LCCB Legislative Report
BY LAURA DEAVERS
Editor, Catholic Commentator (Baton Rouge)
Hearing “There is no money” over and over again at the State Legislature, Danny Loar, Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops (LCCB) executive director, carefully chooses the legislative matters he will lobby for or against during this current legislative session.
The shortage of money for state programs has caused a lot of tension in the capital, said Loar as he talked about the bills the LCCB is following. “So many groups are being hurt: health care, the handicapped, the elderly. These are tough times.”
Loar and Rob Tasman, LCCB associate director, have been meeting in the archdiocese and each of the six Louisiana dioceses with the archbishop, bishops and the legislators that represent those areas to discuss the legislation that is of interest to the LCCB.
• The Foster Grandparent Program provides a stipend of $2.65 per hour to low-income persons 55 and over, who assist children with their schoolwork. This program is funded by the federal government, with states expected to provide an “Action Match” which traditionally is 10 percent of the monies.
Loar said the Action Match has been eliminated from the 2010-11 budget, and retroactively from the current budget. Without the 10 percent match, Louisiana’s 900 foster grandparents will not be able to enhance the lives of nearly 20,000 children in the state.
He noted that the children who have a foster grandparent have increased their school attendance by 58 percent and improved their grades by 87 percent.
• The scholarship program in New Orleans, which has been in effect since 2008, is not being cut, Loar reassured. The governor’s office has placed $8 million in the 2010-2011 budget for this program, which in 2011 will have students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans provided 925 classroom seats for the Scholarship Program in both the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years. Overall, there are 1,119 students enrolled. This number will increase to 1600 students as another grade level is added.
“The Scholarship Program is a very effective lifeline to students and parents trapped in a failing school system,” said Loar. “If funding was eliminated for this program, these students would be forced back into public schools, which would add more expense to the state budget.”
• Immigration is an issue the federal government and many states are grappling with. The Catholic Church believes all immigrants have inherent dignity and worth as human beings, regardless of their immigration status, said Loar.
Immigration laws passed on the state level concerning immigration will likely be pre-empted by federal law based on the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, according to Loar. “The Catholic Church supports comprehensive immigration reform and believes that the proper venue for such reform is at the federal level.”
He added that the Catholic Church believes that an immigration policy, which focuses solely on enforcement, without reforming the immigration system as a whole, would cost the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars and have a devastating impact on vast sectors of the U.S. economy.
• Current law requires that the physician intending to perform an abortion shall, at least 24 hours before the abortion, perform an ultrasound examination of the unborn child. LCCB is supporting a bill that would require the physician to display the ultrasound images so the woman may choose to view or not view the images of the unborn child.
“The ultrasound laws are aimed at fulfilling at least two interests of the state: ensuring that the pregnant woman is fully informed and protecting unborn human life,” said Loar. “Seeing an image of the unborn child highlights both the humanity and the dignity of the child.”
• The Catholic Church believes that restorative justice be pursued when considering criminal law. Restorative justice involves the return to right order affected through the acceptance of responsibility, the assignment of appropriate punishment and the return or restoration of as many as possible to the human community. This is why the LCCB is supporting legislation that provides for juveniles younger than 15, who are found guilty of serious crimes, be given the possibility of parole.
“Children who are most susceptive to being involved in criminal activity are also those same children who come from the worst circumstances.” Loar added that studies have shown the brain of a 15 year old is not fully developed to totally understand consequences of their actions.
Catholic schools in Louisiana educate 17 percent of all students in kindergarten through 12th grade, the highest percentage in the United States. But they receive only 57 percent ($14.3 million) of what it costs ($24.9 million) to collect information in 15 categories required by the State Department of Education.
These schools are requesting what they are legally entitled to receive, noted Loar.
Catholic schools in Louisiana educate 17 percent of all students in kindergarten through 12th grade, the highest percentage in the United States. But they receive only 57 percent ($14.3 million) of what it costs ($24.9 million) to collect information in 15 categories required by the State Department of Education.
These schools are requesting what they are legally entitled to receive, noted Loar.
The population of Louisiana is 31 percent Catholic, but Loar remarked that 51 percent of the legislature is Catholic.
