The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry each year releases its scorecard, a comprehensive review of legislation that has faced the state in the last year.
In 2019, the scorecard included analysis on how each legislator voted on some of the issues that are most important to the business community as well as the economy. Rather than only examining the 2019 session, however, the 2019 scorecard dissects the progress of the past four years.
The Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch was pleased to see that LABI has continued in its efforts to bring transparency regarding legislation to those who call Louisiana their home.
“LLAW will continue to work collaboratively with LABI and other like-minded organizations to address the crippling impact of lawsuit abuse on Louisiana families and businesses,” Lana Venable, executive director of LLAW, told the Louisiana Record.
LABI went to great lengths to examine how lawsuit abuse impacted the state, she noted.
“As noted in the newly-released LABI Issue Scorecard, this has become a real pocketbook issue for all of us, as the correlation between our high insurance rates and litigious culture is striking a nerve with voters,” Venable said.
According to LABI president Stephen Waguespack, there were some legislative victories in the last session that Louisianans should be pleased about.
“This year, LABI led the way with a proactive effort to enact comprehensive tort reform, seek taxpayer fairness, and improve the economy," he said. "Although opposed by the administration throughout the legislative process, a bill to require simple refunds of unconstitutional state taxes was signed into law by the governor. A major infrastructure funding package is now law that repurposes settlement funds from the Deepwater Horizon litigation, and a statewide ridesharing bill passed after years of defeat in the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
Venable is still pushing for bringing reform to the area of lawsuit abuse, which she said continues to run rampant.
“While measures to improve our legal climate once again fell short during the recent legislative session, an informed and motivated electorate can choose leaders who are determined to change our culture of lawsuit abuse,” Venable said.