Jeremy Alford and David Jacobs: The first-term Capitol blues

“It was a very surprising moment,” reflected Rep. Annie Spell, “and a little surreal.”
One tends to remember the moment they become the newest member of the Louisiana House of Representatives.
For Spell, it happened as she was walking into her home.
That’s when Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court Louis Perret called to say congrats. It was just after 4:30 p.m. on March 14, the conclusion of qualifying, and no one else had signed up to run in House District 45. 
There was a small surprise victory party, a few glasses of champagne and a fried fish po-boy, since it was still Lent.
But eventually, and suddenly, it was time to govern.
Having skipped the whole campaign part of elected office, Spell didn’t get to engage in many policy conversations with local stakeholders. Instead, she’s having those conversations now — while she’s simultaneously figuring out which elevators in the Capitol to use and how a regular session operates. 
Rep. Tehmi Chassion, a fellow first-termer from Lafayette, believes he may have a solution to not only the learning curve Spell faces, but also the ever-expanding crops of freshman classes in the House, where term limits have accelerated the rate of turnover.
Chassion thinks establishing a Freshman Caucus, as he is proposing in HR 2, could provide formal support to a chamber in need.
While most senators graduate to the upper chamber after spending time in the lower chamber, the House is consistently saddled with true freshmen and the steepest learning curve in the Capitol.
There are 36 representatives in the first-term, freshman class, accounting for 34 percent of total House membership.
The clique is overwhelming GOP, outweighing Dems 28-8.
That said, Chassion, a Democrat, could create an opportunity for his own party to have a seat at the legislative table if the proposed caucus can somehow bring both sides together in a meaningful way.
Freshman GOP representatives have so far been rowing in the same direction, meaning they don’t necessarily need the help of Democrats.
On the House floor on Monday, however, those same GOP reps are unlikely to remain in the same ranks when it comes to voting on the session’s centerpiece tort reform/insurance bills that pit the trial bar against business and industry.
So some goodwill and unification may be required after all. Chassion doesn’t think the new caucus would need money or a staff, just an empty room for meetings where they can share tips and intel.
And while he doesn’t suggest that freshmen would start voting as a block, he does envision the potential for cross-party collaboration. 
Several freshmen have been highly visible in what so far has been the session’s headline issue, carrying key bills in Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple’s reform package.
That includes (but is not limited to) Rep. Brian Glorioso’s HB 34, calling for “transparency” in medical bills, and Rep. Michael Melerine’s HB 450, which deals with the Housely presumption; both were scheduled for floor debate today.  
House Speaker Pro Tem Mike Johnson is only in his second term, so he remembers his first term well. 
“I think they took advantage of me when I was a freshman,” he said, which led to him carrying some “dogs.”
“They gave me a bunch of bills that nobody else would take, and I was just so excited to have anybody ask me to carry things,” he said. 
Asked for an assessment of his freshman class, he notes that while some are basically the same age as his children, others are older and more experienced.
Many were elected specifically to address the cost of insurance, which adds some momentum to the effort to move that needle. 
He also notes that the class seems to have fewer attorneys than one might expect. 
“They are carrying a lot of important bills, and they’re doing it with information and conviction,” Johnson said. “That’s a dangerous combination if you’re opposed to them, because they’re prepared.” 
He doesn’t really think of them as freshmen, he said, noting that they had four sessions last year. 
“They don’t show much fear,” he added. “They’re not shy.”
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