Alan Thomas Seabaugh is an American
attorney from
Shreveport, Louisiana, who is a
Republican member of the
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 re ...
from District 5 in
Caddo Parish
Caddo Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Caddo'') is a parish located in the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the parish had a population of 237,848. The parish seat is Shreveport, which develope ...
.
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 popu ...
held in
St. Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...
. He was also a member of the
Electoral College that year. He cast his two votes for the unsuccessful
McCain/
Palin
The surname Palin is a name of British origin, either English or Welsh. Possible derivations include an anglicization of the Welsh patronymic ''ap Heilyn'' ("son of Heilyn") or a reference to the English placenames Poling, West Sussex or Sea Pall ...
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 count ...
legal organization
Alliance Defending Freedom
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF, formerly Alliance Defense Fund) is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group that works to curtail rights for LGBTQ people; expand Christian practices within public schools and in government; and ...
, 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, , ...
.
Political campaigns
State senate campaign of 2007
In 2007, Seabaugh unsuccessfully challenged Republican
State Senator
A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
Description
A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 ...
Sherri Smith Buffington
Sherri Smith Buffington is an American politician. She served as a Republican member for the 38th district of the Louisiana State Senate.
Buffington attended at Centenary College of Louisiana and Louisiana State University. In 2004, she won ...
.
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
Wayne may refer to:
People with the given name and surname
* Wayne (given name)
* Wayne (surname)
Geographical
Places with name ''Wayne'' may take their name from a person with that surname; the most famous such person was Gen. "Mad" Anthon ...
. 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
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 powe ...
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 Treasur ...
, 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 air 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 of the United States Army S ...
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 ...
from
St. Tammany Parish, also sought the Senate seat. Seabaugh announced that he would not enter the race and strongly endorsed
Bill Cassidy
William Morgan Cassidy (born September 28, 1957) is an American physician and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Louisiana, a seat he has held since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Louisiana ...
, 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 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, often based on state income tax calculations. Forty-two states and man ...
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 deduction
A payroll is the list of employees of some company that is entitled to receive payments as well as other work benefits and the amounts that each should receive. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time worked or tasks pe ...
s 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
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
, 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
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". ...
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 language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
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
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. The only living former Louisiana governor, Jindal also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives ...
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
A fuel tax (also known as a petrol, gasoline or gas tax, or as a fuel duty) is an excise tax imposed on the sale of fuel. In most countries the fuel tax is imposed on fuels which are intended for transportation. Fuels used to power agricultural v ...
and further called for the abolition of 3,000 of the 4,700 positions in the
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) is a state government organization in the United States, in charge of maintaining public transportation, roadways, bridges, canals, select levees, floodplain management, port facili ...
.
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 Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
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 ...
nominated Seabaugh for the seat held by
Dee Drell on the
. 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 ...
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
Taylor Francis Barras (born January 1957) is an American accountant and banker who served as a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for the 48th district, based in Iberia Parish. On January 11, 2016, as he began his third t ...
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 yea ...
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 near ...
in 1990. In 1993, he received his
J.D.
JD or jd may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''JD'' (film), a 2016 Bollywood film
* J.D. (''Scrubs''), nickname of Dr. John Dorian, fictional protagonist of the comedy-drama ''Scrubs''
* JD Fenix, a character from the ''Gears of War'' vi ...
degree from the
Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU. Seabaugh is married to Laura (McClelland), and they have four daughters.
References
External links
Seabaughat 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