Legislative & Regulatory Affairs
The 2012 Regular Legislative Session began on Monday, March 12, 2012. At the pre-filing deadline, there were 1589 bills submitted – 976 in the House and 613 in the Senate.
Governor Bobby Jindal begins his second term with great support from the legislature. Republicans enjoy majorities in both chambers and there are 41 new legislators between the House and Senate.
Top issues for the administration this session include education reform and public pension overhauls. The $895 million shortfall in the state budget that begins this summer is sure to draw further cuts from Governor Jindal’s budget. What programs are affected will be a topic of great interest to a number of groups around the state.
The oil and gas industry will be focused on a number of issues as well. The issue that will garner the most attention is the treatment of legacy lawsuits. Also, ultra-deep unitization and changes in indemnity contracts will feature prominently in industry’s efforts at the Capitol. In addition to playing offense on these measures, we will (as usual) be put to the test of defending industry practices and positions on a plethora of bills putting us on the defensive. For example, in addition to our offensive efforts to break the legacy litigation logjam, we will be dealing with 24 measures pre-filed on this issue alone. Most of these bills are efforts by the plaintiff’s trial bar to further tilt the scales of justice their way.
This session will prove to be an interesting one that is extremely fast-paced. The Legislature must adjourn by no later than 6 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012.
2012 Committee Assignments
