21 Items Facing Solons as Legislature Begins Special Session Today

              Monday, Nov. 23, 1966 THE SHREVEPORT TIMES
21 Items Facing Solons
As Legislature Begins
Special Session Today
BATON ROUGE (UPD—The Loui-siana
Legislature, under federal
court warning to reapportion or
else, convenes today to deal with
the problem.
Gov. John J. McKeithen sched-uled
a morning news conference
prior to the opening of the session
to explain his 21-item call for the
15-day special session.
The call includes teacher sala-ries,
revisions in the code of
tethics, a bill calling for the
death penalty for armed robbery
and two industrial inducement
bills.
The legislature has been given
until Jan. 1 by a three-judge
federal court to reapportion both
House and Senate o n a strict
population basis.
Failure to do so may mean
at-large elections in which candi-dates
for the legislature would
run at large with the top 144
vote-getters being elected.
Conceivably, populous urban"
areas could elect a huge majority
of the legislature in this situation.
But McKeithen's reapportion-ment
commission has come up
with reapportionment blueprints
it feels will meet the court's
approval.
And McKeithen, strengthened
by an overwhelming vote for the
constitutional amendment permit-ting
him to seek a second term,
is expected to provide stronger
leadership on behalf of reappor-lionment.
He was criticized for
failing to help resolve the prob-lem
in the legislature's regular
session earlier this year, when
several proposals died on the
vine.
Teacher pay may be the
big fireworks producer of the
session. McKeithen will ask the
legislature to appropriate $13.4
million to give teachers the
second half of a pay raise voted
them by the 1964 special session
of the legislature.
The legislature provided only
half the money for the raise and
gave parishes authority to levy
local sales taxes to make up the
difference. Only 22 parishes are
levying the tax.
A clash could develop between
legislators from these parishes
and lawmakers from areas which
have not voted a tax and want
the state to carry the full teacher
pay raise load.
One bill on the special session
agenda would allow parishes
which have the local tax to use
the proceeds for capital construc-tion.
The money is now dedicated
to salaries in most cases.
The call also includes:
—A bill calling for additional
tax relief for industries to give
Louisiana more pulling power in
attracting new industry.
—A measure permitting the
state to back loans to business
firms wishing to move here or
expand existing plants.
—Legislation closing loopholcs|
in the state code of ethics law.
—A measure authorizing the
sale of $10 million in bonds to
finance a branch of the Louisiana
; State University Medical School
in Shreveport.
—A proposal, supported by New
Orleans Dist. Atty. Jim Garrison,
making armed robbery punish-able
by death.