I believe that a great education is the silver bullet that changes people’s lives. Education opens the door of opportunity, overcomes poverty, and gives our students a strong path to success. Currently, half of our third-graders are reading below grade level. As Governor, I will have our K-3 students reading at or above grade level in my first term by building on the work I began through SB222 in 2021. This year, Louisiana earned recognition for being one of only three states with reading scores that improved, giving us encouragement that our “back to the basics” teaching of phonics, or the science of reading, is working. Similarly, we will go back to the basics in teaching math skills to our 4th – 8th graders, where data shows that student math skills are currently dropping during this critical time in their development. As Governor, I will finish the work we began with my SB163 in the current session, ensuring our students enter high school with the math foundational skills they require to succeed in algebra and beyond.
As parents, we know that our students are thirsty for more technology in their curriculum. And our employers need employees that can compete in a digital economy. As Governor, I will continue my work to put a computer science curriculum in every K-12 grade level, computer coding in our high school curriculum, and a much more STEM-rich educational experience for all of our students. Our school curriculum will be focused on education, not indoctrination.
Receiving a quality education begins with having a highly-qualified teacher. As the daughter of a 4th grade teacher and as a longtime PTA President, I know that most teachers don’t teach for the money, but teach because they love children and want to be a positive influence in their lives. We need to value our teachers with competitive pay, unleash our teachers to do what they do best – teach, and be innovative in recruiting and retention programs to address our teacher shortages in critical areas.
And most of all, we need to acknowledge that parents want to choose the best educational setting for their child, utilizing their state education dollars, to give their child the best opportunity to succeed.
From healthcare companies to technology companies, whether they are large corporations or family-owned businesses, everyone is struggling to find people who want to work. Our workforce participation rate in Louisiana is one of the lowest in the country. For Louisiana’s economy to thrive and for us to put Louisiana citizens to work in high paying jobs, we need to build the skilled workforce that our current and future employers need. Today’s students want more flexibility and innovation in their high school, community and technical college, and university offerings that are responsive to today’s quickly-evolving job market through dual-enrollment, apprenticeships, and industry-based certifications while in high school. As Governor, I will continue to champion TOPS, TOPS Tech, and the Foster Promise Program because today’s students do not fit the one-size-fits-all model. Let’s stop the brain-drain and give our students and young adults a reason to stay in Louisiana, with multiple pathways to success.
Over the last decade, Louisiana’s population grew at a modest rate of 3%, while the states around us grew 10% during the same time period. Since 2020, we have experienced an out-migration of residents who are leaving for greener pastures in states like Texas and Florida. What do those states have that we don’t have? They have a booming economy buffeted with zero state income tax, a less litigious legal climate, and a more business-friendly environment.
The tax reform work the legislature started in 2021 has put Louisiana on a smart path of lower personal income tax rates and lower corporate tax rates that will continue to be reduced as the economy continues to improve. They work hand in hand. As Governor, I will continue to simplify our tax system, while providing long-term predictability to our businesses who are choosing to stay in Louisiana or considering a relocation to Louisiana, as we work our way to zero state income tax.
Louisiana has had a reputation for being a litigious state for as long as I can remember. The billboard lawyers remind me of this as I travel on I-10 every day. And while I’ve worked with the Supreme Court to rein in some of this lawyer advertising, it isn’t enough. After I am elected, I will convene a task force to identify opportunities to shift Louisiana away from our plaintiff-friendly laws and make us more competitive with other states. Frivolous lawsuits are an unnecessary cost to businesses and a deterrent to working here.
One of the most flagrant examples of frivolous lawsuits are those filed against 200 oil and gas companies with unsubstantiated claims of them violating their coastal zone permits fifty years ago. As a result, most of these companies have packed their bags and left Louisiana, taking their oil and gas investments to other states. This “sue first, get the facts later” mentality has nearly killed the industry in our state. As Governor, I will pause these coastal lawsuits on my first day in office, instruct my new Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources to go do his job and research the facts, allowing us to identify specific violators and take appropriate actions already provided for in state law. This litigation supported by the Governor and the Attorney General is a lose/lose for the state and the industry and a winner for the trial lawyers. I will stop it.
Louisiana has been an oil and gas state since the first oil well was drilled in Jennings in 1901. And according to the International Energy Agency, fossil fuels will continue to provide 40% of the world’s energy supply in 2050, which is great news for Louisiana and the thousands of citizens who work in this industry. As your Governor, I will support our traditional oil and gas industry, while diversifying our energy portfolio with wind, solar, hydrogen, and biofuels. Our universities will serve as centers of excellence for the research needed to develop these opportunities in partnership with industry, to make Louisiana the number one option for energy development.
As we diversify our energy portfolio and work to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in a common sense approach, I will ensure that our citizens and businesses always have a reliable and affordable energy grid.
