[StBernard] Public, gaming sources of income disclosed

[Westley Annis]

Public, gaming sources of income disclosed
by Bill Barrow, The Times-Picayune 
Tuesday July 22, 2008, 8:47 PM
BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana lawmakers and their spouses took in more than $21.3
million in gross income from government and gambling sources during 2007,
with more than 80 percent tied to two senators and one representative,
according to the latest disclosure reports.

. Click here to see the 20 legislators who reported the most gross income
from government and gambling sources during 2007
http://tinyurl.com/5ggxv6

Forty-four of 142 active legislators -- there is one vacancy in each chamber
-- reported some kind of financial ties to government or gambling on the
last annual disclosure that will be limited to just those sources of income.
Next year, lawmakers will be subject to the more detailed disclosure burden
they adopted at Gov. Bobby Jindal's behest during a February special
session.

Freshman Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Covington, was the top earner in 2007,
reporting just more than $11 million, nearly all of it for construction
contracts awarded by public bid to Donahue Farret Contractors Inc.

Donahue's income, most of it from projects from the Louisiana National Guard
and the Plaquemines Parish School Board, pushed Sen. Joe McPherson,
D-Woodworth, from the top spot he has claimed in several recent years.
McPherson's $3.8 million in state Medicaid provider payments to his Acadian
Oaks Nursing Home is still more than the $2.4 million he reported for 2006.

Another freshman lawmaker, Rep. Bernard LeBas, D-Ville Platte, reported
$2.68 million in Medicaid provider payments to his four pharmacies, putting
him atop the lower chamber's list of filers.

Official salaries

Of the lawmakers disclosing 2007 income, 16 listed their salaries for local
elected offices or appointed government posts that they no longer hold.

The current forms require lawmakers to disclose the gross income, in excess
of $250, that comes from a state agency, a political subdivision of the
state or a gambling interest. Legislative pay is not included.

When public officials file forms for 2008, legislators will have to offer
details about all personal income sources, including those for their
spouses. Lawmakers will disclose their income in numerical ranges and give
information about their other assets, liabilities and service on governing
boards of any incorporated entity.

The existing forms also offer a look at how few legislators have the kind of
business deals that will be phased out under another ethics law change
adopted during the February special session. The Legislature voted to ban
the governor and his top staff, statewide elected officials, legislators,
prison wardens and state department heads from getting most state contracts,
including those that are publicly bid. The legislation includes businesses
in which those officials and their family members have more than a 5 percent
interest.

The law allows current contracts to remain in effect until they expire and
to be renewed through Jan. 9, 2012, the day after the next Legislature is
sworn in. There are exceptions to the ban for medical providers who have
Medicaid agreements with the Department of Health and Hospitals, meaning
lawmakers like McPherson and LeBas will not be affected. Lawmakers and their
spouses with full-time state jobs also will not be affected.

No limits on business

The law does not limit legislators' ability to do business with local
governments. That aspect of the ethics code will protect the income stream
for several lawmakers, such as Sen. Dale Erdey, R-Livingston, whose company
provides insurance to several local governmental entities, and Sen. Danny
Martiny, R-Kenner, a lawyer who represents the office of Jefferson Parish
Sheriff Newell Normand.

The restrictions eventually will keep contractors like Donahue from bidding
on state projects.

Donahue said his firm already has finished its $7 million Louisiana National
Guard project, and he noted that he promised as a candidate -- well before
the ethics special session -- that he would not try to win any more state
work while in office. "So it really doesn't affect us at this point, " he
said.

Nine lawmakers reported income from a full-time government post, and a
handful of them are no longer in those positions. Of those still on the job,
the top wage earners were Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, who reported a
$337,127 salary as a Louisiana State University doctor, and Rep. Nita
Hutter, R-Chalmette, who reported a $91,684 salary as the top fund-raising
executive for Delgado Community College.

Gambling interests figured prominently on a handful of the 2007 disclosures.
Perhaps most noteworthy was Rep. Ernest Wooton, R-Belle Chasse, who
disclosed $16,000 in income from Redman Gaming of Louisiana. Wooton is
chairman of a House committee that considers legislation affecting gaming
operations. Wooton said his consulting work for Redman concluded before he
assumed his new legislative duties in January.

Spouses income disclosed

Fifteen legislators' spouses accounted for at least part of the income
disclosed, with eight reporting full-time employment with a government
entity and one being employed by a gambling interest.

Sen. Ann Duplessis, a New Orleans bank executive, reported that her husband
earned $43,500 working for Churchill Downs Louisiana Horse Racing Co. Lawyer
Ben Mount, who is married to Sen. Willie Mount, D-Lake Charles, collected a
little more than $4,000 in legal fees representing two gaming firms,
including Redman.

The remainder of the spouses had either part-time employment or secured
government contracts, the leader in that category being the wife of Rep.
Hunter Greene, R-Baton Rouge, who listed professional services contracts
with 14 school boards that paid a combined $100,495.

. . . . . . .

Bill Barrow can be reached at bbarrow at timespicayune.com or (225) 342-5590.