LFT wins: "Red Tape Act" declared unconstitutional

Score one for the rule of law! Today Baton Rouge Judge R. Michael Caldwell declared Gov. Bobby Jindal's so-called "Red Tape Reduction Act" unconstitutional.

The law was the governor's signature education legislation in 2010, and it would have allowed the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to waive virtually any state law upon request by a local school board.

LFT opposed the law when it was in the legislature, on the grounds that the legislature does not have authority to cede its lawmaking authority to any other body.

"Insofar as the act grants this right, it is unconstitutional in my opinion,” the judge said. “Allowing BESE to waive or suspend law is a violation of Article 3, Section 12(b) of the constitution.”