Mr. Mills goes to Baton Rouge

Ken Grissom

Baton Rouge — In his first week on the job, state Rep. Fred Mills of Breaux Bridge has emerged a leader in the fight to polish Louisiana’s tarnished image.

The Legislature is in special session considering a package of laws supported by Gov. Bobby Jindal and others which some say will make public servants and those who seek to influence them more accountable to the public. Others caution that public servants could be discouraged and literally shackled by legislation gone awry.

Mills, a former parish councilman and a pharmacist who has served on state boards in the past, authored a bill to require the same level of financial disclosure for appointees to state boards and commissions as would be required of officeholders under the governor’s package.

When the bill failed, by an 8-8 vote, to make it out of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, Mills offered it as an amendment to House Bill 1, the main instrument for financial disclosure reform.

“I pitched my case Friday,” Mills told the Teche News. “After about a 15 minute debate it was moved favorable with no objections. That amendment was tacked onto House Bill 1.

“I was really excited,” Mills said.

That bill, which passed the House Friday and was scheduled for debate in the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee Tuesday, would have statewide officials report income, business interests, transactions and liabilities.

“My whole premise was that if you serve on a state board or commission, you regulate people’s licenses, their permits, you basically can award contracts, and the power of that is really important,” said Mills.

“I’ll just pick on the Board of Dentistry. Let’s say there are seven on the board, all dentists. It makes more sense to know the financial disclosure of all of the dentists on that board versus my constable in St. Martin Parish.”

Mills said he believes his colleagues are earnest about reforming the way the government does business, and that many have genuine concerns about discouraging qualified people from running for office or unduly penalizing innocent mistakes in reporting.

Mills authored two other pieces of legislation:

•House Bill 7 would require financial disclosure of persons testifying before legislative panels. That measure in still in committee.

•House Concurrent Resolution 3 expresses condolences upon the death of Medal of Honor recipient Jefferson J. DeBlanc of St. Martinville last November. The measure easily passed both houses of the Legislature.