Legislators to Unveil Plans at Chamber EBR

Rep. Brett Geymann  And His Band of  Conservative Reps. Are Demanding Cuts in Spending

BATON ROUGE — The Fiscal Hawks are coming to Baton Rouge next Tuesday, and they are likely to stir up controversy.

Six members of the band of fiscally-conservative lawmakers are scheduled to speak at the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of East Baton Rouge at Café Américain.  A reception will be held at 11:30 a.m. and lunch at 12 noon. The meeting is open to business owners, guests, and members of the media.  Lunch is $15.

Led by Rep. Brett Geymann of Lake Char-les, the Fiscal Hawks are members of the Louisiana House of Representatives who believe that state spending is out of control and ought to be better controlled.  They frequently butt heads with Gov. Jindal, whom they feel has not been as fiscally conservative as he should be.

The Fiscal Hawks, who sometimes number 25 or more, depending on the issue, have been among those disciplined by House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, a strong Jindal supporter.  Members of the Fiscal Hawks have been removed from important committee posts when they refused to vote with the governor.

Past governors have often denied projects and patronage to members of the legislature whom the governors considered too independent, but the practice of removing House members from committee posts was relatively unusual in previous administrations.  The Fiscal Hawks are reminiscent of the Conservative Caucus in the state House in the 1970’s.   Although out in the cold during the Edwards years, one of their members, John Hainkel, was elected Speaker in 1980.

Besides Geymann, others who will speak are Reps. Cameron Henry of Metairie, Paul Hollis of Mandeville, Lance Harris of Pineville, John Schroder of Covington, and Valarie Hodges of Central and Watson.

The group will discuss key fiscal issues facing the state and their plans for the state budget.