LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau

Published: May 29, 2019

By: Tryfon Boukouvidis, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE, La. (LSU Manship School News Service) – The Louisiana House on Wednesday passed in a 79-23 vote anti-abortion legislation that would effectively ban abortions in the state, echoing similar legislative efforts by other Republican-controlled legislatures in the South.

A bill by Sen. John Milkovich, D-Shreveport, would outlaw the abortion of a fetus with a detectable heartbeat, which usually occurs around six weeks and before many women are aware they are pregnant.

Gov. John Bel Edwards, a pro-life Democrat who is up for re-election this fall, commented after the vote that he would sign the bill into law.

“In 2015, I ran for governor as a pro-life candidate after serving as a pro-life legislator for eight years. As governor, I have been true to my word and my beliefs on this issue,” the governor said in a statement.

“As I prepare to sign this bill, I call on the overwhelming bipartisan majority of legislators who voted for it to join me in continuing to build a better Louisiana,” Edwards added.

Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, who presented the bill, said, “In Louisiana, we have a culture of love of life, love of family, and love of God. Nothing is more precious to any of us than the heartbeat [of a baby].”

Read more in KALB.

Published: May 29, 2019

By: Lauren Heffker

BATON ROUGE — Bills that aim to improve youth foster care programs and implement safe haven infant drop boxes in the state are headed toward final votes in the Louisiana Legislature.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, would establish an extended foster care program for young adults up to age 21.

Louisiana’s current foster care system ages out children when they turn 18.

“Foster care is traumatic,” said a 22-year-old college student who had been in the state’s foster care system for many years.

In an emotional testimony to the House Health and Welfare Committee, she voiced support for the bill.

“I moved around six times. I was even separated from my little sister. I was told that people cared about my well being – but I felt like I was worthless and just another number.”

Under Barrow’s proposed law, foster care would be extended to young adults who are full-time employees, involved in job training and educational classes or who cannot go to school or work due to medical reasons.

The bill previously passed the Senate floor without opposition, and Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat who is up for re-election in the fall, has included foster care in his budget proposal.

Barrow’s foster care bill has been sent to the House floor for consideration.

Published: May 29, 2019

By: Tryfon Boukouvidis and Lauren Heffker, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — A Senate Committee struck down a bill on a 3-2 vote along partisan lines that would have concealed the names of companies that manufacture and provide drugs used in carrying out the death penalty.

The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Nicholas Muscarello, R-Hammond, said this proposed law would have ensured that the identity of the drug manufacturer remained secret.

The bill would have guaranteed absolute confidentiality to lethal drug providers in Louisiana executions. The Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola is the only facility in the state where the death sentence can be carried out.

Since 2000, seven people on death row in Louisiana have been exonerated, and two people have been executed. There have been no executions in the state since 2010.

In the committee, at the heart of the one-hour long debate were questions about government transparency versus information discretion.

The bill previously passed the House floor in a 68-31 vote earlier this month.

Michelle Ghetti, deputy solicitor general with the Louisiana Attorney General’s office, spoke in favor of the proposal. Ghetti said that by masking the provider’s identity, the bill could help prevent safety threats against execution drug providers and pharmacies, referring to cases in Oklahoma and Texas.

Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, who spoke in opposition of the bill, contended that Ghetti was using isolated cases to make a broader argument. “I do appreciate when you come to the committee and drop some of the most inflammatory language possible for maximum effect,” Morrell remarked.

Read more in The Shreveport Times.

Published: May 28, 2019

By: Lauren Heffker and Tryfon Boukouvidis, LSU Manship School News Service

A Louisiana House committee advanced a bill on Tuesday that would set 16 as the minimum age for marriage in the state.

Louisiana currently does not have a legal minimum age for marriage. Minors need parental consent to get married, and if they are under 16 they need parental consent and the authorization from a juvenile court judge.

Under the proposed law, sponsored by Sen. Yvonne Colomb, D-Baton Rouge, minors 16 and 17 seeking to get married would have to obtain the permission of a parent and a judge.

Some committee members did not agree that 16 was old enough and contended that 18 would be the appropriate age.

Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma, and Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Pineville, advocated for raising the age to 18.

Referring to a bill that was struck down last week, Magee asked why lawmakers had supported a proposal that would have raised the minimum smoking age to 21, but not a child marriage ban.

Louisiana House lawmakers last Thursday voted down a proposal for a higher smoking age. The bill would have raised the smoking age from 18 to 21 for tobacco, alternative nicotine or vaping products.

“We want to trust [minors] to make the most important decision of their entire lives when their brains aren’t even fully formed yet,” Magee said in the House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure. “I think it’s very shortsighted of us. The more lightly we take it, the less serious people [will] take it,” he added.

Read more in The Gambit.

By: Tryfon Boukouvidis, LSU Manship School News Service

Published: May 23, 2019

BATON ROUGE–The Louisiana House on Thursday voted 73-21 to pass a bill that would phase out the extra portion of the state sales tax that the Legislature renewed last year after five months of partisan tensions to address recurring budget crises.

The proposal would reduce the extra 0.45 of a cent of sales tax by one-tenth of a penny every year from 2020 to 2022 and repeal the rest in 2023.

Last year lawmakers struck a compromise under which the sales tax extension would expire in 2025. This would give lawmakers time to find more permanent solutions to the state’s fiscal shortfalls.

“If you are fine with extracting excessive money out of the taxpayer’s pockets,” said the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Lance Harris, R-Alexandria, “then you don’t have to vote for this bill.”

