Haynie & Associates
The fast pace at the Capitol is only going to intensify as we head into the final 17 calendar days of the 85-day Louisiana Regular Legislative Session that concludes at 6:00 pm on June 3rd. Most of the big decisions take place in these final weeks, so please stay engaged on the bills we have discussed. Expect any bills that have not passed both committee hearings to be heard this week in committee, often with 24-hour notice or less. Louisiana has no “crossover” date but the last day for legislation to pass off the opposite body is May 31st at 6 pm, or it requires a suspension of the rules.
With Memorial Day next Monday, the legislature is anticipated not to work this coming Friday, May 24th, or Monday, May 27th, which will further intensify this week’s action as timelines are starting to get tight for some bills to make it through the process. Most action is now in the Senate as the large number of House bills that have crossed over are getting heavily scrutinized by the upper chamber. The final days of the session are dominated by concurrence votes and conference committees, the latter of which can be unpredictable and bring about sudden changes to legislation.
TOP UPDATES:
Budget:
The Senate Finance Committee heard public testimony yesterday and is anticipated to amend and pass the budget instruments to the floor this week. There seems to be a decent amount of collaboration between the House, Senate, and Governor’s Office, but as usual, the last week of the session will likely see the budget bills in the conference committee to work out disagreements. Last week REC met and recognized additional dollars for the Senate to spend (details below).
Constitutional Convention:
The constitutional convention sought by the administration hit another bump this week as the Senate President re-stated the concerns of the Convention, putting the current proposal in doubt.
Education Vouchers:
Governor Landry and his Education reform backers scored a victory as a watered down version of ESA vouchers passed the Senate with 24 votes
Congressional Maps:
The Supreme Court ruled this week to hold the Louisiana Congressional elections this November in the legislative drawn maps which creates a 2nd black congressional district that favors State Senator Cleo Fields at the determint of incumbent Congressman Garret Graves.