Legislative Service
Cooper entered the legislature as James Houston "Jimmie" Davis began his second nonconsecutive term as governor. Cooper proposed passage of the code of ethics in the Davis administration in an effort, critics would say largely unsuccessful, to stop corrupt practices in Louisiana government. He proposed the investment of idle funds and the release to the public of the state's unclassified payroll. It was during the administration of Davis' successor, John J. McKeithen, that Cooper obtained passage of his proposed bills.
In his last legislative term, coinciding with the second term of Edwin Washington Edwards, Cooper was chairman of the House Highway, Transportation, and Public Works Committee and cochairman of the Joint Committee on Highways, Public Works, and Transportation. He pushed for the development of the parish unit system for state highway work.
In 1969, Cooper served on the legislative committee established to rid the state of organized crime. He also served on several joint committee for state management and efficiency and for prison reform, including the decentralization of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola in West Feliciana Parish.
Cooper floor managed the establishment of the Toledo Bend Reservoir, a popular fishing resort on the Sabine River of the Louisiana-Texas boundary, and served on the Sabine authority for eighteen years. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the Toledo Bend Scenic Drive. In developing Toledo Bend, Cooper worked with then Department of Public Works director Claude Kirkpatrick, himself a former member of the Louisiana House.
In 1976, Cooper floor managed a bill making Louisiana State University in Shreveport a four-year institution. Cooper led the effort in the House, and colleague Don W. Williamson of Shreveport moved the proposal through the Louisiana State Senate.
From 1972 to 1980, Cooper served in a two-member district with fellow Democrat H. M. Fowler of Red River Parish.
Cooper died in Dallas at the age of sixty-two. He and his wife are interred at Mansfield Cemetery.
Read more about this topic: Joe Henry Cooper
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