[StBernard] Even After Stelly Repeal Middle Class Still Challenged

[Westley Annis]

EVEN AFTER STELLY REPEAL MIDDLE CLASS STILL CHALLENGED


The passage of the Stelly tax repealed one of the most ill conceived and ill
received legislation that consumers have had to bear in recent years.  

The bill, HB 87 by Sen. Shaw, will revert tax rates back to there 2002
levels starting on January 1, 2009. The repeal of the Stelly could incur an
income-tax break worth up to $1,000 a year for married couples and will lead
to an overall $300 million tax reduction state-wide. It has been approved by
both the House and Senate and awaits Gov. Jindal's signature.

Hopefully, the tax relief will help consumers challenged by record fuel and
food prices.





FUEL PRICES

According to a recent article, the high price of gas has many components
which include: 

1) The price of crude which has surged from  $45 per barrel in 2004 to more
than $135 per barrel this past week.  Crude oil accounts for 70% of the cost
of gasoline. 

2) The other factors are a complex mix of turning oil into gasoline, taxes,
marketing costs and even the practices of local gas stations.

One of the aggravating factors in the rise of crude oil prices is the
falling dollar.  Oil is priced in U.S. dollars and the weaker that the
dollar gets the more attractive that oil demand contracts become.

Unless there is strenghthening of the federal dollar or a comprehensive
energy policy, unfortunately higher oil prices will be with us for some time
suggesting that we are going to need to change our practices.





CARPOOLING

Just as I remember carpooling as a child to school, many of my friends in
the legislature carpool to Baton Rouge to save costs.  I am preparing a new
site that I will unveil in the near future which would assist carpoolers and
commuters.






Institute for Legal Reform 


Institute for Legal Reform has rated Louisiana's legal system at the bottom
and as Chairman of the Civil Law Committee we have taken some steps to help
reform Louisiana's system although much more can be done:

Lawsuit Climate 2008: Ranking the States 

LOUISIANA FAST FACTS 

. Louisiana ranked 49th in Lawsuit Climate 2008: Ranking the States, an
annual assessment of state liability systems conducted by Harris
Interactive, a leading nonpartisan market research firm, for the U.S.
Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. 

. New Orleans was ranked the 9th least fair and reasonable jurisdiction in
the nation. 

. Louisiana ranked in the bottom three states in all twelve categories rated
by respondents and is rated 50th-dead last-in four categories: the treatment
of scientific and technical evidence; timeliness of summary judgment or
dismissal; discovery; and judges' competence. 

. The Louisiana Supreme Court has created, seemingly out of thin air, a
whole new category of damages for loss of enjoyment of life-called "hedonic
damages"-that places the state well outside the mainstream of legal thought
in America, and raises a red flag in the national business community. 

. Unlike Louisiana, many state courts and the federal courts require judges
to make certain juries only hear scientific testimony that is based on real
science, and to ensure that expert evidence is, in fact, coming from an
expert. In places like Louisiana without adequate oversight, judges admit
junk science into evidence in too many product liability and toxic tort
cases, in which causation is often based on complex scientific or technical
issues. 

. Plaintiffs' attorneys are also filing an increasing number of asbestos
lawsuits in Louisiana on behalf of non-resident plaintiffs, lawsuits that
can no longer be brought in places like Texas and Mississippi because of
changing laws or court procedures on those jurisdictions. 

Lawsuit Climate 2008: Ranking the States is the result of an annual
assessment of state liability systems conducted by Harris Interactive, a
leading nonpartisan market research firm. Now in its seventh year, the
report is based on survey of 957 senior litigators at America's largest
employers, and is the preeminent standard by which companies, policymakers
and the media measure the legal environment of states.


Rep. Tim Burns