The House made its feelings about the Governor’s public health emergency restrictions known today, approving nine different items that do everything from end the declaration after the session ends to allow the Legislature to get rid of some restrictions they don’t like. Speaker Clay Schexnayder’s resolution to terminate the pandemic emergency declaration after the session ends won approval. Haughton Representative Doddie Horton says it would roll back everything put into place by the Governor.
Abita Springs Representative Larry Frieman brought a bill that would allow the Legislature to either terminate entire emergency orders, or just parts of one. Frieman says this bill was in response to concerns from colleagues that the wholesale elimination of a public health emergency declaration would result in the loss of federal funding.
The House’s more aggressive approach to the Governor’s authority to implement public health restrictions contrasts with the Senate’s idea that the Governor should maintain his authority to do so, but build greater oversight powers that would mandate the Governor discuss why he extended any order.
LaPolitics.com Publisher Jeremy Alford says there’s a major philosophical argument happening in Baton Rouge over whether changes to public health emergencies should be made now, or set into place for the next disaster, as evidenced by the nine different instruments that passed…
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Alford says the biggest hurdle House lawmakers have to overturning or limiting the Governor’s authority is the veto pen. He notes that while all public health order legislation passed with a clear majority, it came up just shy of a veto-proof majority. Alford says that’s why so many different approaches have been suggested because lawmakers will need to see what actually makes it past the Governor…
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