State legislators have their work cut out for them for the next legislative session beginning Monday. Legislators prefiled hundreds of bills in advance of the session, many of which are sure to draw out old and new debates on the floor. There are 855 prefiled bills in the House and 320 in the Senate. The bills range from a host of issues including concealed weapons, term limits, taxes, college tuition and state budget. TERM LIMITSRep. Simone Champagne, D-Jeanerette, prefiled HR84, a bill expanding the three-term limit — which already applies to legislators — to any “state, parish, municipal, ward, district, or other office or position that is filled by election of registered voters of the appropriate voting area.” Exceptions to the term limit expansion are for “the office of the public elector, delegate to a political party convention, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, or political party office.” The two-term limit on the governor’s office will remain the same. Because the expansion is a proposed amendment to the state constitution, it will first need to be passed by a two-thirds vote in both houses of the Legislature before it would then be placed on the ballot during the statewide election Nov. 2, 2010.”It provides fresh blood in the system,” said political science professor Robert Hogan. Hogan said term limits became a widely discussed topic in the mid ‘90s, when Republicans running for national office featured it in their “Contract with America” campaign. But term limits on the congressional level fully materialized and were finally killed when the United States Supreme Court struck it down.In addition to infusing new faces, Hogan said term limits make it hard for people to keep their power for an extended period of time.Hogan said, though, that term limits are a mixed bag.”Perhaps there are lots of good people who are re-elected for a reason,” he said. In addition to forcing good legislators out, Hogan said another risk is in disrupting “institutional memory” — breaking efficient cycles of continuity in the political process.FISCAL ISSUESWith states around the country facing budget shortfalls and making decisions allocating federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, budget issues are sure to claim much of the Legislature’s time and energy in the next session — dozens of prefiled bills address tax cuts, college costs and budget issues.  Rep. Rosalind Jones, D-Monroe, prefiled HB795, which calls for providing an individual tax credit equal to “the annual average of the amount of college tuition paid” for college graduates who obtain jobs with the Louisiana civil service. The credit will determined by dividing the total tuition the student paid to achieve a degree by the number of years it took to earn it.  Two bills aim to expand eligibility for the Taylor Opportunity Plan for Students, TOPS.Sen. Yvonne Dorsey, D-Baton Rouge, prefiled SB129, which proposes to expand TOPS eligibility so that any otherwise qualified student who enrolls at an eligible Louisiana college or university as a freshman, transfers to an out-of-state college or university, then re-enrolls to a qualified Louisiana college or university “may use his TOPS award, with appropriate reduction in the time period of award eligibility.”  Rep. Avon Honey submitted HB616, which would allow some students to qualify for the award program based on “student performance” their freshman year.Gov. Bobby Jindal announced his support for Senate President Joel Chaisson’s, D-Destrehan, SB1 and SB2, which would allow for greater redirections, transfers and reductions from dedicated funds in order to avoid budget deficits.   AN OLD DEBATERep. Ernest Wooton, R-Belle Chasse, filed HB27, authorizing “the carrying of handguns on college, university, or postsecondary vocational-technical school campuses by individuals who possess a concealed handgun permit.”Wooton promised he would refile the bill after an identical one failed in the 2008 session — though it didn’t fail to stir up debate.Chancellor Michael Martin told The Daily Reveille on March 4 he was “perplexed” by the bill, and Thursday, the Board of Regents announced their opposition to it.”I have not figured out how having concealed weapons on campus will in any way improve…the safety of the university,” Martin said.—-Contact Nate Monroe at [email protected]