LaSalle Parish’s sophomore legislative delegation in Baton Rouge has been appointed to key leadership roles in the newly transformed Republican government of Louisiana.

Louisiana’s Legislature was called into special session last week by new Republican Governor Jeff Landry to create a new congressional map after the state was mandated by the judiciary to redraw the lines to include another minority district.

All three of LaSalle’s lawmakers, District 32 Senator Glen Womack, District 22 Representative Gabe Firment and District 20 Representative Neil Riser, were at the Capitol last week for the special session, and this term, they are playing an instrumental part in Louisiana’s government.

In what is described as a very unusual event, second term Senator Glen Womack was appointed by Senate President Cameron Henry to Chair the all-powerful Senate Finance Committee. He also serves on two other Senate committees.

Firment was appointed as Chairman of the House of Representative’s Insurance Committee and Riser serves on two House committees and is looked to as one of the two most experienced lawmakers in Baton Rouge.

Senator Womack

“This is just very humbling,” Womack said of his appointment during an interview last Thursday on the Senate Chamber floor. “I never jockeyed for this position but last Thursday, before the Monday morning session, I was made aware that I was appointed Finance Chair. I am very humbled by that.”

The Finance Committee of the Senate oversees and is responsible for the state’s general fund, including how that money is spent, how money is saved and every project that is performed in the state.

“Basically, we’re responsible for all of the finances of the State of Louisiana,” he noted. “All bills that include financing have to come through this committee.”

And as Chair, Womack has the final say on how those bills and funding gets through the committee and ultimately to the Senate floor for a vote.

The 15-member committee, dominated by Republicans, is now under the control of a north Louisiana Senator for the first time in many years. It is also historic in that this is the first time a Senator from District 32 has ever been appointed to the position. The appointment is doubly astonishing given the fact that Womack is only in his second term.

“From what I understand, this is very odd,” he said. “But look, it’s one Louisiana to me. It may be odd that someone from north Louisiana would be selected but I intend to do this job for all of Louisiana.”

His Chair on Finance also includes sitting on the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee, another important committee in the Senate Chamber. He also retained his seat on the Senate Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development Committee, a committee he deems is very important for his district.

“Being on the Ag Committee is a big thing and I’m privileged to be on that committee and stay on that committee,” he said. “That’s most of my district – farmers and cattlemen. We want to try and move our ag into the new technology to allow them to be successful. We’re working with them and have passed some good bills but we still have some more to go.”

He also noted that having Congresswoman Julia Letlow serving on the power Subcommitee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration allows the state and federal governments to work together for the good of the state and the people of District 32.

Womack noted that with the change in state leadership and Republicans having complete control, the Louisiana should see major changes in the coming years. He also noted that Senators are committed to working together to help facilitate those changes.

“There is definitely a feeling of unity among the senators,” he said. “The Senate is a special chamber. It’s a different body. We tend to work well with each other and even when there are disagreements, we treat each other with dignity and respect.”

Another indication of the trust Senate President Henry has with Womack was his appointment during the special session last week to oversee the new congressional map construction and passage.

It was Senator Womack who redrew the map, made presentations to both chambers and ultimately worked it through the special session for passage.

“Again, I’m just humbled to be in the position that I’m in,” he said. “I believe the appointment (Senate Finance Chair) was due to my business background and the fact that I’m fair with everybody. And I’ll say this, and I believe it, this is a God-thing. It has to be.”

Representative Firment

Second term Representative Gabe Firment, who represents the west half of LaSalle Parish as part of District 22, also received a chairmanship as part of the new House of Representatives.

Firment was appointed by House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, District 41 Representative from Eunice, as Chairman of the Insurance Committee. This is also historic in that it’s the first time since District 22 was created 50 years ago that its representative was appointed chairman.

“We are really in the midst of an insurance crisis in the state,” Firment said during an interview on the House floor last Thursday morning. “We’ve been struggling with very high auto rates, commercial and personal, and now we’ve got the incredibly high property insurance rates, commercial and personal, due to the hurricanes the last three years.”

