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BATON ROUGE — from www.thenewstar.com - Legislation aimed at prohibiting the purchase of sexually explicit materials with public funds died a quiet death in the House as the legislative session drew to a close at 6 p.m.
Franklin Rep. Sam Jones [pictured] dropped his fight and never took his bill to conference committee.
"Lafayette wouldn't give it up," Jones said, referring to an amendment attached by Lafayette Sen. Mike Michot to his bill.
Jones originally explained HB142 as banning the use of public credit cards by state and local officials visiting strip clubs or purchasing pay-per-view movies while traveling.
Michot found that the ban could apply to the Lafayette Utility System's cable TV system since customers can subscribe to services or programs that could fall under the sexually explicit guidelines.
"Lafayette is the only public utility that offers cable service," Michot said. He said singling out Lafayette would put it at an unfair disadvantage against competitors like Cox and AT&T.
The proposal developed by Lafayette lawmakers would have banned the sale or purchase or sexually explicit materials by a public entity, individual or private company.
Michot and Rep. Joel Robideaux of Lafayette were appointed to a conference committee to try to reach a compromise. Michot and other Senate appointees, as well as Robideaux, who was a House delegate to the panel, wanted to make the ban apply to all cable TV providers in Louisiana.
Jones described that proposal as "a poison pill" that even Michot and the others know was unconstitutional.
Since he couldn't get Michot to pull his amendment, he decided to allow the bill to die without action.
Robideaux said that to him, Jones' unwillingness to work on a compromise "tells me it was always about trying to put LUS at a disadvantage. If he would have worked with us, he had every opportunity to have his bill passed and signed."
Lafayette lawmakers were willing to work with him, he said, "even though on the House floor he bashed the whole Lafayette delegation and said we were in favor of pornography."
Robideaux said senators presented Jones with a conference committee report that he and Michot signed, along with conference delegates Sens. Gerald Long of Winfield and Mike Walsworth of West Monroe.
The compromise prohibited the "purchase or sale of materials which contain certain sexually explicit conduct." It also says "a private entity or individual is prohibited from purchasing or selling materials for which records are required to be maintained pursuant to" a federal law that deals with explicit actual or simulated sexual activity in which actors must be 18 or 21, depending upon the type of scenes.
"I'm disappointed he wouldn't sign it," Robideaux said.
Jones said he might try again next year to pass his bill.