Under Harris’ proposal, the state is projected to lose $392 million in revenues by 2024.

The highest ranking Democrat in the House, Rep. Walt Leger of New Orleans, who supports Gov. John Bel Edwards’ position to maintain the sales tax, added an amendment during the debate that would take 0.05 percent of the 0.45 percent sales tax, or $42.5 million a year, to fund early childhood education.

“This is where we need to be investing and this gives us an opportunity to do it,” Leger said.

Read more in KALB.

By: Hunter Lovell, LSU Manship School News Service

Published: May 23, 2019

BATON ROUGE–Louisiana House lawmakers struck down a proposal Thursday to raise the state’s legal smoking age from 18 to 21 for most people. The bill was only backed by 24 legislators while 55 voted against it.

The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Frank Hoffmann, R-West Monroe, would have banned anyone under 21 from purchasing tobacco, alternative nicotine or vaping products.

Lawmakers already had their reservations about the bill when it advanced through the House Appropriations Committee earlier this month. In an effort to accommodate legislators’ concerns, the proposed bill would have exempted first responders, military members and veterans.

Still, the bill fell short of the support needed to pass in the lower chamber.

A higher smoking age, Hoffmann stressed, would result on health benefits and health care savings. He also cited reports from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids that showed 7,200 Louisianians die from smoking each year and that the state pays $1.8 billion in annual health care costs.

“Folks, this is a health issue,” said Hoffmann, a former smoker, in his closing remarks. “It’s a simple but tremendously important concept. It’ll reduce deaths, make better health, save money in the long run and make life better for many.”

Read more in The Advocate.

By: Sheridan Wall & Lauren Heffker, LSU Manship School News Service

Published: May 23, 2019

The Louisiana Senate Education Committee advanced bills Thursday that would address concerns about sexual assaults in public colleges and universities, add new measures to school suicide prevention programs, and report students linked to violent threats.

House Bill 294 sponsored by Rep. Barbara Carpenter, D-Baton Rouge, would improve current standards for administering anonymous sexual assault surveys at Louisiana’s public colleges and universities. Under Carpenter’s proposal, postsecondary institutions would issue the survey every three years in order to garner more respondents.

This would give administrators more time to prepare the survey, reach out to students for responses and analyze the results.

“When the state responses are in the single digits, that’s not telling us a lot about our communities,” said Jennie Stewart, who is the Title IX campus coordinator at Louisiana State University. “It’s not really statistically reliable and valid.”

“We want it to be a meaningful exercise in making our community a better place,” Stewart said, recognizing the need to improve the current survey.

Read more in The Advocate.

By: Tryfon Boukouvidis, LSU Manship School News Service

Published: May 22, 2019

BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana House on Tuesday passed proposals that would expand the state’s reach over local regulation of gun control and boost existing “stand your ground” laws, indicating a momentum of gun legislation in the state.

The House voted 68-30 to support a bill by Rep. Blake Miguez, R-Erath, which would eliminate the authority of local governments to prohibit the possession of firearms in certain businesses and public buildings.

On the House floor, Miguez contended that the current law is “a patchwork of regulations (that) confuse those trying to follow the law.” Gun law should be consistent around the state, he added.

Rep. Joe Marino, I-Gretna, expressed the position of the Louisiana Municipal Association, an organization that advocates for community development, that municipalities should retain their authority to designate firearm-free zones.

Several members of the Black Legislative Caucus also opposed the bill.

Rep. Terry Landry, D-New Iberia, said local governments know what is best for their residents.

“We cannot continue trumping local government rights,” Landry added.

In his rebuttal, Miguez highlighted the importance of Second Amendment rights.

“A good guy with a gun always stops a bad guy with a gun,” Miguez said.

Read more in The Advertiser.

By: James Smith & Lauren Heffker, LSU Manship School News Service

Published: May 22, 2019

BATON ROUGE–A state Senate committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would allow patients to inhale cannabis for medicinal purposes and would no longer require that prescribing physicians live in the state.

The proposal, sponsored by Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, is among several bills looking to update the state’s cannabis laws this session.

The inhalation bill would loosen the laws under which physicians could recommend the use of medical marijuana for patients diagnosed with debilitating medical conditions.

Present law permits patients to consume medical marijuana through edibles, oils and extracts. The proposed bill would allow patients to inhale cannabis through inhaler-like devices. Prescribing doctors would also no longer have to reside in Louisiana, although they would still need to be licensed by the state.

Read more in The Advocate.

By: Madeline Meyer, LSU Manship School News Service

Published: May 22, 2019

BATON ROUGE–Legislators are supporting efforts to help veterans start businesses and get hired in Louisiana. The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday advanced a proposal for the Veterans First Business Initiative.

The popular bill would be the first of its kind in the country.

The proposal, authored by Rep. Franklin Foil, R-Baton Rouge, was co-sponsored by 71 other legislators. The House voted unanimously in late April to advance the bill.

Foil’s proposal now moves to the Senate floor.

Under the initiative, the Louisiana Economic Development — the state’s business development agency — would create a registry for veteran-owned businesses. These businesses would also be able to post a sign or marker to indicate that they are veteran-owned.

To qualify as veteran-owned, veterans must own 51% or more of the business and must not have been dishonorably discharged.

“If you are a returning veteran and you’re looking for employment,” Foil said, “you can find other veteran-owned businesses that are owned by people who have gone through similar experiences.”

Read more in KATC News.