Click here to view all 2011 election updates.

“We want to lift the top off the Dome so people can see what’s happening,” Quigley said.

His Lobbyist Disclosure Enhancement Act would require lobbyists to report which Member offices they meet with and would do away with the 20 percent threshold, which currently allows advocates who spend less than 20 percent of their time on lobbying to avoid registering as lobbyists. Quigley’s bill would also require lobbyists to register new clients within five days, as opposed to 45 days.

The Congressman said he doesn’t have anything against K Street and just wants more transparency in the process.

“I taught policy and politics for seven years at a university. I told my students, lobbyists are not a bad thing, they’re absolutely vital. Since I’ve been here I believe that even more,” he said. “People have a right to know. I get lobbied by governments, schools, nurses, charities. It’s not all a bad thing.”

Quigley introduced a similar measure last year as part of a larger government transparency package. The Congressman decided to break out the K Street portion this year, and he separately reintroduced the remainder of the legislation, titled the Transparency in Government Act, on Thursday. That bill would create a searchable database on earmarks and would post online information such as Members’ travel reports, gifts and financial information.

Quigley decided to introduce the lobbying bill separately for a strategic reason, he said. “We thought it would be easier to get some consideration on it if it was isolated,” he said. “I think it gives it a better change of passage. The more things in the bill, the more reasons people have to oppose it.”

Lobbyists, for the most part, don’t like the idea of having to disclose the Member offices they meet with. Dave Wenhold, the immediate past president of the American League of Lobbyists and president of the firm Miller Wenhold Capitol Strategies, said that’s a burden that lawmakers should carry.

Wenhold offered a suggestion for lawmakers.

“Let’s have the Members of Congress put down who they’re soliciting from in the lobbying community. I get invitations all the time from Rep. Quigley to go to his fundraisers,” the lobbyist said. “If you’re saying the American people have a right to know … isn’t that your job, not the lobbyist’s job?”

Still, Wenhold said he agrees with some of Quigley’s proposals, such as eliminating the 20 percent rule, within certain parameters. “We agree that loophole needs to be closed,” he said. “But you run the potential of catching the CEO during a fly-in. It needs to be reasonable.”

Quigley said he knows he has an uphill battle and expects resistance not just from K Street but also from his own colleagues.

“Guaranteed — this one’s going to be tougher, but this is a process and sometimes things take a little longer,” the Congressman said. “If I wanted to win all my fights, I would be a Yankee fan. I’m a Cub fan

Click here to read the transcript

For more information on Louisiana lobbying and government relations issues, contact Mapes and Mapes.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Bernie Pinsonat, Southern Media & Opinion Research (225) 405-6797
Ann Edelman, Zehnder Communications (225) 242-9000

New SMOR Voter Survey Shows Dissatisfaction with Legislature,
No Change With Jindal
BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana voters are unhappy with the job state lawmakers are doing, according to the latest survey from Southern Media & Opinion Research Inc.

Developed and conducted by Southern Opinion & Media Research, the survey shows more than half the respondents – nearly 52 percent – said state lawmakers have done a “poor” or “not so good” job in office.

Meanwhile, Gov. Bobby Jindal’s popularity remained unchanged from SMOR’s November poll. In the latest survey, Jindal received an overall positive job rating of 55 percent, the same as the fall, while his negative job rating rose 1 percentage point higher to 44 percent.

“The governor doesn’t appear to be in any danger of missing reelection this fall, especially without any real challenger so far,” said pollster Bernie Pinsonat. “But his approval ratings are the same as the fall and have actually gone down over the course of his term.”

Pinsonat said that while voters had high expectations of Jindal and the Legislature, the latest poll results show that many voters feel those expectations are not being met.

“Legislators have generally followed the governor’s lead on many issues,” Pinsonat said. “But the poll shows that voters’ impressions of where the state is headed overall hasn’t really changed much.”

SMOR developed and conducted the survey that took place April 19-23 using telephone interviews with 600 randomly selected Louisiana voters on both landlines and cell phones. The overall margin of error is 4.0 percentage points at a 95 percent level of confidence.

