Wednesday, February 08 2012
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Senator Jack Donahue Newsletter - A Big Week PDF Print E-mail
Thursday, June 03 2010 - 12:00 am
There are a lot of substantial issues on the legislature's plate this week and the outcome is anything but certain.

First, the oil spill continues with virtually no end in site. I went down to Grand Isle on Saturday to see the cleanup efforts. It seems that the National Guard is working hard to protect the beaches. They were putting barriers in place on the beaches to prevent the flow of oil onto the sand, and BP had crews maintaining the beaches between the barrier and the water's edge. The area looks better than I thought it would look. From the air the immensity of the gulf is apparent and the oil booms look small. The obvious key is to stop the oil flow. Secretary Robert Barham, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, in testimony on Friday painted a pretty grim picture of what is happening to our gulf waters and our environmentally sensitive coastline and marshes.

This week several key issues will be on the floor of the Senate:

  1. Use of the Rainy Day Fund
  2. Increasing the Governor's power to cut cost by allowing him to cut 10% of the dedicated funds in lieu of his present 5%
  3. Allow the Attorney General to hire lawyers on a contingency fee basis instead of paying the attorneys by the hour. Trial lawyers have been pushing for this piece of legislation for years, and the BP oil spill has given them the platform to push from.

I will keep you posted on the debate and outcomes as the weeks go by.

God Bless You,

Jack