Heading into the recent special session on taxation, those who make, track or influence legislative votes knew the big picture outcome would be shaped by one important question: What are the locals going to do?
Using the Capitol’s lexicon, “the locals” refers to mayors, parish presidents, police jury presidents and, to a certain extent, other regional officials.
They’re a powerful bunch.
While state legislators and members of Congress skirt away to the Red Stick or Washington, local officials see their constituents on a daily basis. Whether it’s at the grocery store, corner bar, barbershop, bait shop or church, there’s no escaping conversations about potholes, garbage pickup, tax bills and zoning ordinances.
But with those complaints and grievances comes opportunity. Local officials can deliver on promises immediately in a way constituents will never forget, and they can make hires, award contracts and connect directly to their communities in meaningful ways through grants, resolutions and run-of-the-mill appearances that are close to home.
That’s why when the locals come knocking, everyone in Louisiana’s political class opens the door with a smile. There’s a reason why Tip O’Neill, who served as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives 37 years ago, is remembered for [and is often credited with] saying, “All politics is local.”
The administration of Gov. Jeff Landry knew as much before the recent special session kicked off, which is why its tentacles connected for a tactical outreach effort to capture the attention of local government leaders on a massive scale.
In person and online, on the phone and through intermediaries, Landry and his lieutenants met with at least 760 local officials between mid-September and the end of October, according to event schedules provided by state and local officials.
Most of these calendar dates had a recurring personality: former Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, Landry’s director of intergovernmental relations. Ardoin, who has served on a parish school board and worked as a private lobbyist, was the tip of the spear for many local government officials. Those closely involved with the process point to his organizational and political skills.
Another name attached to those calendar dates was J.T. Hannan, director of the Office of Rural Development. The office has quickly become a sounding board for locals during the governor’s outreach process and continues to evolve under Landry, with the governor putting the office underneath the director of intergovernmental affairs, or Ardoin.
The shift created an “integrated network of regional directors” who work with local officials to connect them with state and federal decision-makers—and they all work in specific policy areas. Rapid response is an early hallmark of the integration.
Two weeks ago, this tactical task force led by Ardoin made at least initial contact with every single parish president, sheriff and school board leader in Louisiana. That’s 192 points of substantive contact in roughly five days.
While degrees of interaction varied, it was a massive local push when taken in context of what transpired prior to the special session.
All of it was done in an effort to address concerns and win support for the governor’s wide-ranging taxation. At the end of the day, however, the locals didn’t exactly buy into the original vision floated by the administration.
But there’s always tomorrow.
Asked if this groundwork with the locals will pay dividends during next year’s fiscal session, Brent Littlefield, Landry’s longtime political adviser, was emphatic in his answer.
“Yes, 1,000 percent,” he said.
How we get from here to there is an entirely different matter. Because the special session proved that locals continue to tip the scales, the authors of the key special session bills made concessions to them, not the other way around.
“I think we’re in a pretty good spot,” says Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson.
Guy Cormier, who leads the Police Jury Association of Louisiana, says his membership was wary of giving up local control on taxation issues, but didn’t want to be an obstacle to cutting income tax rates or providing raises for teachers.
“Most of the stuff we submitted for amendments, [the administration and Legislature] accepted,” Cormier says. “The governor has been very receptive to our concerns.”
That said, the special session still leaves Louisiana with a system in which local governments tax things the state doesn’t, and where some parishes tax items and services that others don’t, and when they do, it may be at differing percentages, which isn’t ideal for businesses.
The future, in contrast, includes a regular fiscal session that convenes April 14, 2025. Littlefield and a hefty handful of other politicos suggest that gathering point will be a friendly arena for the continuation of policy work at the intersection of state control and local autonomy.
House and Governmental Affairs Chair Beau Beaullieu says the locals understand why the administration would like to eliminate local taxes on business inventory and prescription drugs, to name two points of contention. The issues arise in figuring out how to get there, he says.
Then there’s the outreach by the Landry administration, and the local-level support for a different income tax structure. And the promise of another fiscal session in roughly 140 days.
“By hitting the pause button,” Beaullieu says, “we’re going to give the opportunity for everybody to come to the table and set some long-term goals.”
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
