Independence Bowl sets sights on stability

[TechAlum05]

Sources tell me it is DOA.

I know there were talks of possibly amending the bill after it was deferred at last week's committee meeting (per Roy Lang on Twitter, I think). The committee meeting will start after the House adjourns in the morning.

[70TECHGRAD]

Just say "NO" to the I-Bowl!!!

[TechAlum05]

Committee discussing the bill right now: http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/av.aspx?roomid=106

Proposed amendment to the bill: http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDo...%20MPC%20Draft

The amendment would change the bill to have an additional 1.5% hotel/motel occupancy tax to help finance the I-Bowl instead of the 2.5% originally proposed.

It sounds like the major hotels & casinos in the area and the local and state hotel associations group are opposed to the bill.

Hotel representative in opposition to the bill: "Should we have a 365-day tax to finance a 2-day event?"

Amendment by Rep. Burrell passed on the bill to make the sunset date of the tax, "June 30, 2033 or December 31st of any year in which a Division I football bowl game is not held in Caddo Parish, whichever occurs first."

(3:15 pm) Rep. Barbara Norton speaks. We have to think about economics, bringing in jobs, moving our community forward.

(3:23 pm) Rep. Norton: Can we defer the bill for one week? How about two weeks?

[TechAlum05]

The I-Bowl house bill has been involuntarily deferred by the House Municipal Committee by an 8-5 vote. Norton's motion wins.

From the Legislature website:

A legislative instrument is involuntarily deferred when so ordered by a vote of a majority of the committee members present and voting, notwithstanding the request of the author or member handling it to report the instrument. An involuntarily deferred instrument may be rescheduled for a committee hearing (after opportunity for hearing all other House instruments requested to be heard) only by the vote of two-thirds of the committee members present and voting. During a session, the indefinite postponement of a bill usually means that the bill is dead for that legislative session. (House Rules 6.9 and 6.10)

I'll have a full recap of the meeting proceedings shortly...

[TechAlum05]

Link to the video of the House Municipal Committee meeting this afternoon: http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Video/W...0502_13_MP.asx

(1:17:50 mark of video) Discussion on HB 179 begins with Rep. Burrell talking about meeting with NWLA legislative delegation and supporters/opponents of the bill

• Meeting about issues of raising taxes to support I-Bowl
• Rep. Burrell (Dean of NWLA delegation) has obligation to get a feel for the direction delegation wants to take with the bill.
• 10 members of the delegation meet (1 absent, 1 opposed the bill).
• Supporters and opponents brought in for the discussion.
• The 10 members agreed to move forward with the bill with three stipulations: Proposed hotel/motel tax in bill decreased from 2.5% to 1.5%; provisions for S-B Sports Commission removed from the bill; public referendum added to the bill instead of getting approval from just the governing bodies.

(1:23:30) Rep. Barbara Norton (village idiot of Shreveport)

• Feels like committee has moved out of the process
• "Axed" the committee to clarify what's going on.
• Why is Rep. Burrell still in his seat in the committee instead of at the table when he is talking about the meeting?
• Committee Chair: The Chair allowed Rep. Burrell to speak from his seat instead of going to the table.

(1:26:16) Amendment #1 read (amendment has the three criteria proposed by the NWLA delegation)
(1:27:20) Amendment #1 re-read upon request by Rep. Barbara Norton
(1:28:40) Amendment #1 passes with no objection.

(1:28:47) Rep. Henry Burns at table with Missy Sellers (Executive Director of I-Bowl Foundation) and Keith Bergeron (ex-Bowl Chair, 2008)

• Rep. Burns championed the bill because I-Bowl meant so much to S-BC all these years. Area has lost all professional sports teams.

(1:30:35) Missy Sellers takes the mic.

