The ¶¶Ņõh Legislature could gain authority over which state employees get after lawmakers approved a proposed constitutional amendment this week ā but voters will have the final say during an April election.
Louisianās civil service system is meant to limit political patronage and retaliation and gives public-sector employees protection against being fired.
But some argue those safeguards have created a sluggish, unresponsive bureaucracy that doesnāt do a good enough job serving the public.
One of those is Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, who this year prevailed in passing Senate Bill 8. Last year, he sponsored a similar measure that fell short by just two votes.
People deserve an efficient government, and the amendment would give lawmakers the flexibility they need to achieve that, Morris said this week.
āOther states have figured out that civil service reform helps the government function better,ā he said. āWe canāt do any civil service reform unless the constitution allows us to.ā
Morris said there arenāt specific departments or positions he wants to change, but rather, itās a matter of having the power to āpick and chooseā moving forward.
Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said Louisianās civil system ādoesnāt necessarily work for every department.ā
Henry said he doesnāt want state government to return to an era when elected officials took office only to fire employees and hire their friends. At the same time, he said, it shouldnāt take so long to let some employees go.
But not everyone sees it that way.
On the House floor, some Republican lawmakers warned against reopening the government workforce to political influence in a state with an infamous history of government corruption.
Rep. Joseph Stagni, R-Kenner, called Senate Bill 8 āharmfulā and āunnecessaryā and argued the creation of merit-based civil service has been among Louisianās greatest reforms.
āThis, instead of being a step forward, will bring us back 75 years, where jobs will be given to people not based on their merit, but based on who they know or how much they gave,ā he argued. āWe shouldnāt be turning back the clock to those times.ā
Rep. Jason DeWitt, R-Alexandria, said state employees who do regulatory or law enforcement work need protection from political pressure ā something he said happens more than people realize.
In an interview after the vote, DeWitt said he worked at the Department of Environmental Quality for three decades, and in the 1990s, his job was threatened over fines he imposed on industry.
DeWitt voted in favor of the bill, but said he asked to be part of future discussions to ensure that state employees who do regulatory work will have protection from that kind of pressure.
The measure garnered the bare minimum number of votes needed to pass the House ā and only after two Democrats joined with Republicans to achieve the 70-vote threshold and a number of Republicans broke ranks to oppose the bill.
The Senate approved the measure on a party-line vote.
How civil service works
The ¶¶Ņõh Constitution sets up a state government workforce thatās divided between āclassifiedā and āunclassifiedā employees. Unless specifically designated as unclassified, state employees are considered classified public servants with civil service protections.
Classified employees ā those meant to be shielded from political pressure ā can only be disciplined or fired for cause, with proper documentation and after a chance to respond or take corrective action. Theyāre also barred from supporting political candidates or parties.
Unclassified employees are considered at-will and can be hired or fired at any time, and they face no restrictions on political activity.
The constitution lists more than a dozen categories of state employees and officials that are unclassified. Among them: elected officials, members of boards and commissions, and staff in the Legislature, governorās office and attorney generalās office.
The State Civil Service Commission, which sets policy for the state workforce and adjudicates employment disputes, can also approve state agency requests for unclassified positions.
Should voters approve the constitutional amendment, the Legislature would be authorized to pass laws to add other employees to the unclassified service.