Capitol Access

We’re watching Harvey.  No, not the 1950 movie starring Jimmy Stewart, or even the LSU tiger re-christened Mike VII on Monday. This Harvey is the tropical system that fell apart in the Caribbean this past weekend and is now regenerating in the Gulf of Mexico.

“I think that if an eclipse is a time for change and a time for action, we’re in that place now,” said Maxine Crump, as the solar eclipse dimmed and darkened skies across a broad swath of the United States. The director of the Dialog on Race program addressed the Baton Rouge Press Club ten days after the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, had many examining the apparent eclipse of the nation’s soul.

It’s “Voter Registration Week” in Louisiana, and Secretary of State Tom Schedler is urging everyone possible to participate.

“You can go online and do that in about 3 minutes,” Schedler says, by logging onto sos.la.gov. “It’s not that difficult.”

Now that we’ve established that many state lawmakers suffer from fiscal myopia, are they doing any envisioning – however fuzzy the view – toward Louisiana’s future? Representative Steve Carter, a Baton Rouge Republican, says it’s not the first time he’s been asked that question.

Perhaps lawmakers avoid getting their fiscal myopia checked because they’re waiting for a bonus to pay for the eye exam -- like New Iberia Representative Blake Miguez, who is expecting the oil and gas industry to boom again.

“I want to say a few words to those who actively worked in opposition to raising the gas tax – ever: this nonsense has hurt the state,” Baton Rouge Representative Steve Carter said when withdrawing his gasoline tax bill from consideration this past spring, effectively calling some of his fellow lawmakers shortsighted.

The tax revenue would have helped with the $13-billion backlog of deferred highway and bridge maintenance.

“I see a deficit of just over $1.5-billion, correct? That's the fiscal cliff we keep talking about?” New Orleans Representative Gary Carter asked, as the latest tally of next July's fall off in state revenue was presented to the Joint Budget Committee last week.

Yet despite all the warning signs, some lawmakers don't see the drop as being all that steep.

Having worn glasses since I was six years old, I'm very familiar with myopia, which is also known as nearsightedness. Lately it seems some lawmakers have it, too, when it comes to Louisiana's fiscal issues.

It began one year ago tonight.

“I don’t ever remember going an entire day where it didn’t at least stop raining for a little while,” state climatologist Barry Keim said, wonderingly. “It rained all night long. It rained every minute of the day. We had 32 straight continuous hours of rainfall.”

Hardest hit was the Livingston Parish town of Watson, home to state Representative Valarie Hodges.

“Come July 1, we are all tumbling off the cliff together,” Louisiana Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne warned the Baton Rouge Rotary Club.