02 May 2020

Regular legislative session through May 2, 2020

With the Legislature finally ready to resume on May 4, presented here are good and bad bills introduced in the interim.

THE GOOD: HB 733 by Rep. Zee Zeringue would extend higher education efficiency measures (similar bill: HB 829); HB 746 by Rep. Ray Garofalo would increase individual security in emergency situations; HB 749 by Rep. Beau Beaullieu would simplify and reduce costs of estate transfers; HB 850 by Rep. Barry Ivey creates better taxpayer protections in the creation of special taxing districts; HB 865 by Rep. Beryl Amedee would prevent government overreach restricting the right to bear arms in emergencies; HB 866 by Rep. Mack Cormier would tighten ethics laws for certain contractors; HB 868 by Ivey would clarify performance of emergency legislative activities; SB 445 by Sen. Barrow Peacock clarifies liability as it pertains to emergencies (similar bills: HB 826, SB 491); SB 461 by Sen. Mike Reese prohibits unduly penalizing employers because of the current state of emergency (similar bill: HB 833); SB 498 by Sen. Bret Allain provides for extending tax liability deadlines in emergencies.

THE BAD: HB 730 by Rep. Wilford Carter would increase the cost of vehicle insurance; HB 731 by Wilford Carter would reduce education standards; HB 755 by Rep. Edmond Jordan would increase the potential for conflicts in interest among policy-makers; HB 763 by Rep. Jack McFarland would disrupt adversely markets in times of certain emergencies and create bureaucratic and litigious messes; HB 797 by Rep. Royce Duplessis would allow local governments to undue interfere in business personnel policies; HB 801 by Rep. Rodney Lyons would authorize schools to deviate needlessly from their educational missions; HB 807 by Lyons increases the chances of abuse of medical marijuana (similar bill: SB 501); HB 814 by Rep. Sam Jenkins would allow another malady not proven to be affected by medical marijuana added to the list of its permitted uses (similar bill: HB 819); HB 824 by Rep. Barbara Carpenter would penalize unduly some students while unduly relaxing penalties on others; HB 832 by Rep. Matthew Willard would force businesses to grant forms of sick leave; SB 437 by Sen. Katrina Jackson would extend sick leave benefits to academic personnel with flexible schedules; SB 478 by Sen. Cleo Fields would subvert state annexation law with an unwarranted exception; SB 486 by Sen. Regina Barrow in regards to voting by mail is duplicative and allows nonresidents of a parish to vote there (similar bill: SB 501); SB 509 by Sen. Joseph Bouie would stifle educational delivery innovation; SB 510 by Bouie would restrict unwisely businesses’ ability to vet potential employees.

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