“Hello, here we are in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We’re at the Louisiana State Capitol building. This is where the House and the Senate meet once a year for the legislative session. The Governor has offices here; the chairmen of the different committees have offices here, and the senators themselves.

“We’re adjacent on the Capitol grounds here, to the Pentagon barracks across the street. The Pentagon barracks served as Confederate headquarters during the Civil War, and now serve as offices for the Lieutenant Governor’s office, as well as some senators and representatives. It’s right on the banks of the Mississippi River here.

“Now we’re in the Louisiana State House of Representatives, where we have 105 members including the Speaker. Directly behind me, the Speaker presides over this body which makes decisions either on a House bill or a Senate bill depending on its house of origination. Across the way you have the Senate, where there are 39 members over there. So you have a total of 144 legislators, and you’ve got a President of the Senate and a Speaker of the House, and they send instruments up to the Governor for his consideration. The Governor has an office in this building up on the 4th floor. If you’re ever called to the 4th floor, it’s kind of like going to the principal’s office.

“Now we find ourselves on the floor of the Louisiana Senate. A bill will come out of the House, go through a House Committee, the House Floor, Senate Committee, and end up here for final passage. Or, it can originate in the Senate Committee, go second to the Senate Floor, then on to the House Committee and House Floor. So those are the parts of the process.

“This is an interesting chamber. They call it the Upper Chamber. It was attempted to be destroyed in the early ‘70’s by a pipe bomb, which left behind a remnant—a pencil stuck in the ceiling up there which is always one of the favorite parts of the tour for anybody who tours this Capitol.”

— Joe Mapes
President, Mapes & Mapes, Inc.