First Extraordinary Session through Jun. 20, 2020

Bills continue to trickle in and a few are making progress, with ten days left in the session.

THIS WEEK FOR THE GOOD: HB 14 was discharged from committee; HB 23 was discharged from committee; HB 28 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 36 passed the House; HB 41 failed to pass the House; HB 44 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 50 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 54 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 55 passed the House; HB 57 with minor amendment passed the House and with major amendment passed Senate committee; HB 60 with minor amendment passed House committee; HB 66 with minor amendment passed House committee; SB 9 passed House committee; SB 16 with minor amendment passed the Senate.

Regular legislative session through Jun. 20, 2020

The governor has dealt with all of the good and bad bills identified for this session, so all that remains is the computation of the scorecard.

THIS WEEK FOR THE GOOD: HB 140 was signed by the governor; HB 690 was signed by the governor; HB 746 was signed by the governor; SB 166 was signed by the governor; SB 231 was signed by the governor; SB 351 was signed by the governor; SB 423 was signed by the governor; SB 461 was signed by the governor; SB 491 was signed by the governor.

THIS WEEK FOR THE BAD: HB 676 was signed by the governor; HB 763 was signed by the governor; HB 819 was signed by the governor; SB 437 was signed by the governor.

First Extraordinary Session through Jun. 13, 2020

The special session nears its halfway point, with many bills still coming in even though others have made considerable legislative progress.

THE GOOD: HB 49 by Rep. Barry Ivey would amend the Constitution to allow for payment in lieu of property taxes (similar bill: HB 50); HB 54 by Ivey would create greater flexibility in granting tax abatements for capital projects; HB 55 by Rep. Mike Johnson would encourage greater seat belt use and lower insurance rates (similar bills: HB 57, HB 60, HB 66, SB 16); SB 18 by Sen. Big Mike Fesi would increase the ability to pay out unclaimed property funds in a more timely fashion.

THIS WEEK FOR THE GOOD: HB 14 passed House committee; HB 23 passed House committee; HB 26 with major amendment passed House committee; HB 28 passed House committee; HB 36 passed House committee; HB 41 with minor amendment passed House committee; HB 42 with minor amendment passed House committee; HB 43 passed with minor amendment House committee; HB 44 with minor amendment passed House committee; HB 50 with major amendment passed House committee; HB 54 with major amendment passed House committee; HB 57 with minor amendment passed House committee; SB 9 with major amendment passed Senate committee and with major amendment passed the Senate; SB 12 passed Senate committee; SB 18 passed Senate committee.

Regular legislative session through Jun. 13, 2020

It’s now all about bill disposition by the governor.

THIS WEEK FOR THE GOOD: HB 334 was signed by the governor; SB 75 was signed by the governor; SB 157 was signed by the governor; SB 418 was vetoed by the governor.

THIS WEEK FOR THE BAD: HB 328 was signed by the governor.

First Extraordinary Session through Jun. 6, 2020

The 2020 First Extraordinary Session of the Louisiana Legislature kicked off this week, in partial response to the month-and-a-half layoff during the regular session taken because of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. Let’s see what good and bad offerings have surfaced, none of which moved this week:

THE GOOD: HB 14 by Speaker Clay Schexnayder would amend the Constitution to allow for centralized sales tax collection; HB 20 by Rep. Debbie Villio would create managed care for Medicaid long-term care; HB 23 by Rep. Stephen Dwight would amend the Constitution to allow for payment in lieu of property taxes (similar bills: HB 28, HB 33, HB 38, HB 41); HB 26 by Rep. Zee Zeringue would extend self-autonomy powers of higher education institutions; HB 36 by Rep. Barry Ivey would amend the Constitution to bring uniformity to property tax exemptions;  SB 1 by Sen. Patrick Connick would change vehicle insurance laws as compared to present law to a form in states with lower insurance rates (similar bills: SB 2, SB 3, SB 9, HB 42, HB 43, HB 44); SB 12 by Sen. Big Mike Fesi would amend the Constitution to increase the ability of the state to pay out unclaimed funds in a timely fashion.

THE BAD: HB 10 by Rep. Cedric Glover would decrease the state’s ability to leverage highway construction dollars; HB 24 by Rep. Ted James would impose an unnecessary level of legislative intervention into executive branch decision-making; HB 30 by James would introduce arbitrary elements into vehicle insurance rate determinations (similar bills: HB 31, HB 32).