Jim Beam column:Bad bills often surface late
Writing about the Louisiana Legislature the day before it has to adjourn the next day at 6 p.m. is a risky undertaking. Sometimes lawmakers leave controversial bills sitting on the calendar and then pass them at the last minute.
Senate Bill 8, a proposed state constitutional amendment that is designed to make it easier to fire employees protected by the state's civil service system, passed the Senate on May 15 with a 26-11 vote, the exact two-thirds vote needed.
The House vote didn't take place until Monday and it cleared the lower chamber with a 70-28 vote, again with the exact two-thirds vote needed. Southwest Louisiana's 12 Republican senators and representatives voted for the bill.
The Senate has to agree with a House amendment before the bill goes to the governor who is expected to sign it.
Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, sponsored pretty much the same bill in 2024 that came up eight votes short of the 70 House votes needed. What he said last year explained his motive for sponsoring the legislation.
The Louisiana Illuminator on May 29, 2024, reported that Morris 'said his preference would be to do away with civil service entirely, even though his bill stops short of doing so.'
The Illuminator on June 5 reported that Morris' SB 8 was 'trying to change the state constitution to wrestle power away from the Civil Service Commission to eliminate state worker protections and could, according to some critics, allow for the quick firing of thousands of employees for any reason, creating fear that some dismissals could be politically motivated.'
The Morris amendment would give lawmakers the power that currently rests with the Civil Service Commission. It is a seven-member independent review panel that oversees the hiring and firing of 28,000 'classified' state workers. Unclassified workers don't have that protection and can be fired 'at will' for no reason.
Morris said, 'If you believe in democracy or republicanism — (because) we're a republic — then the Legislature should have some ability to alter how our civil service system works. Right now we can't do anything because the constitution prevents it.'
Yes, it does prevent changes because voters approved the civil service system during the administration of the late-Gov. Sam Jones of Lake Charles (1940-44). Charles E. Dunbar Jr. is credited with drafting the 1940 and 1952 civil service basic laws and is considered the 'father' of the system.
The Illuminator said some Democrats have taken issue with the ballot language on Morris' bill. They say it doesn't explicitly mention classified employees and could mislead voters into thinking the amendment doesn't affect those state workers who are currently protected under civil service.
The news report said Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has tried repeatedly to exert authority over the civil service commission. In February, he tried unsuccessfully to revoke civil service classifications from 900 state jobs, mostly positions for engineers and attorneys, shortly after President Donald Trump made a similar move at the federal level. The state Civil Service Commission rejected Landry's request in a 4-2 decision.
Daniel Sullivan, retired CEO with the Louisiana Civil Service League, in a letter to The Advocate said, '…This legislation would allow the entire classified civil service workforce in our state to be politicized…'
Sullivan said 39,000 classified employees would be affected by Morris' legislation. He added that state civil service isn't perfect, but it is one of the most successful reforms in the state's history. He said it had received numerous national awards for the effectiveness of its human resource program.
'Our present system must be retained to ensure the most qualified applicants are hired and promoted, protected from political influence, and the incompetent or nonperforming are removed,' Sullivan said. 'Stop this political ploy before it returns us to the days of Huey Long and the deduct box.'
The deduct box was a system where state employees, particularly those appointed by Long, were required to give 5% to 10% of their salary to Long himself.
The major civil service complaint is that it's too hard to fire classified employees who aren't performing well. However, the Civil Service Commission has the power to make reforms that are necessary.
Voters statewide will decide the fate of Morris' amendment on April 18, 2026. I hope the voters reject the amendment because of what it is — an effort to deny classified workers the job protection they deserve.
Jim Beam, the retired editor of the American Press, has covered people and politics for more than six decades. Contact him at 337-515-8871 or jim.beam.press@gmail.com. Reply Forward
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