Troy Carter on Government Reform

Opposed sweeping tort reform making it harder to sue

• reduces the threshold for a jury trial,
• transfers cases to district courts,
• provides for evidence of medical expense payments, and
• repeals the limitation on presenting evidence of the failure to wear a safety belt.

Analysis by the Baton Rouge Advocate (Jun 30, 2020):Business and insurance interests and their mostly Republican supporters supported sweeping changes to evidence laws that would reduce the number of court cases and limit the awards of people who seek compensation for injuries caused by someone else. Lawyers, healthcare providers and their mostly Democratic allies who opposed sweeping tort reform counter that the changes would make court cases so difficult that injured people will be more likely to accept insurance companies' offers.

Legislative Outcome:Passed House 78-22-4 on Jun/15/20; Passed Senate 29-9-1 on Jun/22/20; State Sen. Carter voted NO; Signed by Governor Jul/13/20

Sponsored "Protecting Our Democracy" to restrict president.

H.R.5314, "Protecting Our Democracy Act," addresses issues involving

1. abuses of presidential power;
2. checks and balances, accountability, and transparency; and
3. election integrity and security.

• requires the President to submit to Congress specified materials relating to certain pardons,
• prohibits presidential self-pardons,
• suspends the statute of limitations for federal offenses committed by a sitting President or Vice President,
• prohibits the acceptance of foreign or domestic emoluments,
• imposes limits on presidential declarations of emergencies,
• requires DOJ to maintain a log of specified communications between it and the White House,
• increases whistleblower protections, and
• requires a candidate for President or Vice President to provide copies of tax returns for the 10 most recent taxable years.

Opinion by Rep. Brooks (R-AL-5) to vote NO, 12/9/21: Brooks voted "No" on H.R. 5314, a bill that perpetuates the now-debunked Russian Collusion claims that have resulted in indictments against the Democrat shills that fabricated it. Brooks said, "Trump Derangement Syndrome does not do justice to the word 'obsession'. HR 5314 is a list of grievances against President Trump that go back to 2016." Brooks concluded, "The American people would be better served if Socialist Democrats spent their time investigating Hunter Biden's shady art and influence-peddling deals that reek of corruption. The American people would be better served if the House considered border security legislation, welfare give-a-way program rollbacks, or bills aimed at addressing rising prices. Instead, we're wasting time on partisan, unnecessary legislation that's going nowhere in the Senate."

Legislative Outcome: Passed House 220-208-6 on 12/9/2021, Roll no. 440); introduced in Senate on 12/13/21; no further Senate action during 2021.