Anyone who doubts that Republican Gov. Jeff Landry is the most power hungry governor since the late-Huey P. Long (1928-32) hasn’t been following legislative deliberations on auto insurance reform. Long was famously known as “The Kingfish” because of his autocratic style, and Landry is a carbon copy.

Legislators have approved some excellent bills designed to lower what are among the nation’s highest auto insurance premiums. Unfortunately, Landry has strong-armed lawmakers to pass one bill that might just wipe out the progress from those good measures.

The legislation that is now House Bill 148 was born as HB 576 by Rep. Robby Carter, D-Amite. The legislation would allow the state insurance commissioner to reject rate increases, even if facts show they are justified. Commissioner Tim Temple says the bill will make it harder for insurance companies to raise rates and will discourage other companies from coming to Louisiana.

Landry testified for over 30 minutes in support of the bill before the House Insurance Committee and said if it didn’t pass, he was going to “bring it back again, again and again.” Carter’s bill got out of committee but he apparently didn’t have the votes to pass it in the full House and returned it to the calendar twice.

So Landry came up with a new plan. Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-Slidell, introduced an amendment to HB 148 on the House floor on April 30 that was pretty much the original Carter HB 576. And The Advocate reported that Landry “powered over Republican opponents in the state House” who passed the Glorioso amendment 67-33.

The newspaper said it was significant that only 36 Republicans supported the amendment, while 33 opposed it. All 31 Democrats voted in favor of the amendment. The House then passed the amended bill with a 68-34 vote.

Rep. Paula Davis, R-Baton Rouge, who worked for the insurance department for a decade, said, “We’re sending a message to the industry that we’re an unstable place to do business.”

The Advocate on May 22 said, “Gov. Jeff Landry showed who’s the boss at the State Capitol when  he rammed a car insurance bill through the Senate late Wednesday night over the vehement objections of Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple and business trade groups.” The Senate passed the bill with a 26-9 vote on  May 21.

When the bill got back to the House because of Senate changes, the House voted 76-18 to agree to the changes and sent the bill to the governor, who said it would make it harder for insurance companies to raise rates.

The newspaper said Allstate and State Farm officials met privately with the governor in opposition to a change that would require insurance companies to reveal rate-setting information that has been secret.

The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, which represents 38% of the insurance market in Louisiana, wrote to the governor, saying the added change is so bad it will outweigh any of the measures passed this year and last year that Landry and legislators said would hold down property and car insurance rates.

The Insurance Council of Louisiana in a letter said, “While this bill may come out of good intentions, the likelihood is that it will cause bad outcomes.”

The Advocate said Landry turned aside those objections and signed insurance bills Wednesday. He didn’t invite Rep. Emily Chenevert, R-Gonzales, and a sponsor of one bill, because she voted against HB 148, Landry’s “big, bad bill.” Landry said rates should lower by as much as 10%.

The newspaper said there was no doubt about Landry showing his political muscle during the legislative session to get lawmakers to approve the car insurance measures he wanted. But he did get  some bad feedback on HB 148.

Quin Hillyer, who writes a column for The Advocate, called the new law “downright abominable,” and added, “Voters should consider punishing any legislators who approved it — and do likewise to the governor who shoved it down their throats.”

Legislators have given Landry much of what he has wanted since he took office and that isn’t likely to change. On this questionable auto insurance bill, he had half the Republicans in the Legislature and all of the Democrats on his side.

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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