SPECIAL ALERT: Saturday, May 28, 2017, 10:53 a.m.

Constantly under taxation attack, and trying to withstand an unrelenting barrage of awful, corrupt governance, Shreveporters who care simply cannot absorb the damage House Bill 667 will do.

Yes, I know how dramatic that sounds.

Those who read and consider will understand why it is no overstatement.

To all Shreveporters who so often feel we must DO something about what is happening to us, NOW is the time to act, and details of first steps are included here.

The bill, flying almost totally below citizen radar, was passed two days ago by the state House of Representatives, now headed for debate – and/or vote – by state senators.

This new law would totally rewrite the existing one from 2015 which established a “Shreveport Redevelopment and Implementation Authority.”

The rewritten law, if passed by the senate and signed by Governor Edwards, allows the Shreveport mayor to …

… incur debt, levy taxes, and call elections to do so, whenever.

And who is the author of H.B. 667? State Representative Cedric Glover.

Two co-authors of this jaw-dropping power grab are Reps. Barbara Norton and Sam Jenkins.

One of the greatest fears of corruption-hating Shreveporters is that the ex-mayor will retake that office in next year’s elections, after Mayor Ollie Tyler steps aside for him.

The “Reengrossed” version of Glover’s poisonous bill (link below) is 31-pages long, and does not include the words “City Council.” He thereby doubles-down on his loud disgust of any checks and balances of any kind, from any source.

It is thus Glover’s intention to reign … question or challenge be damned.

The existing law ( (LA Rev Stat § 33:4720.301 (2016) came about for our “… The prevention and elimination of slum, blighted, and distressed properties …”, but that limited purpose is lost as Glover grossly expands the Authority’s “… powers and duties.”

In existing law, the Authority’s nine (9)-member Board consists of an appointee from …

… Shreveport Chamber of Commerce,

… Shreveport Bar Association,

… Shreveport Chapter of the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants,

… Community Foundation of North Louisiana,

… Northwest Louisiana Association of REALTORS,

… Home Builders Association of Northwest Louisiana, and

… 3 direct appointments by the Mayor of Shreveport.

In Glover’s rewriting, the Authority shrinks to a five (5)-member Board consisting of …

… 3 direct appointments by the Mayor, and one each from the

… Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, and

… Shreveport-Bossier African American Chamber of Commerce.

Even more staggering is this change, as shown below, in the version senators now consider:

“Proposed law … adds incurring debt, the levy of taxes, and calling an election to the list of matters that require approval of a majority of the total board membership.”

Yes, you read it right: “… incurring debt and the levy of taxes.”

Yes, you read it right: Glover would need only the approval of his three (3) direct appointees to compel elections.

The legislative session ends on June 8th.

Here is the contact information for our three State Senators Barrow Peacock, Greg Tarver and John Milkovich. Those who are able will want to call any other state senator, the governor, or anyone else who might help us:

http://senate.la.gov/Senators/ParishList.asp?ParishID=9

Here is the bill senators will soon consider:

http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1045251

Here is the existing law:

http://law.justia.com/…/code-revise…/title-33/rs-33-4720.301

2017 Elliott Stonecipher … ALL RIGHTS RESERVED