Editorial Roundup: Louisiana

Recent editorials from Louisiana newspapers:

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Oct. 10

The Advocate on the implications of the Louisiana Legislature's “Police Funding Protection Act":

If there is a theme to the sprawling special session underway this month in Baton Rouge, it is that legislators are hustling to pass bills that solve nonexistent problems.

One such measure is House Bill 38. The Louisiana Police Funding Protection Act would require universities, parishes, and municipalities to notify the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, in writing, of any reductions in law enforcement funding and to appear before the panel if the funding drops by 10% or more.

If the legislative committee, comprised of members of both the House Appropriations and Senate Finance committees, finds that the budget cuts have a “significant and harmful” effect on public safety, then the university or local government would lose money for construction projects and it’s appropriations from sales tax dedications.

The bill seeks to put a damper on the movement to defund police, but it’s mostly a political stunt. Which means it’s likely to pass.

Defunding the police is a terrible idea. The experience of New Orleans, which has been operating under a federal consent decree, underscores the fact that improving policing typically involves spending more money, not less.

Just because demonstrators took to the streets this summer with signs supporting the defunding idea does not mean that Louisiana elected officials have taken up the call, as supporters of HB38 acknowledge. Even Minneapolis ultimately shied away from the idea.

Still, with the coronavirus crimping tax collections, local officials may have to cut budgets for all government services.

On the day HB38 advanced through the House Appropriations Committee, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced a 10% pay cut for all 4,000 workers in her city. Perhaps that constitutes defunding the police, but the mayor is also defunding everything else in city government, including herself.

Whether that’s the right way to cut expenses during an emergency is a matter between the mayor and her voters.

Rep. Dustin Miller, D-Opelousas, pointed that his cash-strapped hometown is having to go even further.

The police budget needs to be reduced by 25%. But the town’s mayor and leaders are working with the police chief to increase the budget as sales tax revenues return.

“To me, that’s good government, working together, instead of bringing them to” appear before the Legislature in Baton Rouge, Miller said.

There was a time when Republicans stood for local control and Democrats favored a strong, central government.

We supported that brand of Republicanism. Where did it go?

Online: https://www.theadvocate.com

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Oct. 8

The Advocate on opening up sporting arenas for voting in the general election:

They’re not playing basketball at the Smoothie King Center right now, since the NBA moved its games to Orlando and the Pelicans missed the playoffs.

And with coronavirus restrictions, the basketball arena isn’t getting much use.

So it makes sense to use the venue for early voting, which is what Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin and the Superdome Commission and the team have agreed to do. Good for them.

More and more voters are choosing to cast their ballots early, and that trend should accelerate with concerns about coronavirus casting a shadow over the Nov. 3 election. Typically, early voting occurs in government buildings, like city halls or courthouses, but those venues can be cramped.

Which is why voters should be heartened about the Smoothie King Center, with its large, open spaces.

Officials had been discussing the use of the arena for months, but the idea got a push from politically active NBA players who want to use their voices, and their venues, to increase voter turnout.

So far, 22 teams are offering their buildings for voting, according to a list kept by the NBA.

The Pelicans announced the move on Twitter with a video featuring Zion Williamson who, at age 20, is a relative newcomer to voting.

“I hear you guys all the time in the Smoothie King Center where it’s loud, but there’s a more important way for your voice to be heard: voting,” Williamson said.

Early voting will run from Oct. 16 to Oct. 27, except on Sundays, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the arena and four other locations in New Orleans. They are open only open to Orleans Parish residents, as each Louisiana parish has its own early voting locations.

But other parishes should follow the example from New Orleans.

Most parishes have a large venue that is available and currently underused. Baton Rouge has the River Center. Lafayette has the Cajundome. Jefferson has the Alario Center.

Republicans and Democrats are currently fighting over what is the best way to hold an election during the worldwide health emergency.

Hopefully, both sides can agree that maximizing in-person voting is a shared goal. And the best way to achieve that is to make people feel safe when they cast their ballots. In Baton Rouge, the city-parish authorities are spreading out early voting in unused courtrooms upstairs in city hall, rather than the registrar of voters’ office downstairs.

We look forward to the day when voting returns to normal and the Smoothie King Center is filled with hollering basketball fans.

But for the time being, it makes sense to put the arena into the service of democracy.

Online: https://www.theadvocate.com