Nobody could have known

 Oh my goodness, can you believe it? I can't believe it. 

Not only does Albright admit tort reform was never about insurance rates, he even predicts that after tort reform's passage, Louisiana will have higher rates next year, moving up from the 2nd highest in the country to the highest. We must hold them accountable. #lagov #lalege

— Real Reform Louisiana (@RealReformLA) August 12, 2020

Wow that is shocking. If only somebody had said something... 

Oh wait nevermind we did say something.  A few times, actually.  But if you notice, each of those times, the editorial board at a certain newspaper seemed to feel differently about it.

What are they even doing there

Your state Insurance commissioner telling us what kind of discrimination is fair and whatnot

For all those who asked yesterday, here's the video of Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon saying "Gender discrimination is fair discrimination." #lagov #lalege pic.twitter.com/GliCLaUxYz

— Eric Holl (@FrederickHoll) May 13, 2020

Donelon was there to testify on behalf of this ridiculous "tort reform" bill intended to shield insurance companies from liability. Republicans have insisted that, despite the raging pandemic and deepening economic depression, this issue is actually the number one priority of the 2020 legislative session. The law, they say, is just not fair to their constituents... by which they mean the insurance companies ripping you off.

Supporters say the way Louisiana courts handle cases seeking recompense for injuries in car wrecks differs from the rest of the country and is the cause for the state having the highest average rates.

“The ways our laws are set up, it’s not a fair system,” said state Rep. Ray Garofalo, R-Chalmette and sponsor of HB9. He said several times that he consulted widely with insurance companies while putting together his bill.

Opponents point out that no data backs up those savings claims. In fact, an empirical look at the proposal found little, if any, impact on rates. The only thing the Omnibus Premium Reduction Act of 2020 is sure to do is to limit injured people’s access to the courts and to lower the damages they could collect if they prevail.

The real shame of the pandemic is that keeping up with the ongoing horror movie we're living in is too much of a distraction from the farce of this session.  The legislators really shouldn't even be here right now.  A more sane and much safer plan would have had them get together (preferably by remote or at least with their dang masks on) to pass the 18 or so constitutionally required bills, including a standstill budget that could be amended later when the economic forecast and prospects for federal aid are more clear.

Instead they are tackling very important matters such as sports betting or banning the use of highly dangerous weapons such as cell phones (but definitely not guns.) And, of course, there is this "tort reform" scheme which, Donelon even admits, isn't likely to do what Repulican legislators claim it will.  The reason it likely won't work is because insurers can ask him to keep it from working.

Both bills also require insurance companies to reduce rates by 10% if their costs go down, unless they can prove to the insurance commissioner that the rate reduction would hurt their business enough to stop selling polices in Louisiana.

While having near identical language in the two bills is probably persuasive in the supporters’ efforts for winning the debate, under the rules, both chambers are going to have to approve a single bill before the legislation heads to the governor’s desk. The session has 19 more days before adjournment.

Donelon acknowledged that he could not be sure that the companies will actually reduce rates by a specific amount.

Landry pointed to language in the bill which said that insurance companies can ask the insurance commissioner to not lower rates by 10%. Donelon said he would insist on the 10% reduction unless doing so threatened an insurance company’s insolvency.

And we already know from the video above that Donelon has a good grip on what kinds of practices keep insurance companies solvent. So he knows what he is doing. 

Also tort reform is, once again, becoming a major Republican priority in state housed across the country right now.  Here's an excellent recent episode of Citations Needed that looks at the history and politics of efforts like this to deny legal rights to victims of all sorts of corporate crimes.

And a plague descends upon Louisiana

No no, as of this morning, there are no reports of coronovirus cases in the state yet. This means we still don't have to cancel Jazzfest which may or may not be good news depending on how many Airbnbs you own. [UPDATE: Well halfway through typing this up I see that we have one now so ignore this joke]  Instead, today's top reason for existential dread is occasioned by the convening of the 2020 Louisiana Legislative Regular Session. May God have mercy on our souls.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana Legislature packed with dozens of new members starts its first lawmaking session of the term Monday, with a grab bag of topics for debate and none of the budget woes that preoccupied the last term.

Lawmakers will consider whether to legalize sports betting and recreational marijuana, whether to do away with Louisiana’s use of the death penalty or change the means of execution, how to spend a multimillion-dollar surplus and what approach they’ll try to combat high car insurance rates.

And they’ll do it without the financial gaps that became the primary focus of lawmakers and governors for a decade, after a tax deal brokered by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards and the majority-Republican Legislature last term stabilized the budget picture.

*Record scratch*

Whoa hold up a sec there with all that surplus talk.  Have you seen the oil prices, lately? This isn't supposed to be a fiscal year but we could be digging deep into the budget anyway depending on how bad the panic gets. What to do, what to do?  Would you guess, make sure we hand out bigger corporate tax breaks with less local oversight?  If so then you do know this legislature pretty well already.

The preliminary media analysis of this session talk a lot about a new spirit of "cooperation."  The Governor has been reelected so Republicans won't be trying to undermine his agenda just for the sake of it.  The presumably more "moderate" candidate was elected Speaker. And, prior to the virus induced economic panic, the budget fight wasn't expected to be quite so intense.  But this is still the most right wing legislature elected in decades. And the Senate, which had been a moderating force in recent years, is now more firmly in Republican hands. So expect plenty of bad things on the agenda even if the struggle over each item is less dramatic.

The Governor seems resigned to this, in fact, surrendering on a few potential flash points in advance.  He's already reversed his own policy with regard to the industrial tax exemption. And had declined to seek a teacher pay raise before being goaded back into it by what was thought to be one of his most valued constituencies. He's more likely to dig in a little bit in the coming fight over "tort reform" which is likely to be the toughest fight of the session.  See this latest article in an ongoing Bayou Brief series for a preview of that.

Again, it's an extremely conservative legislature so be on the lookout for nuttiness. There's a bill in there to ban transgender high school students from sports teams, for example.  With the virus on everyone's minds, you would think this bill by Mandie Landry to help people vote by mail would be a good idea this year, but something tells me that's going to hit a wall in this House.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Hilferty wants to impose mandatory minimum jail sentences for car burglaries. We would have thought that retrograde approach to criminal justice was long since discredited. But, since the guy who wrote the 1994 mass incarceration bill is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, all that stuff is back in style.

Anyway, ready or not, the #LAlege is back.  Better make sure we've stocked enough disinfectant. They can be a nasty strain.