Firment noted that although nothing prevents a representative to serve on more than one committee, he elected to focus his attention on this one committee due to it being such a devastating problem in the state.

“Being the fact that insurance is a very important issue and the fact that we’re going to have a lot of legislation come through this committee this session, I decided it would be best that this be the only committee that I serve on so I can focus all my attention on that particular committee.”

The Representative noted that after the 2020 hurricanes of Laura, Delta and Zeta, then the 2021 hurricane of Ida, the state had 12 insurance companies go insolvent and many others stop doing business or writing new policies in Louisiana.

“So really, we’ve got a crisis, not only of affordability but availability and there’s just not enough competition,” he said. “What we hope to do is implement policies and pass legislation that attracts more companies to Louisiana and hopefully, eventually, that will have a domino effect that will get premiums down.”

Other aspects his committee will deal with include tort reform and the continued “bad actors” in the legal profession, contractors, roofers, public adjusters, etc.

“It’s really gotten out of hand,” he said. “We know that Louisianians don’t get in more traffic accidents than other parts of the country but we file more lawsuits, especially when it comes to personal injury claims, than the rest of the country and those settlements on average, are much higher than the rest of the country. It really is a culture issue as well in that some people view getting in a car wreck the equivalent of hitting the lottery. This will be much harder to address but there are some legal reforms that we can do to implement to deal with it, not only on the auto side but on the property side as well.”

The Representative noted that with the new Governor and supermajorities in both chambers, there is a feeling of excitement in Baton Rouge that he has never felt since first being elected in 2019.

“It really feels like a new day in Louisiana,” he said. “And with the opportunity of being chairman of a committee, it puts you in a position to have some influence and I’m thankful and excited about that.”

“I’m also excited about our central Louisiana delegation and our LaSalle Parish delegation with Senator Womack chairing probably the most powerful committee in the legislature,” Firment said. “Of course, Representative Riser is very experienced and on some good committees. He’s been a mentor in a lot of ways to me and has given me and many other representatives great guidance along the way.”

Firment noted that along with Womack in the Senate chairing the Finance Committee, on the House side, the powerful Appropriations Committee is chaired by Winnfield Representative Jack McFarland.

“This means that LaSalle’s neighbor to the west is home to the chairman of one of the most powerful committees in the legislature,” he said. “You’ve got Daryl Deshotel of Marksville chairman of the House Commerce Committee, Jay Morris of Monroe Chairman of Senate Judiciary C Committee and Mike Johnson of Pineville House Speaker Pro Temp. We’ve got some good people in good places which should mean good things for LaSalle Parish and central Louisiana.”

Firment noted that with the new Republican government in Louisiana, the pressure is on to deliver the change the people of the state voted for.

“The Governor made it clear during his inaugural speech that there’s no room for failure,” he said. “We have no excuses now and it’s time to get to work and here we are a week into the new term and we’re in the middle of a special session.”

Firment noted that he gives anyone that asks his cell phone number and he can be reached with any concerns from District 22 constituents.

“I understand its very important to be transparent, open and willing to explain things to anyone that wants more information,” he said. “I’ve tried to do that since I was first elected.”

He also said it is an honor to represent La-Salle Parish and it’s “easy” to represent LaSalle, because for the most part, “everyone thinks just like I do.”

“LaSalle is very conservative and faith is a big part of people’s lifestyle and the way they live,” he said. “So, it’s been just a pleasure and honor to represent the people of LaSalle Parish…and that’s not just for newspaper print…I mean that.”

Representative Riser

Second term Representative Neil Riser, who represents the east half of LaSalle Parish as part of District 20, is one of two of longest serving lawmakers in Baton Rouge.

Second only to Representative Francis Thompson of Delhi, Riser served three terms as LaSalle’s Senator before winning the District 20 House seat in 2019.

“It’s kind of a weird position to be in now that I think about it,” he said during an interview on the House floor last Thursday morning. “But yea, as I look around I realize that now.”

