deteriorated NOAH campus would not be economically feasible.…
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Jindal’s 47 Percent Solution

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 18:49:00 -0500

(NOTE: There's an UPDATE to this post on the jump page regarding the current sales tax exemptions that Gov. Jindal wants to keep if his tax plan is passed.)

Gov. Bobby Jindal finally unveiled his tax-swap plan last week — almost. After promising to produce a bill by March 15, he instead gave lawmakers a two-page summary of high-minded but vague talking points, which at least was more than the one-page summary he previously used.…

VIDEO: Bobby Jindal speaks at CPAC

Kevin Allman — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:00:00 -0500

Gov. Bobby Jindal spoke at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) annual meeting today in a speech that appears to have been a mashup of a January speech to the Republican National Committee and some of the jokes from his turn at the dais at last weekend's Gridiron Club roast in Washington, D.C.

Among the topics of Jindal's jokes: his skinny frame vs. the not-skinny frame of N.J. Gov. Chris Christie, Jindal's Indian-American heritage and waterboarding. Take it away, Atlantic Wire:

The speech delivered by the Republican Governor of Louisiana at the Conservative Political Action Committee on Friday afternoon borrowed heavily — literally paragraph by verbatim paragraph — from his January 24 speech at the Republican National Committee's winter meeting in Charlotte, where Jindal implored his colleagues to "stop being the stupid party" in a forceful speech otherwise seen as bolstering his 2016 credentials.…
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Jindal tax swap plan: State sales tax increases to 5.88 percent

Charles Maldonado — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:11:02 -0500

Gov. Bobby Jindal finally gave the state legislature (some of) the details of his plan to eliminate individual and corporate income taxes — which account for about $3 billion in annual revenues — without a negative impact to the state budget. As expected, Jindal's plan includes a hike in the state sales tax rate — from 4 percent to 5.88 percent — meaning Louisiana's average combined state and local taxes will be the highest in the country at about 10.75 percent.…

Jindal to kick off RedState.com gathering in New Orleans

Kevin Allman — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:18:00 -0500

RedState editor Erick Erickson announced today that Gov. Bobby Jindal will kick off the 5th annual RedState Gathering in New Orleans. The gathering for grass-roots conservatives will be held Aug. 2-3 at the Westin New Orleans at Canal Place, Erickson wrote:

We’ve invited Bobby Jindal, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, Rick Perry, Steve Scalise, Matt Salmon, Ken Cuccinelli, and so many more.…
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Gridiron shows: Bobby Jindal and Stacy Head

Kevin Allman — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:18:52 -0500

Gov. Bobby Jindal's performance at Saturday night's Gridiron Club Dinner in Washington, D.C. went over well — at least with President Barack Obama, who praised Jindal's material and delivery at the ~~logrolling~~ annual chance for politicians and the D.C. press corps to share a laugh:

"I have to say, I thought Bobby (Jindal) was incredibly funny this evening. I thought he was terrific," Obama said last night at the high-profile Gridiron Dinner, in his remarks after Jindal made a highly impressive speech full of fun and jokes, wiping out his 2009 lacklustre speech which was in response to the first State of the Union Address by Obama.

Jindal's entire speech has been posted online by The Washington Post.…

Bobby Jindal on Meet the Press

Kevin Allman — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 10:46:00 -0600

Gov. Bobby Jindal appeared with Mass Gov. Deval Patrick this morning on Meet the Press, discussing the sequester, the federal budget and taxes. Jindal also discussed what the GOP has to do to appeal to voters, talked about his support for "traditional marriage," and told President Barack Obama to "stop campaigning . . .…

Gambit TV: Stephanie Grace on Informed Sources

Gambit TV — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 13:22:00 -0600

Stephanie Grace was on last night's Informed Sources, discussing her Gambit cover story "Jindal and the Pill," as well as Ray Nagin's appearance in federal court this week. Also on the panel: Informed Sources producer Errol Laborde, WWL-TV anchor Dennis Woltering, The Lens' investigative reporter Tyler Bridges and moderator Larry Lorenz.…

Reality checks

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:29:03 -0600

Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, famously embodied the concept of the reality distortion field. Said to have its origins in STAR TREK (where else?), Jobs had a knack for convincing himself and others to believe almost anything — and that almost anything was possible — thanks to the force of his ego, charm, persistence and bluster.…

Poll: 66% of respondents say no to Jindal presidential run

Charles Maldonado — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:15:19 -0600

Just 24 percent of more than 600 Louisiana voters who participated in a recent poll think Gov. Bobby Jindal should run for president in 2016. Of the 603 people polled by North Carolina-based Public Policy Polling, 66 percent said he should not run.…

Bill seeks to eliminate Jindal's favorite excuse for keeping records under seal

Charles Maldonado — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 16:08:53 -0600

A bill filed this week by state Rep. Jerome "Dee" Richard, Independent of Thibodaux, and Sen. Rick Gallot, Democrat of Ruston, would repeal an exemption to the state Public Records Act called the "deliberative process privilege." The privilege protects deliberative (or pre-decisional) communications within the governor's office — though it's unclear just what is meant by "deliberative" and "governor's office."…

Report: La.'s poorest pay more than 10% of income in state, local taxes

Charles Maldonado — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:31:31 -0600

A national survey of state and local tax codes by Washington think tank the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows that Louisiana's poorest residents pay the highest levels of state and local taxes as a percent of income — more than twice the relative burden on the state's highest earners — due in large part to combined local and state sales taxes.

The ITEP study comes as the state's political leaders ponder a major tax code overhaul.…

A reasonable alternative

Clancy DuBos — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:56:59 -0600

A growing number of people are saying that Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed “tax reform” plan would shift too much of Louisiana’s revenue burden to its poorest citizens. Jindal supporters want criticism withheld until the plan is finalized.…

Reactions to Gov. Bobby's Jindal's tax overhaul proposal

Kevin Allman — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 13:21:06 -0600

Well, that didn't take long. Ever since the Monroe News-Star broke the news that Gov. Bobby Jindal's plan to overhaul Louisiana's tax system may involve abolishing state income and corporate taxes while hiking sales tax, people have been arguing about the roughed-in portion of the plan.…

I'll be interested to see the math on this: Jindal proposes to "put money back in Louisiana pockets" in a "revenue neutral way"

Charles Maldonado — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 16:38:28 -0600

So today Gov. Bobby Jindal proposed eliminating state individual and corporate income taxes and raising the state sales tax from four to seven percent.

The idea is to "put more money back into the pockets of Louisiana families," Jindal's Facebook page tells us.…

Jindal orders task force to examine school safety

Alex Woodward — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 16:00:00 -0600

In the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Gov. Bobby Jindal has created a task force to review school safety procedures, from prekindergarten through university level campuses. The multi-agency group includes the departments of safety and corrections, education, health and hospitals, children and family services, and boards from state universities, to be co-chaired by State Police Superintendent Col. Michael Edmonson, and James LeBlanc, Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.…

The Daily Beast congratulates Mitch Landrieu on school reform

Stephanie Grace — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:48:00 -0600

There’s no question that Mayor Mitch Landrieu has crafted an image as a creative, modern-thinking chief executive. And this week, The Daily Beast/Newsweek recognized him as such when it featured Landrieu as one of the “Most Innovative Mayors in the U.S.”

There’s just one catch: The innovation that earned him the prized spot on the roster, the dramatic transformation of the city’s public schools, wasn’t exactly his.

“Under Mayor Mitch Landrieu, the Crescent City has aggressively embraced education reform,” the piece says.…