Event Title
Unbalanced Power: The Rise and Decline of Legislative Authority in the State of Louisiana
Faculty Mentor
Thomas Laehn
Location
Library 7th Floor
Start Date
13-4-2013 2:45 PM
End Date
13-4-2013 3:45 PM
Description
The proposition that the concentration of power permits its arbitrary exercise, and that the constitutional partition of power is therefore an essential barrier against despotism, can be found in the writings of the proponents of republican government since antiquity. Following his election as governor of Louisiana in 1928, however, Huey Long established a lasting pattern of gubernatorial dominance antithetical to the principles of republican government. In this paper, we track changes in the balance of legislative and gubernatorial power in Louisiana since 1981 and isolate the causes underlying the rise and decline of legislative authority in the state.
Unbalanced Power: The Rise and Decline of Legislative Authority in the State of Louisiana
Library 7th Floor
The proposition that the concentration of power permits its arbitrary exercise, and that the constitutional partition of power is therefore an essential barrier against despotism, can be found in the writings of the proponents of republican government since antiquity. Following his election as governor of Louisiana in 1928, however, Huey Long established a lasting pattern of gubernatorial dominance antithetical to the principles of republican government. In this paper, we track changes in the balance of legislative and gubernatorial power in Louisiana since 1981 and isolate the causes underlying the rise and decline of legislative authority in the state.