Barras is market president of Iberia Bank. He is married to the former Cheryl Lopez. In 2011, Barras became one of several members to switch to
Republican Party affiliation. In his first term, Barras served on the House and Governmental Affairs Committee Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs Committee, Ways and Means Committee, and Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay.
Role as speaker Barras predicted no shortcuts to the reconciliation of the state budget, the first agenda item in the special legislative session set for mid-February. "None of the choices are easy or ideal, but we have to face them," Barras said. In a June 1 editorial, the
Lafayette Daily Advertiser even called upon Barras to resign: "It may be no one could lead these 105 elected representatives, but Barras has proven he cannot. Barras is a good man but a bad speaker." Ken Naquin, the chief executive officer of Louisiana Associated General Contractors, referred to "the toxic mix that is the House of Representatives as it exists today [with] the total lack of leadership in the House." Lanny Keller, a journalist for
The Advocate, wrote in reference to Barras's retirement as speaker that the lawmaker, a compromise choice for the top position, is "a nice guy. But unfortunately, he's been a failure in many ways as speaker, and one who left the House as an institution in far worse shape than he found it. The budget process is a mess, and Barras bears a large share of the responsibility. Some of that is direct and personal, because as a member of the numbers-crunching Revenue Estimating Conference, he blocked ordinary and reasonable budget forecasts in recent months." ==See also==