Among other poll results:

• In another sign of voters’ dissatisfaction with lawmakers, nearly 69 percent of respondents said state tax dollars were not being spent wisely.

• When asked about the cause of Louisiana’s budget crisis, just over 60 percent said it was too much spending. While respondents overwhelmingly opposed raising state income, sales and business taxes, 66 percent favored raising taxes on cigarettes.

• Nearly 60 percent of respondents said legislators acted in their own interest in the most recent effort to redraw congressional districts.

• Despite some complaints that it’s too costly for the state, the TOPS college scholarship program remains popular among Louisiana voters. Nearly 86 percent of respondents said the state should keep its commitment to students who qualify.

• Respondents were generally split on the issue of merging the University of New Orleans and Southern University’s New Orleans campus – 42 percent favored the move compared to 40 percent opposed.

• A year after last year’s massive Gulf Coast oil spill, the poll shows BP remains unpopular in Louisiana. A combined 65 percent of respondents said their overall impression of the company was somewhat or very unfavorable. When asked whether they trusted BP to pay for damages or if the government should hold the company accountable, 75 percent favored government involvement.

This survey was funded by Lane Grigsby in an effort to share the thoughts of the electorate with Louisiana elected officials. Grigsby has committed to underwriting a Louisiana voter survey biannually. For more information and to view the complete survey results, visit www.laplaintalk.com.

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Southern Media & Opinion Research
Spring 2011 Survey Analysis
Jindal’s popularity unchanged from November

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s popularity remained virtually unchanged from the Southern Media & Opinion Research survey conducted in November. He received an overall positive job rating of 55 percent, identical to the November survey. His negative job rating rose 1 percentage point higher to 44 percent.

By comparison, Mike Foster, the state’s last Republican governor before Jindal, was in a much stronger position heading into reelection. In June 1999, Foster enjoyed a positive job-performance rating of 77 percent and a negative rating of 18 percent. At similar points in their gubernatorial tenures, Foster topped Jindal’s popularity by 22 percent.

Jindal’s campaign has been running television ads across the state. According to the survey results, however, the ads did not improve his popularity reelection outlook. Respondents who said they are definitely voting to reelect Jindal fell from 39 percent to 36 percent. These numbers might be considered anemic, but with more than $10 million in campaign contributions and no opponent in sight, Jindal appears cruising to an easy reelection this fall.

When asked to compare Jindal to former governors, 41 percent of respondents said Jindal was better – a rather low number when taking into account Jindal is commonly considered a reform governor. Among white respondents, 53 percent rated him better, while 64 percent of all black respondents said Jindal was not as good.

President Obama’s ratings unchanged

President Obama’s job ratings are divided along racial lines – black respondents gave him high positive ratings, while whites gave him high negative ratings. Overall, 58 percent of respondents gave Obama negative job ratings.

Democrats’ attack of Vitter unsuccessful

Fifty-eight percent of respondents gave Sen. David Vitter a positive job rating. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Republican’s ratings were very high among white voters, his base of support, at 68 percent. During Vitter’s successful reelection bid last fall, Democrats attacked with ads aimed at Vitter’s support among women. The strategy didn’t work, however. Survey results show Vitter performed slightly better with white women than white men, as well as the absence of any so-called gender gap in his support.

Kennedy remains popular

Treasurer John Kennedy remains popular with a positive job rating of 64 percent and a very low “poor” job rating of 6 percent.

Dardenne looks strong heading into fall

Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne had the biggest increase in popularity from 2010. As Lt. Gov.-elect in November 2010, he had a positive job rating of less than 50 percent. The most recent survey shows his positive job rating is 63 percent, with a negative rating of 18 percent. Dardenne is in a very strong position to be reelected this fall.

Caldwell unaffected by party switch

Attorney General Buddy Caldwell’s popularity appears unaffected by his recent switch to the Republican Party. His positive job rating among respondents was 60 percent – unchanged from November when Caldwell was a Democrat.

Strain in position for reelection

Commissioner of Agriculture Mike Strain appears in strong position for reelection this fall. He received a positive job rating from 60 percent of respondents, while 12 percent gave him a negative rating.

