Published: May 30, 2023
By: Piper Naudin, LSU Manship School News Service
BATON ROUGE–A Senate committee advanced a bill, 5-1, giving voters a chance to amend language in the Louisiana Constitution to say that involuntary servitude and slavery “are forever prohibited.”
Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge, presented House Bill 211 to the Senate Judiciary A Committee. The committee approved amendments clarifying that the bill would not affect labor programs within the criminal justice system.
Committee Chairman Sen. Barrow Peacock, R-Bossier City, questioned the purpose of the bill if it would not provide any real change. Jordan stated that HB 211 and its amendments were just language clean-up measures.
“This bill has a symbolic meaning,” Jordan said. “It is impactful and meaningful to all of the black men, women, and children in Louisiana.”
Read more at Bossier Press-Tribune
LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau 