Alan Seabaugh
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Alan Thomas Seabaugh is an American attorney from Shreveport, Louisiana, who is a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 5 in Caddo Parish.


Background

Alan Seabaugh has been a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives since 2010. He currently serves on the House Ways and Means, Insurance, and Labor Committees as well as the Joint Legislative Committee on the Capital Outlay. In 2012, he was elected Vice Chairman of the Louisiana House Republican delegation. Seabaugh is the managing partner of Seabaugh, Joffrion, Sepulvado & Victory law firm. The practice includes insurance defense and claims, contracts, real estate law, property law, and all areas of civil and commercial litigation. He also is a member of the Louisiana Supreme Court Committee on Bar Admissions. Seabaugh was a delegate and vice chairman of the Louisiana delegation to the
2008 Republican National Convention The 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008. The first day of the Republican Party's convention fell on Labor Day, the last day of the popul ...
held in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was also a member of the Electoral College that year. He cast his two votes for the unsuccessful McCain/ Palin ticket. He was a delegate to the 2010 Southern Republican Leadership Conference which convened in New Orleans. He has been affiliated with the
Christian nationalist Christian nationalism is Christianity-affiliated religious nationalism. Christian nationalists primarily focus on internal politics, such as passing laws that reflect their view of Christianity and its role in political and social life. In coun ...
legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom, which is noted for its opposition to
LGBTQ rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...
.


Political campaigns


State senate campaign of 2007

In 2007, Seabaugh unsuccessfully challenged Republican State Senator Sherri Smith Buffington. Seabaugh said that Cheek (now Buffington) “runs as a Republican and votes like a Democrat", and that he was disturbed that people from Caddo Parish had left Louisiana to seek economic opportunity elsewhere. Cheek won with fifty-seven percent of the vote.


State legislature

Seabaugh was elected to the legislature in 2010 to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Republican Wayne Waddell. In the 2010 election, Seabaugh defeated Republican and Red River Bank president Harold Turner 57-43 percent. In the primary election held on October 22, 2011, Seabaugh defeated fellow Republican and former Shreveport City Councilwoman Cynthia Norton Robertson, receiving 79.3% of the vote. In the October 24, 2015 primary election, Seabaugh won reelection to the House 71-29 percent, defeating Democrat Eileen Velez of Shreveport.


U.S. Senate candidacy declined

In 2013, Seabaugh was strongly encouraged to enter the upcoming 2014 U.S. Senate Race against U.S. Senator
Mary Landrieu Mary Loretta Landrieu ( ; born November 23, 1955) is an American entrepreneur and politician who served as a United States senator from Louisiana from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Landrieu served as the Louisiana State Treas ...
, a Louisiana Democrat who unsuccessfully sought a fourth term in the office. Another Republican conservative, Rob Maness, a
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
from St. Tammany Parish, also sought the Senate seat. Seabaugh announced that he would not enter the race and strongly endorsed Bill Cassidy, who subsequently unseated Landrieu.


Legislative record

Seabaugh's first legislative session dealt with redistricting state legislative and congressional districts. Seabaugh took a role in drafting the map of Louisiana's House of Representatives' districts by authoring an amendment which protected the integrity of the Southern Hills area of Shreveport. Prior to the start of his first full term, Seabaugh was elected vice chairman of the Louisiana House Republican delegation. He was also appointed as vice chairman of the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee, in which he led the fight for tort reform and against lawsuit abuse. Early in the new term, Seabaugh co-authored and was one of the principal floor leaders responsible for the passage of several education reform measures. These bills were passed and signed into law as Acts 1 and 2 of 2012. Seabaugh also was instrumental in blocking efforts to have Louisiana join the National Popular Vote compact. Prior to the start of the 2013 session, Seabaugh was appointed to the House Appropriations Committee, which is primarily responsible for drafting the state's budget. During the 2013 session, Seabaugh authored legislation which would have eliminated personal and corporate
state income tax In addition to Federal government of the United States, federal Income tax in the United States, income tax collected by the United States, most individual U.S. states collect a state income tax. Some local governments also impose an income tax, ...
es. He also introduced legislation which would have eliminated all state taxes on retirement benefits. Seabaugh's tax cut legislation failed to pass the Republican controlled House Ways and Means Committee. Seabaugh authored legislation designed to lessen the influence of public employee unions. His HB 552 sought to strike out language in current law allowing for automatic payroll deductions for "union dues, fees and assessments". The bill failed in committee by one vote when two members switched their votes, allegedly because of lobbying efforts by organized labor, according to a right-wing Louisiana-based politics blog known as the ''Hayride''. In 2015, Seabaugh was one of a small group of conservative Republicans who opposed tax increases which were passed with the support of Governor Jindal. For this, Seabaugh was named one of seven MVPs by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. In 2015, Seabaugh was also named State Representative of the year by the Childcare Association of Louisiana. On June 9, 2021, Seabaugh accused Malinda Brumfield White of threatening to shoot him with a gun during a dispute over a domestic-abuse bill under consideration. White "later apologized on the House floor for the altercation". White withdrew the bill the next day.


