Paycheck Protection Act Has Been Shelved For Now in Louisiana Legislature

Photo source: LABI

Rep. Stuart Bishop (R-Lafayette) has shelved the Paycheck Protection Act for the time being in the Louisiana Legislature.  This will allow the bill to be brought back at a later point in time.  Supporters of the bill continue to grow, with Sen. David Vitter, Louisiana gubernatorial candidate, tweeting out his full support.

The purpose of the bill is to prevent the state government from automatically withholding union dues from the paychecks of government employees. We still have a long way to go before this bill becomes law, but this was an important step as liberal union leaders killed similar legislation in this committee twice before.

There is still time to urge your elected representatives in the Louisiana legislature to support this bill and stop the state from acting in the capacity of a union bill collector.

Paycheck Protection Act To Be Voted on Today in LA House

Today, the Louisiana House of Representatives will vote on HB 418 otherwise known as Paycheck Protection. This bill would put an end the State acting as a bill collector on behalf of the unions. Liberals have stated that this bill serve no purpose, as it cost no money for Louisiana to perform this service. However, they fail to realize that the time and effort it takes to perform these tasks are being funded by taxpayer money. 

Please call or email your State Representative and urge them to vote FOR Paycheck Protection.

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PAYCHECK PROTECTION ACT PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE

The following email release was sent out by the LAGOP Executive Director, Jason Dore, concerning the Paycheck Protection Act, which was passed out of committee: 

On Thursday, eight brave Republican members of the Louisiana House of Representatives voted for the Paycheck Protection Bill and successfully passed this vital legislation out of committee. This legislation, HB 418 by Rep. Stuart Bishop, prevents the state government from automatically withholding union dues from the paychecks of government employees. We still have a long way to go before this bill becomes law, but this was an important step as liberal union leaders killed similar legislation in this committee twice before.

These eight heroes endured hours of angry testimony and threats from liberal extremists. The abuse that they endured was unacceptable. I believe that they deserve to hear some words of appreciation from the good guys, so I have included their names and email addresses below. Please take a few minutes to send them a note of appreciation for standing with Louisiana taxpayers. 

Chris Broadwater - cbroadwater@legis.la.gov
Stuart Bishop - sbishop@legis.la.gov
Lance Harris - lharris@legis.la.gov
Valarie Hodges - vhodges@legis.la.gov
Blake Miguez - miguezb@legis.la.gov
Clay Schexnayder - cschexnayder@legis.la.gov
Alan Seabaugh - aseabaugh@legis.la.gov
Lenar Whitney - lwhitney@legis.la.gov

Thanks for standing with us on this important legislation.

Jason 

 

Photo source: LAGOP

PAYCHECK PROTECTION ACT (HB 418) TO BE HEARD ON THURSDAY

Photo source: Louisiana House

As previously reported here on this blog, the Paycheck Protection Act was introduced in this Louisiana legislative session in response to the state collecting union dues from state employees.  The bill, introduced by Stuart Bishop (R-Lafayette), is scheduled to be heard in committee on the 30th of this month. 

Per Keep Louisiana Working, the bill will do the following:

What is paycheck protection?

Paycheck protection aims end the practice of taxpayer sponsored payroll deductions to support government union political machines. We believe unions should use their own staff and resources to collect dues to further their own political platforms and taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize union political activities. Paycheck protection does not prevent individuals from joining unions, it simply seeks to end the union practice of using taxpayer dollars for their own benefit.

Unions use employee-funded dues to promote their extensive political advocacy efforts, regardless of whether taxpayers support their beliefs. And while dues can’t be given directly to candidates, unions can use the funds to advance positions independent of the individual’s wishes. Unions can utilize direct contact tools in support or opposition to political candidates, lobby legislators, purchase media, and provide events for PACs.

Paycheck protection gives public employees the freedom to choose whether or not they want to contribute to a union and fund their political activities. Louisiana’s government unions have a unique and unfair political privilege that is destructive to taxpayers and an indefensible use of state resources.

This bill deserves the support of all that believe that the state should not be in the collections business.

PAYCHECK PROTECTION, H.B. 418, TO BE HEARD IN COMMITTEE

Photo source: www.paycheckprotectionla.com

On 4/30, H.B. 418 the Paycheck Protection bill being sponsored by Stuart Bishop (R-Lafayette), will be heard in committee in the Louisiana Legislature.  Proponents of this bill say that the state should not be involved in the business of collecting union dues.  As of now, the state does not collect any money for any other organization from the paychecks of Louisiana's state public employees.  This bill would require unions to collect their own dues and not depend on the State of Louisiana.

A recent opinion piece in The Advocate highlights exactly why the state should not be in the collections business.

Americans For Prosperity-Louisiana is pushing for the committee to support this bill and have asked for Louisiana voters to email committee members to support this bill. 

The committee members that will be hearing this bill are as follows:

• Stuart Bishop bishops@legis.la.gov 337-981-7409
• Chris Broadwater broadwaterc@legis.la.gov 985-543-4900
• Kenny Cox coxk@legis.la.gov 855-844-8583
• Mickey Guillory larep041@legis.la.gov 337-457-1094
• Lance Harris harrisl@legis.la.gov 318-767-6095
• Valarie Hodges hodgesv@legis.la.gov 225-791-2199
• Marcus Hunter hunterm@legis.la.gov 318-362-440
• Chuck Kleckley larep036@legis.la.gov 337-475-3016
• Walt Leger legerw@legis.la.gov 504-556-9970
• Blake Miguez miguez@legis.la.gov 337-937-8827
• Vincent Pierre pierrev@legis.la.gov 337-262-2300
• Jerome Richard richardj@legis.la.gov 985-447-0999
• Clay Schexnayder schexnayderc@legis.la.gov 225-473-6016
• Alan Seabaugh seabaugh@legis.la.gov 318-676-7990
• Patricia Smith smithp@legis.la.gov 225-342-7106
• Julie Stokes stokesj@legis.la.gov 504-468-8603
• Lenar Whitney whitneyl@legis.la.gov 985-858-2970
• Alfred Williams williamsa@legis.la.gov 225-382-3243

The citizens of Louisiana should support this bill's passage.