Governor-Elect Bobby Jindal Speaks to LABI
BATON ROUGE – Today, Governor-Elect Bobby Jindal spoke to the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry’s (LABI) luncheon, highlighting the importance of making Louisiana the national gold standard for ethics reform in order to clean up the state’s image and increase business investment, economic development and job growth. He also announced that he would call a second special session to work toward removing the taxes which are currently stifling business expansion to make Louisiana a friendlier place to do business. Jindal also said he will ramp up workforce development programs to provide a “day-one guarantee” to businesses, ensuring Louisiana workers are prepared to immediately enter the workforce.
Jindal said his upcoming ethics special session will focus on six major areas of reform: 1) Detailed financial disclosurelaws for statewide elected officials, cabinet officials, and legislators; 2) Enacting strong conflict of interest laws; 3) Shining the light of day on lobbyist activities; 4) Strengthening the enforcement of new and current laws; 5) Bringing transparency to state operations; and 6) Fighting fraud and abuse.
On the importance of detailed financial disclosure laws, Jindal said, “Louisiana currently has an ‘F’ grade in disclosure of public officials and lobbyists and the state is currently ranked the worst in integrity surveys.”
On creating strong laws to address conflicts of interest, Jindal said, “Legislators should not be able to profit from their public position, especially at the expense of their constituents and other businesses in the state. They should not represent clients before state agencies…Simply put, a legislator should not act as a lobbyist in any shape or form…Family members should not lobby any elected official to which they are related.”
Jindal called for increased transparency for lobbyists, saying, “Disclosure on lobbyist registration forms must be more detailed, and include the level, the type of compensation, and the subject matter lobbied. Lobbyist expenditure reports must be more frequent and fully breakdown expenditure totals by category. These filings should be electronic and posted on-line in a searchable database. The frequency of reporting must increase, and criminal penalties should apply for egregious violations.”
Jindal also called for increased education and enforcement of ethics laws. He said, “All state employees will be trained on the laws and will be required to pass a test to show they understand these laws. Criminal charges will be enforced against willful and fraudulent violations.”
He also called for increased transparency of state operations by increasing the Internet-based access to filings, reports and announcements in all executive agencies and departments. Jindal said, “The people of Louisiana deserve access to information about the activities and outcomes of their government, its budget, and operations. Enhanced transparency and a focus on accountability can go a long way to fighting the perception of a government with a poor image.”
Jindal said it is critical for his Administration to fight fraud and abuse from day one by strengthening the authority of the Office of Inspector General, rewarding citizens who seek to stop cases of fraud, and requiring all non-governmental organizations seeking taxpayer dollars to fully explain their mission and detail their spending intentions. Jindal said, “We will expand whistleblower protections so that all state workers can help keep our government ethical. I will call on all Secretaries to put in an anti-fraud program in place for their agencies and we will have a hotline number and website for anonymous reporting.”
Jindal also announced he would call a second special session of the legislature to eliminate the burdensome taxes on businesses and make Louisiana a friendlier place to do business by speeding up of the phase-out of the corporate franchise tax on debt, the state sales tax on manufacturing of machinery and equipment, and the state utility tax on business.
Jindal said, “I want you to know that I have heard you loud and clear. That is why the ‘permanent penny’ will be targeted for extinction this year. We must stop driving away small business, corporate investment, and high-paying jobs. We need to put in place a tax system that is fair to our people and the companies that want to hire them.”
On the importance of improving our workforce environment, Jindal said, “A well trained workforce is critical for several reasons: People not only want jobs, they want high-paying jobs. A better trained workforce will help improve paychecks for hard-working Louisianans; Existing companies need workers that can help them compete in today’s market. A better trained workforce will allow employers to stay in business and prosper; Companies looking to expand or invest in Louisiana need a reliable, existing workforce to draw upon. A better trained workforce will help attract these investments to Louisiana rather than have those jobs go to neighboring states; Our young students need to understand the many job options, courses, and training programs available to them. A better trained workforce begins in our middle schools and high schools; Workforce Development intersects many of the problems and challenges facing the state and society in general, including basic literacy and math skills in our schools, drug use, work ethic, transportation, and child care, among others.” He said, “Other states are improving their workforce training programs. If we fail to do so, economic status quo will not be an option – we will fall behind our neighboring states even further.”
Jindal said, “Government cannot, and should not, work alone to accomplish this goal. They must partner with the business community, our elementary schools and high schools, community and technical schools, and local communities to be as efficient and effective as possible in training our workers. Business has made this a priority. I promise you a ready partner in the Jindal Administration.
“We need better and more detailed communication of businesses’ needs and challenges. We need more involvement in designing and endorsing curricula, programs and certifications that will meet businesses needs. We need businesses to help provide instructors, mentors, equipment and other tools for training, education and certification programs. We need businesses to hire people who complete the programs at acceptable levels.
“My administration will make this a top priority. I have tasked my new secretaries of Labor and Economic Development to take the lead on aggressively working with educators, business and community leaders, worker groups, and others to reform our workforce training efforts beginning this year.”
Jindal said increasing workforce development programs will include seven priorities: 1) Meeting potential workforce participants "where they are", and specifically designing programs that address their fundamental needs or preparation for entry into the workforce; 2) Providing a “day-one guarantee” to businesses that Louisiana’s workers are prepared; 3) Putting in place a “quick-start program” which will provide turnkey workforce solutions for business prospects and help identify areas where we need to improve our core workforce service delivery system; 4) Having a community and technical college system that is attractive to high school graduates, partners effectively with the business community, and can take a critical role in delivering worker training programs that meet the needs of the market; 5) Having strong workforce investment boards that effectively match potential workers with the training programs needed to meet the needs of business; 6) Improving our one-stop centers so that business, workers and training institutions can converge in a single location; and 7) Improving dual-enrollment programs in our high schools and expanding efforts to provide the training needed for graduates to succeed in the workforce.
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