Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) President Stephen Waguespack
Appearing before the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday, February 4, 2019, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) President, Stephen Waguespack, emphasized the importance of the Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP), tort reform, and a new proposal for a “judicial scorecard” as three critical items required for Louisiana’s existing businesses to succeed and expand as well as encourage out-of-state businesses to consider expanding in Louisiana.
Let’s take a look at what he had to say and some of the questions he fielded on same (a couple of which were downright hostile and/or unprofessional entailing ITEP):
Waguespack stresses ITEP’s importance.
Waguespack assesses the current state of ITEP, its “local control” and the “chaos” he says resulted from Gov. John Bel Edwards’ 2016 Executive Order on ITEP.
Waguespack manages to get drawn into a 4:22 dialogue with Times Picayune reporter Julie O’Donohue entailing her concerns over one centralized local contact for ITEP.
Waguespack responds to a question on how candidates in the 2019 election cycle, particularly candidates for Governor, should handle the rhetoric surrounding ITEP.
Waguespack responds to a hostile and combative question entailing “examples of companies who’ve said they passed on Louisiana due to ITEP in the last 12 months.”
Waguespack responds to a hostile and combative question posed by Remi Delouche, who seemed to go out of his way to stress he is a “former long-time LABI member” and simply could not contain his personal disdain for LABI and Stephen Waguespack.
Waguespack provides his thoughts on tort reform in Louisiana and responds to two questions on same: one by Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns and the other by J. R. Skains, a writer for the Piney Woods Journal.
Waguespack provides details on a new LABI initiative: a Judicial Scorecard. He also responds to a question by The Advocate’s Lanny Keller entailing same.
CLICK HERE for Mr. Waguespack’s presentation in its entirety, and CLICK HERE to see the LABI handout Waguespack provided to those in attendance at the meeting.
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