Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. Louisiana legislators met last week to find legal solutions that will lower the cost of automobile bill insurance throughout the state. Hey, all you guy and gal lawmakers. There are no new laws that will make any difference. …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. Several business groups in Louisiana, including the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, have suggested that the state do away with the election of judges and the undue influence of campaign funds. Their proposal would be to follow …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. Here is a message I received from one of my grandkids this week. “Hey JB, it’s your birthday, and you just turned 84, I know you will live for many, many more.“ I sure hope I do. I …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. Does the average Louisiana citizen have a legal right to follow the internal workings of government in Louisiana? Not just in Baton Rouge at the state capital, but in deliberations that take place by school boards, city councils, …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. There has been a lot of chatter in recent months about the need to rewrite Louisiana’s Constitution. And for good reason. This original slim document has now blossomed into the nation’s seventh longest state charter with over 83,000 …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. Are you all fired up and into March madness? It’s my favorite sports time of year. Now I understand you may disagree, but I’ll take the college basketball tournament over any other sporting event, even the Super Bowl. …

The Louisiana legislature just finished the special session on crime spending several million dollars to come up with more ways to reduce the violence that continues to plague the Bayou state. Their solution seem to be to stick it to the convicts currently serving time, but ignoring the growing wave of juvenile crime that continues to spread throughout both big …

Age has never seemed to be such a big issue in American politics. Do we let our elected officials stay in office way too long? Should there be restrictions as to when older politicians must step down? Or should we just let the voters decide as to when someone is too old to serve? Jim BrownJim Brown is a former …

Blue Cross, Blue Shield is Louisiana’s largest health insurer, and one of the state’s largest employers. A major effort was undertaken by the Blue Cross Board to sell the whole system to a company called Elevance Health located in Indianapolis Indiana. Elevance is no new kid on the block, and has gobbled up Blue Cross companies in fifteen other states, …

Alright all you Swifties. I have some bad news for you. When you go to the polls to vote for president on election day, no Taylor Swift hats or shirts will be allowed. This policy of cutting off poor Taylor’s paraphernalia will no doubt be in effect in a number of states across the country. Particularly in states where Republicans …