Governor’s power over boards restored in legislative proposal

Then state Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, presents a bill on the Louisiana House floor on May 23, 2023. (Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)

A Louisiana House committee added controversial language back to a bill that would give the governor authority to directly select the presiding officer for hundreds of appointed boards. 

On a party-line 9-3 vote Tuesday, the House and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced the new version of Senate Bill 462 by Sen. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs. It includes provisions that had been stripped out by a series of Senate amendments. 

In its current state, the governor would have the power to select the chair for most state boards and commissions, including the five higher education oversight boards and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. 

The bill would not apply to any board or commission that a statewide elected official chairs, such as the State Bond Commission. 

Hodges argued her bill does not give the governor any additional power, but rather moves up the timeline for the governor’s control of a board. Presently, most boards have staggered terms for their members. This design means a governor has to wait sometimes years before he or she has appointed every member of a particular board, which acts as a check on their power. 

Democrats on the committee disagreed with Hodges’ assessment, arguing the bill would make boards — especially the education oversight boards — more political. 

Rep. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, dubbed Hodges’ bill the “King Landry bill,” a reference to former Gov. Huey Long, nicknamed the “Kingfish” for the immense power he exercised over the state. After Long’s tenure, the state eventually passed a series of reforms designed to temper the governor’s authority, though Louisiana’s chief executive still exerts more control over state government than governors in other states. 

The Legislature this year has advanced a series of bills that seek to give the governor more authority. 

In addition to Hodges’ bill, lawmakers are considering a proposal to give the governor more authority over the ethics board, which is currently seeking to discipline Landry. Another would allow the governor to assert more influence over the state Civil Service Commission, and legislation has been approved to take away outside oversight from the publicly-funded Governor’s Mansion. 

Because Hodges’ bill was amended by the House, it will need approval again from the Senate, which already stripped out the added language. It could mean an uphill battle for the revised measure when it returns. 

In an interview after the committee hearing, Hodges said she was not concerned about getting the needed votes in the Senate. Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said he expected the Senate would reject the amendments and instead opt to send it to a conference committee, in which three legislators from each chamber meet behind closed doors to work out a compromise bill. 

The Senate passed a version of her bill that would change the terms of governor-appointed boards not in the Louisiana Constitution to run concurrently with their term, giving the governor immediate control over those positions. 

Language that aimed to limit the governor’s authority only to boards and commissions not in the constitution was designed to protect education-related boards, which is a primary point of contention with Hodges’ bill. 

The original version would have allowed the governor to directly hire university system presidents, which state law defines as officers. 

Hodges’ bill is supported by Gov. Jeff Landry, who has said higher education is the motivating factor behind the bill. 

“This fight is all about universities,” Landry said in an April interview with WAFB-TV. “The people of this state are ready for these universities to start taking some responsibility for putting out students that are graduating with degrees that they can’t even get a job for.” 

Governors already appoint members of the four university and college system boards of supervisors. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), the accrediting body for Louisiana universities, requires that governing boards for its accredited schools are free from undue external influence. 

Critics have raised concerns that giving the governor additional authority over higher education governing boards could put the accreditation of state colleges and universities in jeopardy.

Hodges told committee members the new language had been okayed by SACSCOC but later said she had not been on the call that a Senate staff attorney made to the organization. 

Steven Procopio, president of the good government advocacy group Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, cast doubt on Hodges’ claims. 

“That is not something you can just call up SACS and get an answer for,” Procopio said. “They can probably give you the best answer, but there’s a SACS commission and their representatives that will come and periodically review that accreditation.” 

Janae Johnson, a spokesperson for SACSCOC, said in a statement that the bill’s language would not be a violation of the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation. 

Regardless of the impact to accreditation, several Democrats on the committee raised concerns the bill would increase the politicization of education governing boards — something Hodges did not deny. 

“We need to align policy initiatives on the boards and commissions with the Republican governor that we elected to get the job done,” Hodges said. 

Ryan Roberts, Landry’s director of boards and commissions, pointed to states such as Texas and Florida, which give the governor more authority over higher education than Louisiana does. 

The comparison alarmed some on the committee, as higher education in those states has become increasingly politicized. 

“If it becomes too political and we don’t put the right person in leadership, we’re going to have a problem,” Rep. Ed Larvadain, D-Alexandria, said. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vowed to transform New College, a public university in Sarasota, into a conservative institution. His pledge has led to a loss of faculty, a flurry of First Amendment lawsuits and a board of trustees stacked with DeSantis allies who have rejected tenure recommendations. 

Hodges’ bill will next be discussed by the House of Representatives.

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