Donelon also strong headed to elections

Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon had positive job ratings from 49 percent of respondents. Twenty percent of respondents said they didn’t know enough about him to rate his performance. Barring any controversial insurance issues until the fall elections, Donelon appears in strong position for reelection.

Schedler an unknown commodity

Tom Schedler was elected secretary of state after his former boss, Jay Dardenne, moved on to lieutenant governor. Schedler, however, appears to be an unknown commodity among Louisiana voters. Forty-four percent of survey respondents didn’t know enough about Schedler to rate his job performance.

Schedler is likely to face serious opposition for reelection this fall. Unlike Dardenne, who had a huge base of voters in the Baton Rouge area, Schedler will be forced to devote much of his campaign resources to boosting his name recognition.

Legislature not seen as progressive

When asked to rate the performance of Louisiana lawmakers, a modest 14 percent of respondents said the current group was doing a better job than previous legislatures, while 60 percent said the current legislature is about the same as predecessors. Twenty-three percent said the current legislature was not as good as preceding groups.

When asked about progress on public education, roads, public health care, job opportunities, higher education and management of state government – most respondents gave negative ratings. Eighty-six percent said they would not vote to reelect legislators who approve a pay raise.

About 60 percent of respondents thought legislators acted in their own best interest during the recent special session on congressional redistricting, while 24 percent said lawmakers voted in the best interest of their constituents.

In short, the latest survey shows that while respondents don’t consider the current Legislature as the worst, they also don’t consider the current group as anything special, so far.

TOPS program remains popular

The TOPS college scholarship program remains very popular. When asked whether the state should continue its commitment to high school graduates who qualify, 86 percent of respondents said yes compared to 12 percent who said say no. Also, 75 percent of respondents did not favor placing limits on state money spent on TOPS compared to 21 percent in favor. Regardless of age, race or gender, TOPS is a very popular government program.

Respondents do not see progress on several issues

A Lot Some A Little None DNK/WS
Public education K-12 9 25 29 31 6
Highways and roads 11 29 31 27 1
Public health care 6 21 32 35 5
Job opportunities 9 30 30 30 2
Higher ed 7 22 30 37 4
Management of state government 10 28 32 27 3

The Legislature need look no further in the current survey for answers to why voters believe lawmakers don’t deserve a pay raise or that the current group is no better than past legislatures. None (no progress) was chosen by one third of all respondents, while less than 10 percent said lots of progress has been made.

Respondents saw little or no progress in key area that state government (the Legislature) oversees. Would Jindal’s popularity be in the mid fifties if most respondents thought lots of progress was made in the areas listed above?

Spending our tax dollars

About 69 percent of respondents said they do not believe their tax dollars are being spent wisely. Sixty percent of all respondents said the current financial crisis was caused by too much spending.

Increasing taxes to balance the budget

Respondents were strongly opposed to increasing state income, sales and business taxes. However, increasing cigarette taxes to balance the state budget was favored by 66 percent. Taxing cigarettes to fund government spending is popular.

Democrats switching to Republican Party

When asked about politicians who have recently switched party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, 39 percent of respondents said it was because of political opportunism. Eighteen percent said it was because of Democrats’ negative image.

Pay-raise vote could be key in legislative reelection bids

Eighty-six percent of respondents said they were less likely to vote for state legislators who supported giving themselves a pay raise.

Legislative remap special session

When asked about the recent special legislative session on congressional redistricting, 60 percent of respondents said lawmakers acted in their own best interest, while 24 percent thought lawmakers acted in the best interest of their constituents.

Respondents were generally split when asked if the job of redistricting should be taken away from the Legislature and given to an independent commission. About 46 percent favored an independent commission, while 42 percent wanted the Legislature to keep control. The results suggest lots of voters don’t believe commissions are independent.

UNO-SUNO merger legislation

The controversial proposal to merge the University of New Orleans with Southern University’s New Orleans campus was virtually a dead heat in the survey. Forty-two percent of respondents were in favor compared to 40 percent opposed. Among white respondents, 51 percent were in favor and 28 percent opposed, compared to 70 percent of blacks opposed.

