Governor Edwards will kick off this year’s regular legislative session at 6 PM this evening on the field at Southern University’s Mumford Stadium. Traditionally he’d open things up to a packed house at the state Capitol but due to COVID restrictions on indoor gatherings put in place by Governor Edwards the event will have to be done outdoors.
Edwards is expected to lay out his legislative agenda, including support for closing the state’s gender pay gap and rejecting any new tax cuts. He also plans to support any proposals to raise the minimum wage.
Republican House Speaker Clay Schexnayder says his priorities for the year will be tackling sales tax collection reform and restarting the state’s economy. The Speaker is, so far, feeling good about the odds of bipartisan agreement on both fronts…
There are a number of controversial culture war topics on the docket including trans issues, marijuana legalization, prison labor, and teaching about systemic racism, but ultimately political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says…
Instead, the dominant issue will be how to spend the 3.2 billion dollars in federal aid allocated to us by the American Rescue Act.
Also on deck, LSU scandal-inspired legislation. A bill is filed that would result in automatic termination of any post-secondary employee who fails to properly report incidents of “power-based violence” to the campus Title Nine coordinator. New Orleans Representative Aimee Freeman wrote it…
This fiscal session is set to run all the way into June.