E.L. “Bubba” Henry, a country lawyer from Jonesboro who directed more to streamline operations of the Louisiana Legislature than perhaps any other lawmaker, has died at 89. Henry was speaker of the House from 1972 to 1980, which was during the first two terms of the late-Gov. Edwin W. Edwards.

Henry won his House seat for the first time in 1968, the first year I covered legislative sessions. Fifty years later, on April 1, 2018, I wrote about my legislative experiences.

Southwest Louisiana legislators told the American Press after their 1968 legislative session that they wanted an end to the confusion and limitations they experienced.

Sen. A.C. Clemons of Jennings, who also represented Calcasieu Parish, said, “During the first three weeks of the session, we met, said a prayer and adjourned. Now, two days before adjournment we have to rush through 300 bills.”

Both Clemons and Sen. Jesse Knowles of Lake Charles said too many bad bills were reaching the full House and Senate. Rep. Harry Hollins of Lake Charles said the Legislature was running the largest business in the state on apple crates.

Committees had no place to meet and secretaries had to look around each day for a place to work. Rep. Conway LeBleu of Cameron said he would introduce a bill at the next session to keep visitors and lobbyists from the House floor.

Rep. William “Bill” McLeod of Lake Charles said the committee system simply wasn’t working. Some wives and children sat with legislators at their House seats and lawmakers ate their lunches during deliberations.

Lobbyists definitely had the free run of the place. The press row was full and I had to sit with the Southwest Louisiana House members.

When the floor rules were changed, I got a tent revival folding chair and had to sit at the end of the press row next to a spittoon, not the most pleasant surroundings.

Henry became a leader of young representatives who began advocating for legislative reforms. McLeod and Rep. Robert G. “Bob” Jones of Lake Charles, the son of former Gov. Sam Jones, were leaders of a group called the “Young Turks.” Turks are defined as insurgents trying to take control of a situation or an organization.

The Advocate in its report on Henry’s death said he and another 10 representatives (the Turks) staged their own mini-revolution at the Capitol by questioning a system where rank-and-file state legislators were expected to rubber-stamp the governor’s plans, no questions asked.

Over the next several years, the newspaper said the Young Turks gained enough political strength to ban lobbyists from the floor, give themselves more time to study budget bills and hire staff to study the fiscal impact of bills. An effective committee system was also eventually established. Henry and successive leaders like Speaker Hunt Downer promoted changes that have helped make the state Legislature one of the most technologically advanced in the country. Great public records and open meetings laws opened legislative deliberations to a wide audience.

In addition to being heavily involved in legislative reform, Henry also served as chairman of the 1973 convention that wrote the current Louisiana constitution.

John Alario of Westwego in Jefferson Parish was first elected to the House in 1971 and was a delegate to the convention. He also served two terms as House speaker (1984-88 and 1992-96) and as Senate president (2012-2020).

Alario told The Advocate, “He (Henry) was a people person and had a good sense of humor, very easy to talk with, very intelligent. He always seemed to have a vision of where we were going and a plan to accomplish what we wanted to do. He helped shepherd the constitution through. There was no handbook on how to handle that.”

The newspaper said Henry acquired his nickname as a boy because his older sister couldn’t pronounce his given names, Edgerton Lewis.

Henry ran for governor in 1979 but finished in fifth place. Four Democrats, including Henry, endorsed Republican Dave Treen, who in 1980 became the first Republican governor since Reconstruction after the Civil War.

Treen named Henry his commissioner of administration to supervise state government on a day-to-day basis. Henry ultimately became a lobbyist for insurance companies and an elder statesman in his later years.

I ran into Henry many times during my legislative years and knowing him has been one of life’s highlights.

Jim Beam, the retired editor of the American Press, has covered people and politics for more than six decades. Contact him at 337-515-8871 or jim.beam.press@gmail.com.

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