RSS Feed

The St. Mary Parish Council wants no part of the first proposed settlement in lawsuits against energy companies over damage their operations caused to the Louisiana coast.

The council on Wednesday refused to sign on to a $100 million settlement deal involving the state government, coastal parishes and companies affiliated with Freeport McMoRan.

Dozens of lawsuits allege that by digging canals and performing other work, oil and gas companies damaged coastal Louisiana and violated state and federal laws, even though the work was carried out under federal permits.
The Center Square reported in March that the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office negotiated the settlement with Freeport McMoRan Oil and Gas and affiliated companies. Under the deal, the companies would pay about $24 million into a fund for coastal restoration projects over 20 years.

Freeport McMoRan would receive environmental credits that could be used to pay off its remaining $76 million obligation.

But all 12 coastal parishes that would be parties to the settlement must enter memorandums of understanding with the state and the other parishes.

The Legislature must approve the settlement structure, and attempts to do that have failed twice. The Lafourche Parish Council has twice voted against entering a memorandum of understanding. Gov. John Bel Edwards stepped in to authorize the memorandum on Lafourche’s behalf.

At Wednesday’s meeting, 16th Judicial District Attorney Bo Duhé told the council that the settlement gives district attorneys the power to enter the memorandums on their own. But he went to the councils to ask them what he should do.

“At the end of the day, I’m looking to you for guidance ...,” Duhé said. “You’re elected to represent the people and do the people’s work.”

Marc Ehrhardt, executive director of the pro-energy-industry Grow Louisiana Coalition, asked the council to vote down the resolution authorizing Duhé to negotiate the memorandum for St. Mary.

The coalition has said the industry, which it says employs 10,000 people across the Bayou region and has invested hundreds of millions, would be hurt by the lawsuits.

The settlement is “a bad idea for St. Mary Parish,” Ehrhardt said. “It’s a bad idea for Louisiana.”

Council members were clearly inclined toward the coalition’s position against the memorandum. But Councilmen Scott Ramsey of Bayou Vista and Patrick Hebert of Berwick objected to a coalition Facebook post that they said accused the parish government and Duhé of conducting a “backdoor meeting” on the issue.

Council Chair Dr. Kristi Prejeant Rink of Centerville acknowledged that representatives of the three parishes in the 16th Judicial District met with Duhé, but only to hear about their options.
“
There was nothing backdoor about this,” Rink said.

Duhé said that he personally opposes the lawsuits. But “what do lawyers do?” he said. “They tell you the pros, they tell you the cons, and then ask what do you want to do.”

Ehrhardt said the Facebook post had been removed.

“I apologize,” he said. “We’ll do better.”

The council voted 10-0 against the resolution authorizing Duhé to negotiate the memorandum. The 11th member, Rink, abstained.

The Louisiana House Ways and Means Committee held the first in a series of meetings on Tuesday to discuss the state’s tax structure, with a focus on eliminating the state’s income tax.

Lawmakers during the 2022 legislative session approved House Resolution 178, which authorizes the House Ways and Means Committee to study Louisiana’s tax structure “and to make recommendations concerning eliminating the state tax levied on individual and corporate income and reforming state tax exemptions and credits.”

HR 178 is sponsored by Rep. Richard Nelson, R-Mandeville, who told the committee on Tuesday that “when you look at the state and you look at the trajectory, where we’re going, … the tax structure in Louisiana is one of the fundamental things that’s holding us back.”

“We have an opportunity now to actually build a better mousetrap so we can move the state forward in the future,” he said. “I think eliminating the income tax and completely restructuring how we do business here in Louisiana is probably the most important way we can move this forward.”

Representatives from the Department of Revenue testified on a variety of aspects of the current tax system, as well as the lengthy history of prior attempts to study and reform it.

Rep. Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, questioned how a constitutional amendment to remove the federal income tax deduction on the state side in 2021 has impacted revenues.

“This is the first year that has been done, so we don’t have any type of historical data,” Louisiana Secretary of Revenue Kevin Richard said.

“By the time the session happens, those first returns should be coming in. I don’t know if we’ll have data by the time the session commences, but it is something we’re looking at.”

Luke Morris, the department’s deputy secretary, said officials won’t know whether the tax changes are revenue neutral as hoped until November of next year because of an automatic extension in the law.

“We will not have a good estimate until that time,” he said, adding that some will see tax increases and others tax decreases from the constitutional amendment.

DeVillier also questioned revenues collected from taxes on online sellers.

Since the department started officially collecting sales taxes from remote sellers in July 2020, a commission set up to collect the tax has taken $815 million in state and local taxes. After a 1% collection fee, the state received $384 million and the local portion was $423 million, Morris said.

Nelson questioned whether eliminating exemptions for taxes for a broader base, while lowering the rate, would be preferable to the current system with many exemptions, smaller tax base and higher rate.

Officials noted that Louisiana has the highest combined state and local sales tax in the nation, tied with Tennessee, which does not have an income tax.

