Brett Geymann

Brett Frank Geymann (born December 8, 1961) is a businessman from Lake Charles, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 35 in Calcasieu and Beauregard parishes.

Geymann is a native of Lake Charles who later moved to Beauregard Parish, where he graduated from South Beauregard High School.^[1] Geymann holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from McNeese State University in Lake Charles.^[2] In 2003, Geymann was elected to the state House to succeed the retiring Republican-turned-Independent Vic Stelly, author of the Stelly Plan, a since overturned sales tax/state income tax transfer arrangement. Geymann initially won the House seat with nearly 54 percent of the vote over two Democratic challengers.^[3]

Geymann was reelected in 2007.^[4] He is a member of the House and Government Affairs and House Appropriations committees as well as the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.^[5] He is also a member of the Commission on Streamlining Government, headed by his House colleague Jack Donahue and including Geymann's frequent legislative ally Jim Morris of north Caddo Parish.^[6]

In 2008, Geymann introduced House Resolution 7 to request that the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries study the issue of escaped crawfish.^[7] The accumulation of excess water often forces crawfish from the ponds in which they are being cultivated into neighboring ditches and other waterways. Geymann compared the problem to meandering livestock in drier areas. The resolution called upon the department to report to the legislature on the extent of the problem and to propose any necessary laws.^[7]

In the spring of 2011, Geymann introduced House Resolution 27, a measure intended to halt the state from using one-time money, such as cash from the sale of prisons, to underwrite ongoing government operations. The practice is common in state government though long opposed by most conservatives. The change, known as the Geymann Rule, will require a two-thirds vote to pass state budget bills.^[8]

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