Riser was appointed to the powerful Commerce Committee, a committee he has never served on before, but he is looking forward to it.

“It’s a good committee to be on because it regulates waterways, water vessels, licenses, permitting, banking regulations and anything that has to do with interest rates, which we all know impacts all businesses small and large,” Riser said. “So, for my district, this is a good committee to be on.”

He was also appointed to serve once again on the Natural Resources Committee.

“This basically speaks for itself,” he said. “Any redneck would enjoy serving on this but it is the most controversial committee I think I’ve ever served on because it gets really emotional.”

Riser noted that the committee deals with all natural resources in the state, from wildlife to diseases, which tends to get real competitive among lawmakers.

“Last term, I was the only member of that committee above I10,” he noted. “I spent a lot of time redirecting them to issues in north Louisiana. But we were able to secure some things for north Louisiana, including getting the Columbia Port in LaSalle Parish moving.”

The Louisiana Green Fuel’s Biofuels Facility at the port is a first of its kind, utilizing forestry waste in a gasification process to create a net carbon negative biofuel product while applying carbon carputer and sequestration technology to capture carbon dioxide and permanently store it deep underground.

“Last term, this committee was able to get the plant going by having the first Class V well drilled to test for pressure points, leaks, etc.” he said. “This was the well drilled by Justiss Oil Company of Jena. The well passed all the tests and now we’re waiting on the second phase component with that, which is to get a Class VI permit for that site that allows you to store. We’re just waiting on DEQ to issue that permit and we’re told it will be the first one they’ve issued.”

Riser said more legislation concerning this project will likely face his committee this term, along with other issues that affect District 20.

“This is such a large ranging committee and it deals with so much,” he said. “For instance, last term, we had a lot of discussion about alligators and how prolific they are getting now. But all they wanted to talk about in that committee was everything below I10. But there has to be something done on the recreational harvesting of them because they are becoming a real danger now, there’s no doubt. We have serious problems with them in north Louisiana.”

The veteran lawmaker noted that his number one priority as a representative is to get meaningful legislation passed for the everyday person.

“My goal is for people to move forward and keep money in their pockets,” he said. “And I think that we are poised in probably the best position to do that than anytime I have served.”

Riser also noted the large number of central and north Louisiana legislators in both chambers will make a difference in the lives of rural Louisiana.

“We’re fortunate to have Jack McFarland (Winnfield) as the Chair of the Appropriations Committee on the House side and Senator Womack as Chair of the Finance on the Senate side,” he continued. “That’s two of the most powerful positions in the chambers and both of those men are from north Louisiana.”

He noted that in the past, when those positions were held by members from south Louisiana, the state had a tendency to gravitate to the needs and wants of south Louisiana and take care of themselves.

“But hopefully, with these two positions being held by north Louisiana members, we’ll see more needs being met for our districts,” he concluded.

Riser also said the supermajority in both chambers and a Republican Governor should result in positive changes throughout the state.

“When you talk about having control of all branches of government, we should see results that people in our district are wanting to see,” he said. “But the public needs to remember, that just because all Republicans are in charge doesn’t necessarily mean that everything will get passed. Because we live in such a diverse state, even though we have the majority, there are still differences of opinions and sometimes getting to 70 votes might not be as clear as you think.”

Still, Riser is excited about the possibilities and the position the state is in.

“I’m really excited and looking forward to changes in the criminal justice area,” he said. “Gov. Landry has a lot of experience at that during his time as Attorney General and our new AG, Liz Murrell, is a fighter too. I really think during the special session the Governor has called, we’ll make some significant changes to our criminal justice system that will make Louisiana safer.”

Regardless of who proposes bills or what influencers in Baton Rouge say, Riser said he will continue to serve the way he has served during his nearly 20 years of public life.

“When it’s all said and done, no matter the voices that are out there, I’m going to vote on what is best and right for my district,” he said. “That’s what I’ve always done and what I’ll continue to do.”