• I-Bowl in its 38th year of existence. 49,000 seat stadium. Agreements with SEC and Big XII in 1995 & 1998.
• "We stayed with [SEC and Big XII] until three years ago."
• On ESPN for 22 years; just signed 2-year extension with ESPN until 2019. 3.5 hours of promotion for Shreveport/Bossier City every year.
• "Game replayed over and over the next few months" (I know, I know.)
• We have a letter of support from local hotel owner (5 hotels) and 35 resolutions from local businesses.

(1:34:15) Keith Bergeron on the mic.

• We have a 4-year contract (all contracts for bowl games expire this year)
• At the last conference meetings, we entered a gunfight with a stick. No money, no title sponsor
• "They love us." Lots of feedback from SEC & Big XII. "Fans love it."
• "We had to leave the SEC and Big XII" and go geographically further away.
• We have a title sponsor now.
• Most conferences looking at 6-year contracts this time.
• Advocare's goal: major conferences, higher in bowl pecking order
• We have "tremendous exposure". No other bowls at the same time as I-Bowl (last year, I-Bowl on at 2 PM Friday afternoon on ESPN2. No one else wanted that crappy time slot.)
• AD from University of Texas said everyone talks about experience at I-Bowl

[TechAlum05]

(1:45:21) Rep. Ortego asks questions to Burns/Missy/Keith.

• Ortego: great concern about looting of tourism dollars used for 1-2 day events
• Q: Is the bowl entity public or private? A: 501(3)(c) non-profit
• Q: Is the money subject to state audit? A: We do have to provide an audit to the state and NCAA (Note: Missy Sellers sounded very nervous when she gave this response.)
• Q: Do you have open meetings? A: Board meetings are open to the public.
• Q: Would this levy a tax for 65 days a year? A: I-Bowl has other events. Other bowls run as non-profits.
• Q: Any bowl games relying on tax money? A: Majority of games receive some public money. (?)
• Q: Did you go to the local tourism board for funding? A: The board wanted to be in this bill (strapped for cash). The board was taken out of bill as a compromise. The board came to Rep. Burns to push the bill.
• Q: Why are you doing this through a Statute as opposed to the CVB? A: This was the approach we chose to go.
• Q: Are you putting the tax in the Statutes so the CVB can't change their mind? A: The CVB can contract to give money to events.
• Ortego: Still concerned about a tax enacted for 365 days to get people in hotels for 1-2 days.
• Ortego: If this is a local issue, it should go through the local CVB.

(1:53:11) Rep. Barrow asks "Where are resolutions by councils and mayors? Any information?"

• No debate at the city and parish councils, only discussion
• Shreveport Mayor supports the bill as amended.

(1:57:40) Rep. Jeff Thompson (Bossier City) at the mic.

• Bossier City and Bossier Parish prefers that the Sports Commission be included in the bill.
• We are not happy with the bill is currently worded, but we will work very closely with both sides.

(2:00:00) Rep. Barrow asks: If bill is deferred until next week, would it impede the process? Answer: The committee is not meeting next week.

(2:01:17) Rep. Pugh has lots of problems with the bill. Needs resolutions from tourism board, city councils to entertain this bill...supporters going on hearsay so far. The bill opens up a can of worms in which every municipality will try to duplicate with the bill tries to accomplish. He cannot support the bill due to consequences.

(2:05:45) Rep. Berthelot: We need letters from councils, mayors indicating support of the bill. I'll vote with you to get this out of committee, but there's no guarantee of support in the full House.

(2:11:00) Opposition speeches begin. Executives with Louisiana Casinos Assn., Horseshoe Casino, Boyd Gaming, LA Hotel Lodging Assn., and S-B Hotel-Motel Assn. all oppose the bill.

• "They are making decisions for us without us at the table."
• There would be a lot more support for the idea if the tax funded the Sports Commission instead of just the I-Bowl.
• "These two days [of the I-Bowl] more important than the other 363 days."
• Let this rest for another year, so that the bill can be made better.

