2020 Legislative Scorecard
Purpose
Power Coalition For Equity and Justice and the Louisiana Budget Project and other partners are interested in looking at the voting patterns of Louisiana State Legislators to see where they voted along a number of key issues. We looked at 13 bills that were voted on in 2020, in the regular legislative session, as well as the first and second extraordinary sessions.
In the past, we have given percentage values to legislators, taking into account the number of times they voted in accordance with our People-Centered Agenda, and also factoring in when they were absent for important votes because we want to hold legislators accountable to voting for the people.
We have produced an annual score for the past few years. This resource is designed to provide the community with insight into the general voting patterns of their elected officials in an effort to provide transparency for community members to hold their elected officials accountable to the issues they care about.
Environmental Context
In 2020, a number of factors made us change the way we are sharing this information. First, it was dangerous for legislators to be voting in person. One of our legislators died of COVID-19. Many lost loved ones to this virus, and a number of legislators battled the virus themselves. Because there were not always avenues for them to participate virtually, we did not count absences against anyone and instead left those votes out of our calculation.
COVID-19 also changed the bills that were being voted on and shifted state priorities in 2020. We know that the people-centered policies that we advocate for could save lives during a pandemic. Paid sick leave. Raising the minimum wage. Decarceration. Expanding access to the vote. Investments in affordable housing, childcare, and education. Making corporations pay their share of taxes. These all provide a very necessary safety net for the state that becomes even more important during times of disaster.
Unfortunately, many of Power Coalition and our partners’ bills were tabled at a time when our state desperately needed the resources and support these bills would have provided. The scorecard is based on 13 bills in 2020 that made it to both the floor of the house and senate. We share these bills, not because they align with our priorities, but because they represent some of the most and least people-centered policies proposed in 2020 and they can expose how our elected officials voted, sometimes in our favor, and sometimes without the interest of our communities in mind.
We have broken the legislature into 3 tiers:
- Legislators that Prioritized People and Communities
- Legislators that voted with people and communities some of the time
- Legislators that did not prioritize people and communities
The following 13 acts and bills we included are below with a comment on how we would have voted as guided by our Peoples' Agenda.
Workers
Act 29 (HB 19)
Expanded the eligibility for industries to participate in the Quality Jobs program which provides a cash rebate and tax incentives to companies that create jobs. We oppose this bill and program because the vast majority of jobs that are subsidized through the program would have come to Louisiana without the incentive. The program cost Louisiana nearly $100 million in the 2017-18 fiscal year, and provides Louisiana a very poor return on its investment.
Act 28 (HB 13)
Expanded the eligibility for the Enterprise Zone program to retail and restaurant jobs. We oppose this bill because there is no evidence that more retail and restaurant jobs will return – or that jobs will return faster – if the state underwrites these jobs, which generally pay low wages.
Act 4 (HB 1)
We oppose this act that changed Act 99 to make juveniles serving life sentences for certain crimes unable to be released on parole. This bill was a clean-up bill from the previous session and we want to commend the legislators who voted against this bill.
Children and Families
Act 138 (HB 328)
We support this act to allow local jurisdictions the ability to remove local sales tax from diapers and feminine hygiene products. Often referred to as a “pink tax” this puts an undue burden on low-income women and families for a necessary item.
Act 49 (HB 96)
We support this act that required that schools share with the Department of Children and Family Services the names and required information about children receiving free and reduced lunch so that they could get Pandemic EBT while out of school due to COVID-19.
Act 140 (HB 344)
We support this act which bans solitary confinement of pregnant women, women who are less than eight weeks post medical release following a pregnancy, or are caring for children in a penal institution.
Communities
Act 370 (SB 272)
We oppose this bill which allows local governments to enter into agreements with corporations for a payment instead of paying taxes. Though this can help with upfront costs for local governments, this means that there will be less revenue overtime from taxes from the corporations. We want corporations to pay their fair share.
Act 311 (SB 189)
We oppose this bill that distributed the CARES Act funding because it centers business and municipal recovery instead of people centered solutions. We understand that the economies need to be bolstered but during this time, many people needed direct services and their needs should have been prioritized when outlining response plans.
Act 366 (HB 464)
We oppose this bill which changed the state budgets growth rate and likely made the growth rate slower. By restricting the legislature’s flexibility to make budget decisions, it would almost certainly lead to unnecessary cuts to higher education, healthcare, public safety and other services that rely on general appropriations. Making inflation and population growth part of the growth formula, it guarantees that the state budget will not keep pace with the cost of maintaining services, let alone making new investments.
Equity
HB 38
We opposed this bill which would have created the “Louisiana Police Funding Protection Act". This bill, in response to calls to defund the police, would have required a governing authority with a municipal police department or sheriff's office to appear before the legislature if the annual operating budget for the police department or sheriff's office decreases by 10% or more and may lose funding for new projects or lose appropriations from sales tax dedications for a year. We know that large police departments do not equate to safer communities and that reduction in police departments in exchange for investments in the community have more lasting positive effects on communities.
Act 286 (HB 819)
We supported this act which adds to the conditions that are eligible for a medical marijuana prescription from an authorized doctor. For far too long, marijuana has been criminalized and we support moves towards legalization and decarceration.
Justice
Act 203 (HB 643)
We support this act because it gives people on parole the opportunity to have their fines and supervision reduced if they do not violate the terms of their parole for 3 years for non-violent offenses and after 7 years for violent offenses. This reduces the burden of fines and fees and the surveillance system on people who have been involved in the criminal legal system.
Act 99 (HB 173)
We support this act that gives people who were sentenced to life as a juvenile the opportunity for parole after serving 25 years.
Act 4 (HB 1)
We oppose this act that changed Act 99 to make juveniles serving life sentences for certain crimes unable to be released on parole. This bill was a clean-up bill from the previous session and we want to commend the legislators who voted against this bill.
This session, we want to see people-centered policies as the cornerstone for an equity recovery from COVID-19. We have been through A LOT since the beginning of the legislative session in 2020. A pandemic, police brutality, recessions, job losses, hurricanes, and more. We know that there are ways to learn from this and invest in Louisiana in ways that we have not done before so that systemic issues are addressed. There is federal money coming to the state to help with this transition. We need bold state leadership to center equity and justice as we emerge from this pandemic. Our communities need a livable wage. We need affordable housing. We need access to quality childcare, education, and infrastructure. We need to be represented in government equitably, with fair political districts and access to the vote. Our community members should not be kept in prisons and jails. We need to protect our right to clean air and water, and make corporations pay their fair share to be in our state.
Conclusion
Our evaluation of legislators in 2020 serves as a foundation for what we are watching for this legislative session. We will be tracking bills and sending weekly updates to our base about this 2021 session. We will continue to hold those in power accountable to the people and ensure that they are fighting for our rights. We will continue to advocate for equity and justice in Louisiana. As the late Representative John Lewis wrote, “Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.”
Thank you to the Louisiana Budget Project who we worked in deep partnership to produce this Scorecard.
