Louisiana

Louisiana Republicans
by Reggie Oleus

           Louisiana is located in the south with a population of about 4.3 million people. The capital city is Baton Rouge and it was admitted as a state in 1812. The leading industries as of 1995 were Service Industries, Manufacturing and Retail Trade. The leading agricultural commodities as of 1995 were cotton, sugar cane, rice, and soybeans. The governor is Mike Foster, when he came into office he made some major changes in some of Louisiana’s issues; such as education, employment and other issues that will be mentioned later.
           Political Issues and Accomplishments of Gov. Foster
           When Gov. Foster came into office he decided to put education as one of the first issues on his agenda. Here are some demographics on education before he came into office in 1995. Starting salaries of K-12 teachers were; starting salary $19,406 and the average salary is $26,800. After he came into office he made some big changes with education for example he raised the salary of K-12 students by $5000. He was devoted to giving children access to computers in classrooms. He created a plan to reward schools that improve and restructure schools that do not. He implemented high-stakes testing for 4th and 8th ending social promotion. He also developed a higher standard for what students should be learning at each level. For Post Secondary and higher education he created a program that would encourage qualified students to stay in Louisiana and go to school for free. He also rebuilt college campuses after years of neglect.
           Another one of the major issues that he tackled was welfare reform, job training. He reduced the welfare rolls by 53%. Taking 37,000 people off of welfare. In 1995 dependents totaled 129,000 but that figure included other groups.   Governor Foster created the second largest work-training fund in the nation.   This fund upgraded the skills of over 40,000 thousand people for better jobs.   In reference to economy or Fiscal Conservatism he reduced the state debt by 45%. Moving the state of Louisiana to the number one state in the nation of debt reduction.   He ended the death tax, stating that the government cannot take a child’s inheritance if the child is gone.   He also forced the state departments to operate with standstill budgets and to have fewer employees.
           One more program he started was a workers compensation benefit providing workers who suffer from serious accidents with some compensation.    In reference to fighting crime, he passed a law that allowed law-abiding citizens to carry a concealed weapon to protect themselves.    He mandated that criminals that use guns to commit a crime will have a long jail sentence.    Sending a message that if you do the crime you will do the time.    He insured 40,000 uninsured children with a program by the name of LaChIP.    He reduced spending to the Southern average while increasing services in Medicaid programs by fighting fraud and increasing efficiency.   He created a fully funded program that promoted a fought teen pregnancy.
           Other Minor Issues
           Protecting the Environment: he put prisoners on the highway to pick up litter and increased grass cutting, road side pick up and bridge cleaning. He capped more than 382 abandoned wells in four years versus 70 in the previous four years. He fully funded our coastal restoration program, completing as many projects as possible in four previous years as in the previous eight.
           Bringing Fairness to our legal system: he cut auto insurance rates by 10% through a no pay no play program.. He eliminated strict liability, meaning just because you own it does not mean you are responsible for it. He created a fixed joint and several liabilities to ensure that you are only responsible for your share of damages.
           Good Government: he created a rainy day trust fun, a savings account for the state, depositing 50 million dollars. Banned retirement funds for part-time elected officials. He mandated electronic filing of campaign contributions and posting on the Internet for easier public access. He moved Louisiana from 44th to 17th in the national rankings of states fiscal management.
           Governor Foster tackled some major issues for his campaign and he has made some changes in Louisiana.