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Which telecom companies are pulling the strings in your state government? Find out which telecommunications companies are spending the most on lobbying and campaign contributions. Learn about your public utility boards, where they are located and how to file a complaint. Also, view the personal financial disclosure statements of board members and learn how much they earn.

Louisiana Public Service Commission
Galvez Building, 12th Floor
602 North Fifth Street PO Box 91154
Baton Rouge, LA 70821-9154
(225) 342-4404

How to file a complaint
Instructions available online

Jurisdiction: publicly owned utilities providing electric, water, waste water, natural gas, and telecommunication services, all electric cooperatives, intrastate transportation services
Funding: funded by fees paid by regulated utlities
Commissioners: 5
  Elected by: district
  Term: 6 years
  Annual Salary: $45,000
Chairperson: Elected by Commissioners
  Term: 1 year
  Annual Salary: $45,000
Commissioners

Dale Sittig (Chair)
Term: 1995-2010

Foster Campbell
Term: 2003-2008

Jack Blossman
Term: 1997-2008

James Field
Term: 1996-2006

Lambert Boissiere, III
Term: 2005-2010

Louisiana Receives F for Disclosure of Utility Commissioner Outside Ties
Louisiana ranked 42nd in the nation for making basic information on state legislators' income, assets and potential conflicts of interest available to the public. Louisiana received 1 out of a possible 100 points.
See Report Card

Louisiana Conflict-of-Interest Provision: "No public servant, except as provided in R.S. 42:1120 [providing for declaration and disclosure of a conflict of interest], shall participate in a transaction in which he has a personal substantial economic interest of which he may be reasonably expected to know involving the governmental entity." (Louisiana Revised Statutes ยง 42:1112(A))


Telecommunications Industry

State Campaign Donations

Telecommunications industry donations, including legislative and statewide, throughout three election cycles, 1999-2000, 2001-2002 and 2003-2004. Click on total to see how this state stacks up:
Cycle Amount
2003-2004 $209,410
2001-2002 $144,377
1999-2000 $381,743
Total $735,530

Telecommunications interests donating $10,000 or more to state races, including legislative and statewide, throughout six years, from 1999 to 2004:
Name Total
BellSouth Corp. $345,500
Century Tel Inc. $39,218
AT&T Corp. $34,860
US Telecom. Assn. and state orgs. $20,947
BET Inc $17,000
National Cable and Telecom. Assn. and state orgs. $17,000
National Telecommunications Services Inc. $16,500

Source: Institute on Money in State Politics, with analysis by Center for Public Integrity

State Lobby Spending

Totals in this state DO NOT include lobbyist salaries/compensation. Limited spending included because lobbyists report lump sum for all employers. Center researchers only captured totals for lobbyists who reported having only telecommunications-related employers. This limited the results of the research because many lobbyists have multiple employers from various industries. Spending total does not include executive branch lobbyists.

State-level lobbying by telecommunications companies in 2003 and 2004. Click on the total to see how the states stack up:
Year Amount
2003 $11,290
2004 $13,857
Total $25,146

Major telecommunications interests lobbying government in this state in 2003 and 2004:
Name Total
BellSouth Corp. $24,142
Sprint Corp. $731
Cox Communications Inc. $273

Source: Source: Center for Public Integrity analysis of state records