Frank Hoffmann
Encyclopedia
- For the German-Austrian actor of this name, see Frank Hoffmann (actor)Frank Hoffmann (actor)Frank Hoffmann is a German-Austrian actor. He trained at the Otto-Falckenberg-Schule in Munich.-External links:* at IMDB...
.
Frank Albert Hoffmann (born January 28, 1944) is a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from District 15 in Ouachita Parish
Ouachita Parish, Louisiana
-National protected areas:* Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge* D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 147,250 people, 55,216 households, and 38,319 families residing in the parish. The population density was 241 people per square mile...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. He is known as a leading legislative opponent of abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
. Prior to his entry into politics, Hoffman was a retired Ouachita Parish school administrator from West Monroe
West Monroe, Louisiana
West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,250 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area....
.
Early life
Hoffmann holds a Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
, Master of Education
Master of Education
The Master of Education is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in a large number of countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum and instruction, counseling, and administration. It is often conferred for educators advancing in...
, and Ed.D. (since changed to Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
) from the University of Louisiana at Monroe
University of Louisiana at Monroe
The University of Louisiana at Monroe is a coeducational public university in Monroe, Louisiana and part of the University of Louisiana System.-History:...
, formerly Northeast Louisiana University. He spent forty-one years in the Ouachita school system as a teacher, principal, personnel director, and, finally, assistant superintendent. His wife, the former Susan Gilliam (born February 9, 1951), also a ULM graduate, is a president of Chase Bank in Ouachita Parish and the only female bank president in North Louisiana.
The Hoffmanns have two sons, Matthew Thomas Hoffmann (born 1984) and Drew Hoffmann (born 1989). Hoffmann is active in the First Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church of West Monroe and is chairman of the board of directors of his church's television ministry, KWMS-TV, Channel 17.
Political career
Hoffmann is vice chairman of the House Education Committee and also serves on the Retirement and Ways and Means committees. He is also a member of the Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay and the Legislative Rural Caucus.He was initially elected to the state House when the retiring Republican Representative Mike Walsworth
Mike Walsworth
Michael Arthur "Mike" Walsworth is a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate, elected in the October 20, 2007 jungle primary. Prior to this he represented District 15 in the Louisiana House of Representatives until he was unable to seek reelection due to term limits...
, also of West Monroe, was elected to the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
. In the October 20, 2007, nonpartisan blanket primary, Hoffmann led a field of five candidates with 5,962 votes (44 percent). The runner-up was fellow Republican Paul B. Hargrove (born November 17, 1960) of West Monroe, who polled 4,230 votes (24 percent). Three other candidates, a Republican and two Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, shared the remaining 32 percent of the ballots. Hargrove elected not to contest the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
held on November 17, and Hoffmann hence secured the seat in the first round of voting.
Anti-abortion legislator
In April 2010, Hoffmann introduced legislation to forbid insuranceInsurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
companies operating within Louisiana from offering coverage of elective abortions. The only procedures permitted under the new law, all of whose opponents came from the Black Caucus, would involve miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
s or abortions to save the mother's life. Hoffmann said that his law was a response to the national health care measure signed by U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
in March 2010. Hoffmann added: "Louisiana is a very pro-life state," and his legislative district in the northeastern quadrant of the state is particularly conservative. The legislature also denies medical malpractice protection to doctors who perform certain elective abortions and gives the state the authority to shut down abortion clinics deemed not in compliance with the law.
Hoffman is a strong supporter of the new law which requires that all women who have abortions must first view an ultrasound
Ultrasound
Ultrasound is cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is thus not separated from "normal" sound based on differences in physical properties, only the fact that humans cannot hear it. Although this limit varies from person to person, it is...
picture of the child before they undergo the procedure. The new policy also applies in cases of impregnation through rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
.
On July 6, 2011, Governor Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
came to Hoffman's home church to sign Hoffman's latest legislation, HB 636, which requires the six abortion clinics in Louisiana to post information to clients on alternatives to abortion. The law requires that signs be posted about abortuaries to inform clients that it is illegal to coerce a woman into procuring an abortion, that the father must provide child support, that certain agencies can assist during and after the pregnancy, and that adoptive parents are available and can pay some of the medical costs involved.
Value-added education assessments
Hoffmann is the author of newly-adopted Louisiana House Bill 1033, which authorizes value-added assessments in schools so that strong educators can be rewarded and successful methods identified. The legislation seeks to identify teachers' weaknesses and offer professional development training to encourage educators to improve their techniques. The interest group, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers opposed Hoffmann's bill but claimed a role in shaping its provisions to make the law more acceptable to professional educators. It passed the state Senate on May 26, 2010, and was immediately signed into law by Governor Bobby JindalBobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
.
As a legislator, Hoffman has supported the Louisiana Right to Life
Right to life
Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being...
Federation and the Louisiana Family Forum
Louisiana Family Forum
Louisiana Family Forum is a social conservative non-profit advocacy group based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The organization supports Louisiana's covenant marriage law and opposes abortion and same-sex marriage...
100 percent of the time. He has backed the positions of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, known by the acronym LABI, is the largest and most successful business lobbying group in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded in Baton Rouge in 1976, when Louisiana adopted a new right-to-work law during the administration of Democratic...
82 percent of the time.
Hoffman was handily reelected to the House in the primary election held on October 22, 2011. He defeated the Democrat Wayne Trichel, 8,953 votes (81 percent) to 2,102 (19 percent).