New nuclear-power plants in Louisiana

Asked about new nuclear-power plant construction in Louisiana, 43 percent of respondents were in favor compared to 49 percent opposed. Much of the opposition came from women – 60 percent said they did not favor any new nuclear plants compared to 60 percent of men favoring new nuclear plants.

One-year anniversary of BP oil spill

Nearly two thirds of respondents – 65 percent – had an unfavorable opinion of BP. Three fourths of all respondents said they didn’t trust the company to do the right thing when it comes to paying for damages and lost wages. Most wanted the government to hold BP accountable. BP’s ad campaign after the spill didn’t help the company’s image or lead many voters to believe BP can be trusted.

Trust and confidence in Louisiana elected officials

Only 8 percent of respondents said they have “a lot” trust and confidence in state public officials to do the right thing. Forty-three percent have “some” trust and confidence in public officials in Louisiana to do the right thing. Thirty-four percent had “a little confidence” and 15 percent had no confidence in officials to do the right thing.

When voters were asked if all, most, some or a few public officials in Louisiana are corrupt, 4 percent thought all public officials were corrupt. Thirteen percent thought most were corrupt and 55 percent thought some were corrupt, while 25 percent thought only a few were corrupt.

With the number of ongoing federal investigations and prosecutions of Louisiana public officials these numbers should not come as a surprise.

During that time, we have had many political circumstances that we have bills that we fought, bills that we presented and Mapes and Mapes has represented us for the entire 33 years that I have served on that committee.

Joe Mapes’ father preceded him and was one of the finest men I ever knew. In my life he taught me the world about the business and Joe and Sandy [Mapes] have continued for the last several years since Bud [Mapes] passed away representing us and doing a very very good job for us in the Louisiana Legislature.

Joe has also assisted us on trips to Washington DC and has worked with our national congressman and our senators in the telling the story that we need to make sure that our industry stays alive and is healthy and he has been a great assistance to us in that business.

— Mr. Lester Dees, Legislative Committee Member
Louisiana Finance Association

Watch the video below:

We work on different issues that affect farmers and ranchers all across Louisiana. Those issues have to do with a lot of different things, some that you would imagine are directly related to agriculture and some are not. It has to do with transportation issues, water issues a lot of tax issues. And so we cover the water front as far as the issues that we deal with. And in more than decades the representation we have received from Mapes & Mapes has been outstanding.

The really, I think that the thing is most important in having a lobbying firm to work for you and to represent you at the state capital is that they have credibility. That people believe them when they tell you something and that’s really important and that’s what Mapes & Mapes brings to the table.

— Jim Monroe, Assistant to the President and Legislative Director
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation

Watch the video below:

Mapes & Mapes are trusted by Louisiana legislators

A lobbyist is essentially a consultant that has been hired by a corporation or an association and represents a profession or an industry. We are the professional advocates to the governmental process and to the legislative process on behalf of clients we represent.

This means that we go and speak to legislators on behalf of our clients. First we get educated by our clients about their issues, and then we try to articulate what we’ve learned to decision makers and other influential persons, within the legislative process, that affect their business or industry.

Lobbying is becoming more and more identifiable in the particular process of government and politics. And it is trying to gain access to the process that affects you.

As an example, let us say that there is a commerce committee is going to hear legislation that may affect the industry you work in, one way or another. In other words, this committee regulates your issues. So you would hope to get your voice heard on the committee panel, to the chairman, to the members of the committee. One way to do that is you can actually show up as a witness and sit at the table and fill out a card and say that you’d like to speak for or against a piece of legislation.

Another way to do it is to actually hire a lobbying firm. The lobbying firm is attached to that process 365 days a year and has relationships with the people on those commerce committees.

Those legislators trust the lobbyists, and to be effective at all a lobbyist must be trusted. In our case we are fortunate that we are. And as lobbyists we go and speak for our clients and try to get legislators to understand how various issues affect their constituents back home where they vote, work, live and go to school in their district.