Following 19 weeks of legislative sessions, which was the longest in Louisiana history, according to the Manship News Service, Student Government released its 2016 Louisiana Legislator Report Card on Wednesday.
SG evaluated “every piece” of legislation relating to LSU students. The initiative began in 2015, and SG members calculated grades based on legislators’ votes on legislation SG supported or viewed unfavorably.
HB 62, which raised the sales tax by one cent, and HB 38, which reduced the amount of the individual income tax deduction for excess federal itemized personal deductions, were among some of the legislation weighted highest for the report card.
When the report card was unveiled last year, SG received backlash after some thought they were graded unfairly. Some lawmakers received a higher grade or earned the same grade as last year.
Sen. Karen Peterson, D-New Orleans, who was vocal about her “F” grade last year, earned a “B” this year.
“Thx. It’s sad that LSU students don’t see thru the BS. State genl funds depleted 4 higher Ed over 7 yrs #jindalized,” Peterson tweeted about the 2015 report card on June 16, 2015.
Rep. James “Dee” Richard, I-Lafourche, who also expressed displeasure about his “F” grade last year, received the same grade this year and saw his percentage dropped from a 35.4 to 29.30.
With the budget deficit Louisiana faced this year, SG president Zack Faircloth thought lawmakers handled the budget situation the best way they could.
“Well, higher ed is fully funded,” Faircloth said. “We’re excited about that. We like to think the report card had a lot to do with that. We wish TOPS would’ve been funded. Hopefully we can make this is just a temporary fix for a long term budget solution.”
According to a press release, the Louisiana Senate earned a 2.81 grade point average, while the House finished with a 2.05 GPA. Overall, 57 percent of the state Senate Democrats received A’s and 69 percent House Representatives were graded “A’s.”
The legislator’s grade point average was calculated using LSU’s plus/minus grading scale.
Republican lawmakers received lower scores than Democrats overall. Only 32 percent of Senate Republicans received “A’s” as opposed to 57 percent of Democrats.
Sixty-nine percent of House Democrats received an “A”, while 52 percent of Republicans were given “F” grades.
Sen. Blade Morish, R-Jefferson Parish, earned 103.4 total grade, which was the highest among the Senate, while Rep. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, had the highest score in the House with a score of 108.10.
Sen. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, and Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, had the lowest grades, with a score of 51.7 and 20.2, respectively.
With the release of the report card, Faircloth said he thinks lawmakers will be receptive of the report.
“I think they’re going to be receptive,” Faircloth said. “I think they were receptive last year as well, that’s why we voted to fully fund higher education two years in a row, when it looked like we weren’t. We hope that we can work with them again next year.”