Richard told the committee the department is currently studying how a broader sales and use tax, such as in neighboring Texas, could increase revenues, but agreed “if you have a simpler system, then it’s easier to administer a tax.”

“Simpler is always better,” he said.

Lawmakers also questioned revenues from the state’s corporate income tax, which officials said collected $809 million, with $1.46 billion in exemptions.

“We basically exempt twice as much as we collect,” Nelson said.

Deborah Vivian, economist from the Legislative Fiscal Office, also testified at Tuesday’s meeting, where she warned lawmakers about the potential ramifications of making big changes to the tax system.

Vivian highlighted the unknown impact from recent tax changes, a temporary flood of federal money, a volatile inflationary economy, and the unpredictable impact to other areas of the budget for lawmakers to consider.

“When you budget, you step back and you’re looking at the entire general fund, so it matters … what’s happening with everything else, because it’s never static,” she said.

Committee Chairman Rep. Stuart Bishop, R-Lafayette, said the “daunting task” of reviewing Louisiana’s tax structure will continue with a subcommittee chaired by DeVillier that’s expected to meet every other week until the 2023 session convenes on April 10.

Bessie Gath Written, 92, a resident of Bayou L’Ourse, died Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, at her residence.

She is survived by five children, Clement Vining Jr., Glenn Vining Sr., Chrisanna Angelle, Chrstia Colegrove and Georgeanna Sweetser, all of Bayou L’Ourse; 14 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren.

Bessie was preceded in death by her parents, husband, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Visitation will be Monday from 9 a.m. until services at 11 a.m. at Twin City Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Morgan City Cemetery Mausoleum.

Twin City Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

The nation’s top community health center advocate honored Franklin’s own Dr. Gary M Wiltz, M.D., for lifetime achievement, at their 2022 Community Health Institute Expo on Sunday.

The National Association of Community Health Centers, (NACHC), the umbrella advocate of more than 13,000 community health centers nationwide, honored Wiltz, who is the CEO of Teche Action Clinics, based here in Franklin.

“The Bible says it’s better to serve than to be served,” Wiltz said.

“I am very blessed to have had the opportunity of a great organization that has allowed me to do the work of the Lord. I was truly honored and humbled to receive the award. It is validation of my life’s work.”

“And p.s. - I’m not done yet.”

Teche is the state’s first Community Health Center, having opened its doors here in the summer of 1974.

Coincidentally, Wiltz celebrated 40 years of service to Teche Action Clinic on July 12. Under his leadership, the operation has grown to 15 clinics in six
parishes, with a few more in the works.

In St. Mary Parish, the clinic’s main site is in Franklin, and there is another in Morgan City, along with a school based clinic at West St Mary/B. Edward Boudreaux, and at Raintree Elementary.

A native of New Orleans, Wiltz came to Teche Action Clinic in 1982 after graduating from Tulane University School of Medicine, as part of a National Health Service Corps obligation that required service to a medically underserved area.

“This forever changed the trajectory of my life. What was supposed to be three years turned into 40.”

Wiltz was feted in Chicago on Sunday, along with 14 other members of the community health center movement, from across the United States.

He was credited with the ability to: learn from history and from others; to foster intentional, inclusive innovation; to be able to collaborate widely and build relationships; to engage those who are most impacted; to inspire and be inspired by others; to adapt as there is often a no “one size fits all” solution; to measure progress by evaluating data, insights and stories; to educate and disseminate for broad impact.

Leroy Willis, president of the Teche Action Board, said the local health leaders could not be more proud of Wiltz.

“Dr Wiltz’s dedication to the field of medicine is an incredible lifetime achievement, one that the Teche Board of Directors is very proud of,” Willis said.

“Frankly, we’re proud of his accomplishments locally, statewide and nationally, as well as other interests that he encounters.”
Wiltz also served NACHC as their chair-elect, chairman and immediate past chairman. To thank him for his service from 2013 to 2015, the organization feted him with a twice life size bronze bust of Senator Ted Kennedy, commissioned by sculptor Michael Alfano of Massachusetts.

“The good folks at NACHC knew of my love for the Kennedys especially Ted, who was the champion fighter for health care.”

He said one of his favorite Kennedy quotes is, “For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”

But in 2018, NACHC officials honored Wiltz with its 2018 John Gilbert Award, which recognizes people who have demonstrated a high level of excellence in the community health care field.

The Daughters of Charity Health Services also honored Wiltz in 2018, with their 2018 Inspired Cross Award.

“He has worked tirelessly to provide the highest quality of care to all Louisianians, regardless of their ability to pay, and his commitment is laudable,” said Michael G. Griffin, president and CEO of Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans.

Wiltz also recently ended a stint as a member of the Board of Trustees of A.T. Still University of Osteopathic Medicine, in Mesa, Arizona, where he also served as president of the board.

The school sends interns to Teche Action Clinic each semester to gain on-the-job training.