How did lawmakers do during the sessions this year? It depends on who you ask. The latest scorecard, LSU Student Government’s “Higher Education Report Card,” awarded 34-percent of Louisiana lawmakers A’s, while 26-percent earned F’s .
LSU SGA President Zack Faircloth says the idea came out of something System President F. King Alexander said about fairness.
“Students were being graded every single day in the classroom, but then these legislators were never held accountable, so it clicked,” Faircloth explains. “Why not issue our own report card, grading those legislators to let them know how we feel about their votes?”
Student Government Policy Director Jacques Petit says they started by assigning numerical value to 28 pertinent bills. The larger the fiscal note, the more points per bill.
“We were very much focused on revenue-raising measures that insure the longevity and success of higher education – that, coupled with the funding of TOPS,” Petit tells WRKF.
“We did strictly floor votes. It was the final vote, final passage of the bill. If you voted for a bill, you got a one. If you voted against it, you got a zero.”
Authors of the relevant bills got bonus points, and being absent from a vote got the lawmaker a zero.
“Their main job is to vote,” Petit says, with some heat. “And so, if you’re not fulfilling your job as a legislator, we believe that should negatively affect your overall score.”
Faircloth added, “That was born out of the fact that we, as students, if we’re absent, we don’t get any credit.”
The absences hurt, as Senate Finance chairman Eric LaFleur earned an F because he missed so many votes while trying to finalize agreements on other bills.
The Senate did best, with 41-percent earning A’s. Senate Education chairman Blade Morrish earned the top score.
“He authored several bills, so I’m sure that’s what catapulted him to the top,” Faircloth says of Morrish’s over 100-percent score.
But House Education chair Nancy Landry got an F. Faircloth says he spoke with Landry about her grade.
“We understand a lot of her stances on revenue are pretty set in stone, but at the same time, we would like to see her grade go up in future years.”
The lowest scores were in the House, with 33 lawmakers earning F’s. Of the ten lowest scores, seven are LSU alumni.