If our citizens don’t feel safe, nothing else matters. Having a well-trained, respected, and adequately staffed law enforcement community is vital to protecting our neighborhoods. I support more competitive pay and reinstatement of annual training academies to help retain and recruit more troopers. And I will work to change the culture so that our men and women who wear the badge receive the respect they deserve and that any who dishonor the badge are dealt with fairly and swiftly.
Our criminal justice system needs to be reviewed. I support second-chances for non-violent offenders with education and job-training to give them new skills upon re-entry into our society. And I want the violent offenders to go to jail. However, victims and their families are often surprised when offenders are released sooner than expected as a result of good-time credits, time served and other complicated formulas that are often misunderstood by those administering the justice system. As Governor, I will establish a “Truth in Sentencing” task force to simplify, clarify, and provide more transparency to this process.
One of the most urgent challenges facing our young adults is the risk of fentanyl overdoses. As I speak to citizens across the state, everyone seems to know someone who has taken a counterfeit prescription pill laced with a lethal dose of fentanyl. It’s heart-breaking. I have legislation that I have authored (SB 49) and co-authored that will greatly increase the penalties for fentanyl dealers and those operating these makeshift clandestine labs in hopes of running these criminals out of our state and protecting our young people from one bad decision. As Governor, I will continue to fight this fight.
The amount of government red tape and bureaucracy is often overwhelming to citizens and a burden to businesses. We need LESS government in our lives, not more. Government should work FOR the people, not the other way around. As Governor, I will eliminate many of the licensing requirements that are a barrier to entrepreneurs and do not improve safety. I’ll streamline our permitting operations, shorten the cycle time between application and approval, and create one-stop-shop processes to be more customer-focused and business-friendly. We will make it EASY to do business in Louisiana.
As Governor, I will not legislate through endless Executive Orders. Your elected legislators will be the policymakers. I will stand up and defend your personal freedoms, pushing back against federal overreach, and giving you every opportunity to pursue the American dream.
One of the best ways to ignite the economy is to build things. And Louisiana has a $15B backlog of roads, bridges, ports, and airports that need to be built, upgraded, repaved, or expanded. Louisiana roads are rated a D+ by the American Society of Civil Engineers, so we have lots of work to do. I will revamp the Department of Transportation to maximize our dedicated transportation dollars for actual engineering and construction, rather than overhead. And I will shorten the cycle time required for projects by pushing more money and decision-making to the local districts. It shouldn’t take 10 years to build a turning lane in Slidell.
While I will not forget the need to maintain the roads in rural Louisiana (and I traveled on some pretty torn up roads in those areas), we must also provide more funding for adding additional roads or new lanes in our high-growth areas.
Bridges will be a much higher priority in my administration. Hundreds of bridges are at risk of being shut-down due to their deteriorated condition and the lack of a proactive plan to replace or repair them before it is too late. Having bridges out of service creates problems during hurricane evacuations and is a major rerouting for commercial and local traffic. We must do better.
Ports continue to be one of the best investments of infrastructure dollars because of the commerce associated with imports and exports and the great jobs they create. With the Mississippi River running through our state and the Gulf of Mexico at our doorstep, Louisiana should be a dominant player in the shipping industry. As Governor, I will create a regional port commission to allow our ports collectively to dominate ports in neighboring states.
Next to the definition of “resilient” in the dictionary, you will find the word “Louisiana.” The people in our state are among the most resilient I have ever known. We don’t quit. As Governor, I will support investments and policies that will make your fight a little easier.
I will continue the roughly $1B investment we are making in coastal restoration and protection projects every year to protect our coastal residents from repeated floods. And I will work with our Congressional delegation to address the huge flood insurance increases many homeowners are experiencing with the revised NFIP 2.0 program that unfairly penalizes Louisiana citizens.
Our homeowners also need more affordable home insurance. I support building code improvements that make our homes and businesses more hurricane resilient. We will reward those who invest in fortified roofs and other improvements with reduced insurance premiums as a result of legislation that I and others authored this legislative session. As Governor, I will bring more insurance companies back to Louisiana, lowering the premiums for everyone
As a mother and grandmother, faith and family have always been at the center of my life. I am pro-life and have supported lots of legislation to improve the lives of families and children. As Governor, I will continue to support adoption, foster care, domestic abuse, and mental health programs.
I support the Second Amendment and the constitutional right of citizens to carry a concealed gun. I enjoy training with my local sheriff deputies to make sure that I am safely using my gun and am confident in using it. In the last few years, I have learned to hunt and fish, bringing new meaning to me as a lifelong resident in the Sportsman’s Paradise. One of the proudest moments for me was the day that my dad gave me his 28-gauge and 20-gauge shotguns. He was so happy!
In the words of Stephen Covey, the author of the “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” whom I had the opportunity to train with, great leaders “begin with the end in mind.” I am beginning this journey to be your next Governor with one end in mind: To give families in Louisiana reasons to STAY in Louisiana, rather than reasons to leave. And I will do this by building a strong team of principle-centered leaders who are as committed to driving bold policy reforms as I am.
