Senator Hainkel began his legislative career serving five terms as a state representative from the 89th Representative District for Orleans Parish. He was elected Speaker of the House in 1980 and served in that capacity until 1984. In 1987, he was elected to the Senate, representing Orleans and Jefferson parishes. In 1991, Senator Hainkel was re-elected to the Senate representing Orleans, Jefferson, and two new parishes, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa, which were added to his district.

As Senate President, Senator Hainkel serves on numerous boards and commissions, including the Revenue Estimating Conference, the State Bond Commission, the Interim Emergency Board, the Legislative Budgetary Control Council, and the Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay, among others.

In his previous terms in the Senate, he has served as Chairman of the Finance Committee and as Vice-Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. Senator Hainkel also served on the Insurance, Judiciary A, and Labor and Industrial Relations committees. He is also an ex-officio member of the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee.

Previously, Senator Hainkel served as one of only six state legislators on President Reagan’s Federalism Commission. In 1980-81, Senator Hainkel again supported President Reagan as a member of the Advisory Transition Committee. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Southern Legislative Conference, which is a joint research agency of all state governments.

A practicing attorney, Senator Hainkel is the senior partner in the law firm of Porteous, Hainkel, Johnson and Sarpy. He has been actively engaged in a civil trial practice since 1961, maintaining offices in New Orleans, Thibodaux, Covington, and Baton Rouge. He is an honor graduate of De La Salle High School in New Orleans and has served on that institution’s Board of Administrators. Senator Hainkel received his BA in History from Tulane University and went on to Tulane Law School, where he achieved membership on the Moot Court Board, Law Review Association, and the Order of the Coif. He is active in the American and Louisiana Bar Associations and the American Judicature Society.

Since his first election in 1967 as a state representative, Senator Hainkel has effectively sought needed legislation in education, jobs, consumerism, criminal justice, parks, preservation, and environmental quality. He has helped to provide education about the dangers of drug abuse and to provide financial aid to colleges and to parents of children with special needs. He successfully guided passage of the right-to-work law, the innovative corporation tax credit law for employment, and the Convention Center in New Orleans. His most important legislative effort, in his opinion, is the TOPS scholarship program which makes a college education available to all qualified Louisiana citizens.

During the 1985 Session of the Legislature, he was a lead author of legislation limiting the liability of the state and governmental agencies from civil lawsuits against the state. Well-known for his support of funding for Audubon Institute projects, he has also pushed for the historic preservation district law. In 1980, he received the Preservation Legislator Award from the Louisiana Preservation Alliance.

Senator Hainkel is recognized for his progressive and independent stand in representing Louisiana’s best interests for reform and progress. The New Orleans Chapter of the Alliance for Good Government has awarded him their coveted Legislator of the Year award on two occasions and honored him with their Special Award in 1983. The Associated Builders and Contractors of Louisiana named him Man of the Year in 1972; he was honored with the Louisiana/Mississippi Associated Press Margaret Dixon Award in 1980; Alumnus of the Year of Tulane University, and Alumnus of the Year of De La Salle High School. In 1988, Senator Hainkel was chosen Legislator of the Year by the Louisiana Restaurant Association. In 1999, Senator Hainkel was honored by the Tangipahoa Parish School Board for his leadership in providing for funding for public education.

Additionally, Senator Hainkel has served as chairman of the Southern Legislative Conference, the only Louisianian to preside over this prestigious legislative organization. He was appointed one of two state legislators in this nation to serve on the National Council on Education Standards and Testing, a council to develop tests as part of the national education program under President Bush and all governors to improve education in the United States.

During his career of public service, Senator Hainkel has been a recipient of the National Republican Legislator of the Year Award and of the Brown Pelican Award for his efforts in the environmental field. He has also received the Lifetime Service Award from the Friends of Louisiana Independent Colleges and Universities.

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