Speed traps


Christmas bill

In December 2013, Representative Seabaugh announced that he would present a bill in the 2014 legislative session limiting litigation against public schools who celebrated
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
. Threats of lawsuits by the ACLU and other groups had resulted in many schools canceling Christmas plays and parties and replacing them with "holiday parties" and "winter festivals". Seabaugh said "I want people to know it's perfectly OK to say 'Merry Christmas' and have a Christmas pageant or a Christmas dance." Seabaugh's bill would closely resemble one previously passed in
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
earlier in 2013.


Budget issues

Long-running disputes over Louisiana's budget issues and the state's use of nonrecurring revenue to balance the budget led several members, including Seabaugh, to form a group known as the "Fiscal Hawks” to oppose budgeting by
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Bobby Jindal which they viewed as irresponsible. However, in 2013, Seabaugh split with the group when it backed $329 million in revenue enhancements which largely consisted of the expiration of tax credits and exemptions passed by then Governor Jindal. Seabaugh served as vice chairman of the Louisiana Republican legislative delegation from 2012 to 2016.


Tax votes

In March 2016, with the election of Democratic Governor
John Bel Edwards John Bel Edwards (born September 16, 1966) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 56th governor of Louisiana since 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the Democratic leader of the Louisiana House of ...
, Seabaugh emerged as an opponent of tax increases. In 2017, Seabaugh was appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee which controls state tax policy. Seabaugh has consistently opposed proposed tax increases. In May 2017, Seabaugh emerged as a strong opponent of Governor John Bel Edwards' proposed increase in the gasoline tax and further called for the abolition of 3,000 of the 4,700 positions in the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.


Support for prosecuting women who get abortions for murder

Seabaugh voted for a Louisiana state draft bill that would ban in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments and some forms of birth control and prosecute women who get abortions for murder. The draft bill has no exceptions for rape, incest, or the protection of the life of the mother and could also criminalize miscarriages.


Consideration for federal judgeship

In 2017,
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
nominated Seabaugh for the seat held by Dee Drell on the
United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (in case citations, W.D. La.) is a United States federal court with jurisdiction over approximately two thirds of the state of Louisiana, with courts in Alexandria, Lafayett ...
. Drell had assumed senior status. Months passed, and the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
did not act on the appointment. Therefore, in January 2019, Seabaugh announced that he was withdrawing from consideration for the judgeship. Instead, he sought reelection to the state House and if successful contest the House Speaker's position vacated by Republican Taylor Barras of
New Iberia New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, and forms part of the Laf ...
in January 2020. However, Seabaugh did not run for House Speaker.


Personal life and education

Seabaugh graduated from Captain Shreve High School in 1985 and received his
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree from
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
in 1990. In 1993, he received his J.D. degree from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU. Seabaugh is married to Laura (McClelland), and they have four daughters.


References


External links


Seabaugh
at the Louisiana House of Representatives
Alan Seabaugh for State Representative
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seabaugh, Alan 1967 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians Alliance Defending Freedom people Baptists from Louisiana Captain Shreve High School alumni Louisiana lawyers Louisiana State University alumni Louisiana State University Law Center alumni Republican Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Politicians from Shreveport, Louisiana 2008 United States presidential electors