McFarland pivotal in budget debates

State Rep. Jack McFarland makes sure every House member gets to weigh in on the state budget. (Photo by Cross Harris / LSU Manship School News Service)

BATON ROUGE — When people think of Jack McFarland, they think of the clean-cut, white-haired logger from Winnfield who knows the state budget inside and out as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. What many don’t know is that his career in politics came from something as simple as doing others’ laundry.

When McFarland worked behind the drive-thru window at his dry-cleaning business in Winnfield, Louisiana, he would strike up conversations with customers, including the mayor and sheriff.

“It puts you in the middle of all the politics,” McFarland said. “I met a lot of people.”

He would listen to the complaints the officials had about one another. Then, he would help negotiate solutions.

It was those conversations that helped kick-start McFarland’s interest in a political career — one that led him to be president of the Winn Parish Police Jury, a Republican state representative from District 13 and now one of the most influential people at the Capitol as the Legislature prepares for its spring session.

McFarland, 56, is a conservative who supports fiscal discipline, gun rights and a ban on abortions. But his power comes from his deep knowledge of the budget and his willingness, even in hyper-partisan times, to work with Democrats and talk to advocates across the political spectrum about how to improve the lives of Louisiana residents, including those who are struggling financially.

“Jack’s leadership and decisions were really people-centered, not partisan-centered,” said former state Rep. Jason Hughes, a black Democrat who was the vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee before joining the New Orleans City Council last month. “His guiding question was ‘Is this good for Louisiana? Is this good for our people?’ ”

Hughes said McFarland wanted to ensure that every House member had a chance to weigh in on the budget.

“He really loves Louisiana,” Hughes said. “He was committed to fairness for all members of the House and really wanted to see every parish, all 64 parishes, in our state thrive. Parties honestly never came up in our conversations and in our negotiations.”

One example came last fall when the federal government shutdown threatened to disrupt SNAP food benefits, which 18 percent of Louisiana residents rely on. McFarland worked closely with Gov. Jeff Landry and Republican state Senate President Cameron Henry to make state funds available if needed to keep the assistance flowing.

McFarland said at the time that it was “the Christian thing to do.” He added, “I’m disappointed in the federal level that this population is being held hostage by either party, but I’m also disappointed that anybody would think that people like this should be used as leverage.”

McFarland’s district — which encompasses four parishes in North Louisiana — is rural, isolated and impoverished. Roughly 40 to 45 percent of those residents rely on Medicaid, and some had to travel at least an hour to see a doctor until federally supported healthcare centers were established in the district.

“Jack is very compassionate when it comes to his constituents,” said Katie Murray, McFarland’s legislative assistant.

McFarland also pays attention to detail. In one part of his laundry business, for instance, he let customers pick the detergents they wanted to use.

“These are the types of things that gained the public’s trust,” he said. “Looking back, it was a good precursor for where I am at.”

When he became the president of the Winn Parish Police Jury in 2008, he quickly resolved debt and other financial issues.

“He treated the jury like a business," said Karen Tyler, the jury’s secretary-treasurer. "He ran a great office."

McFarland recognized the parish garbage tax was collecting more than was needed. With a vote from residents, he put two-thirds of the extra money toward improving existing roads and one-third toward new roads.

When McFarland was elected state representative in 2015, he made a point of entering tough conversations with colleagues, asking them questions and giving his stance on issues. One topic he wanted to master was Louisiana’s budget.

McFarland said fewer than 25 percent of the legislators really understand the budget. But money runs everything.

During his first term, McFarland attended meetings about the budget and met with Henry, who was then the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee before becoming president of the State Senate.

McFarland’s determination landed him a spot on the Appropriations Committee, and he became the chair in early 2024.

As chairman, McFarland is responsible for leading the review and advancement of a $46.9 billion budget for all state agencies and programs.

He has helped find millions of dollars for public teacher stipends. But he also has been cautious about tapping too far into state reserves to expand other spending.

“Everyone wants lower taxes,” McFarland said. “To do that, we have to find a way to be better stewards with the taxpayers’ dollars.”

He also has been involved in recent compromises over spending on one of Gov. Landry’s centerpiece programs, LA Gator, which provides state money to families to help pay for private school education.

Landry sought more than $90 million for the program last year, but Senate Republicans would agree to only half that amount. A replay of that debate is coming this spring.

Landry has proposed a standstill budget overall for the coming fiscal year, but the state could face budget shortfalls of more than $300 million a year after that. McFarland also wants to prepare for that.

“The only way we can do that is to continue to work with our agencies to diminish wasteful spending, to continue to identify those opportunities when we can save dollars and not create more recurring expenditures,” he said.

McFarland got out of the laundry business years ago but still runs McFarland Timber, a logging-services company that caters to both professional builders and DIY enthusiasts.

He has two years remaining in the House before he hits his term limit. Talk of McFarland running for state treasurer has been circulating, though he has not decided what comes next.

“As long as I feel like I’m doing something for the people, that’s what I want to do,” he said.