(2:19:10) Amendment #2 by Burrell passed (Tax expires if no bowl game is held in Caddo Parish)

(2:27:06) Village idiot Norton returns to the committee

• We need to focus on economics, bringing in jobs.
• Q: Why is it critical that we shouldn't pass the bill? A: (From opponents) We need to get everyone on the same page. "The bill's not ready. The cake's not ready to come out."
• Q: What would bill do to the hotel-motel association if it passes today? A: (From opponents) The tax increase would impede our business. S/BC would be less desirable in general terms to visitors and travelers.
• Q: What type of "cost savings" effect would hotels have? A: (opponent) I don't have that information.

[TechAlum05]

(2:32:25) More questions from Rep. Barbara Norton

• Q: Can we defer the bill to next week? A: (Chairman) We are not meeting next week.
• Q: Are we meeting 2 weeks from today? A: (Chair) Yes.
• Q: Can we defer the bill to 2 weeks from today? A: (Chair) Let me explain this. You would be involuntarily deferring the bill, since you are not the bill's author.
• Norton: "But I want to bring the bill back."
• Q: Would Rep. Burns defer the bill for two weeks? A: (Burns) I'm happy to work on the bill if it passes. Based on the time needed to get the bill through the legislature, a delay would endanger the bill. Burns wants closure.

(2:33:30) (Chair) Norton's motion "would be to involuntary defer it, which would be to kill it.

(2:35:00) Money quote from Rep. Norton: "Well, let me just try to kill it. Let me just try to kill it and go." "Involuntarily defer it and come back next year."

(2:35:30) Burns closes his remarks.

(2:39:26) Substitute motion by Rep. Norton to involuntarily defer (kill) the bill passes by an 8-5 vote.

End.

[JAB]

I just watched that.
Norton is a complete disgrace to all. I don't care what your politics are, she is the worst kind of representative.
I can deal with people that disagree with me all day long. I only ask that people have an educated opinion. I may disagree with it, but have a "sub" to your "stance" and I'll at least respect it. Ignorant people (those that lack the knowledge) should never run our government.
Her ineptness made me want the bill to pass!

[Russdawg]

So is the bill, and tax, dead for this year for sure?

[TechAlum05]

So is the bill, and tax, dead for this year for sure?

It is "likely" dead this year, but not completely dead yet.

The bill could be brought back by the committee if a 2/3 majority of the House Municipal Committee members vote to bring it back for discussion. However, that is a slim possibility at best.

[qng001]

It's stupid to place a tax for reward money that might often go to programs outside of louisiana.

[Russdawg]

It is "likely" dead this year, but not completely dead yet.

The bill could be brought back by the committee if a 2/3 majority of the House Municipal Committee members vote to bring it back for discussion. However, that is a slim possibility at best.

Thanks, please keep us informed. Your info is very much appreciated.

[Elwagonne]

I really like the line saying that last negotiation time they went in with a stick to a gunfight lol. This time, I guess they at least have a baseball bat.

[Dawg06]

The Times: Tax failure puts I-Bowl in tough spot

"Burns and Burrell said that without additional funding, the Independence Bowl might die."

[StrayDawg]

The Times: Tax failure puts I-Bowl in tough spot

"Burns and Burrell said that without additional funding, the Independence Bowl might die."

The Indy Bowl is in desperate need of leadership. With leadership, they can find the funding; Without leadership it will die.

Settling for the 12th selection from what was then a 12-team league tells you all you need to know about the "self-esteem" of the I-Bowl and it's committee. They need to clean house and start over with a group of people who:

1. Don't have their heads buried in LSU's arse, even though everyone in the SEC hates to come to the I-Bowl.
2. Have entreprenurial thoughts, and will do their jobs to enhance the Bowl, rather than begging for a government handout.
3. Will not try to scare the citizens of Shreveport-Bossier by going to the papers and saying the bowl might die.... of course, they left out the part they played in helping it die.

Clean House!