By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

LAPLACE – There are nine days left until the the Louisiana State Legislature convenes on April 8, and District 19 Sen. Gary Smith said he expects everything to work out fine despite recent dilemmas.
Smith said the upcoming session will definitely be difficult because of looming issues such as the budget deficit, capital outlay shortage and Gov. Bobby Jindal’s tax reform proposal but hopes he and his fellow legislators can work together to resolve the crises.
“My expectation is that we go in there and hopefully put politics aside and work for the best interest of the state and our independent areas and constituents and come out with a balanced budget that sustains the essential services that the government provides for its citizens while making cuts in areas that hopefully diminish impact to those that will be affected,” said Smith.
Smith said reform is needed regarding how insurance companies deal with citizens recovering from disasters — in particular, how disasters affect insurance payments when it comes to mortgages or loans. Smith said he would be on the lookout for issues related to this while in session.
Smith also plans to push a few issues of his own.
“I have one bill that is going to deal with allowing people to make deductions for disaster recovery efforts for money that they’ve spent on fixing up their homes. I’m also going to push another bill that deals with some health care insurance premium oversight,” said Smith. “It will give a little stability to the ever-increasing price of health insurance.”
Smith explained that no one regulates health insurance companies when they propose a premium increase and suggested they create a checks and balances system, which would provide a little oversight while not limiting the companies’ freedom.
Smith also said he was working on another bill to help protect handicapped students who are forced to take the American College Testing exam.
“Right now, handicapped students who are on the diploma path are forced to take the ACT even though they have no training on the subjects that are tested on the exam, or least not to the depth that they’re tested on the exam,” said Smith. “It’s not fair to the students and parents, and it’s also unfair to the schools that get graded and scored (based on the tests).”
Smith also advocated for the preservation of the Reserve/Edgard ferry. Instead of eliminating it altogether, Smith suggested that the state get the operation expenses in line by determining the appropriate size of boat for the location, appropriate hours and a sufficient rate per crossing.
“There is a need for the ferries. Even though it’s 10 miles away, what happens is because the bridge is, in terms of the states thinking, that close, they don’t put as much emphasis on the ferries,” said Smith. “But we’ve been successful to this point with some pressure from the delegation as well as some creative solutions from President Robottom in making road maintenance swaps.”
The Legislature will convene at noon on Monday, April 8, at 900 N. Third St. in Baton Rouge.
For more information on pre-filed bills, concurrent resolution and future session dates, visit www.legis.la.gov.