Louisiana's 1st regular session under Gov. Jeff Landry begins
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Louisiana lawmakers are back in Baton Rouge Monday for the start of the regular legislative session.
Why it matters: It's Gov. Jeff Landry's first regular session, and with Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate, a lot can change by the end as lawmaking is expected to tilt further to the right.
State of play: If you're feeling like we just went through this, you're right.
- This is legislators' third time in Baton Rouge this year following special sessions for redistricting and crime.
- While Gov. Jeff Landry saw significant compromises on his key priorities in January's redistricting-focused session, February's crime session handed him several high-profile victories.
- They included the expansion of legal execution methods, elimination of parole for people convicted after August, publicizing some juvenile criminal records, charging 17-year-olds as adults and decriminalizing the carrying of concealed handguns.
Between the lines: The crime bills sailed through to Landry's desk at a brisk pace, powered by Republicans' control of the Legislature .
- Other conservative-backed bills will likely see a similar rally of support, while Democrats look for strategic moments to lend their votes in the hopes of earning compromises on issues they see as potentially winnable.
- Plus, Landry wants to push lawmakers to call for a constitutional convention, which would be scheduled for later this summer in time for voters to have their say in November, according to The Illuminator.
What they're saying: "I think it's the greatest opportunity Louisiana's had in 100 years, and I don't think we should be shy," Sen. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
- Former Gov. John Bel Edwards "and his people weren't shy about forcing some things down our throats just because they could. Now the shoe's on the other foot, and I don't see any reason we shouldn't try to undo every single thing that was done over the past eight years."
Driving the news: A handful of bills are already making headlines before legislators officially clock in today. They include bills to:
- Get rid of brake tags and red-light and speeding cameras.
- Tighten regulations to make it harder for Blue Cross to sell itself.
- Offer more support for parents wanting to send their kids to private schools.
- Stop the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board from using estimates on bills.
- Apply the state obscenity law to public and school libraries.
- Guarantee rights to access birth control, emergency contraceptives and information about them.
- Limit Louisiana's governors from serving more than two terms in a lifetime.
- Castrate convicted sex offenders whose victims are under the age of 13. The bill follows 2022 legislation to study the punishment for child sex abuse.
Meanwhile: Landry presented his first budget in February, but it will face debate before it's finalized late in the session.
- The financial outlook is a bit of a mixed bag, with a sales tax expiring, short-term federal money disappearing and expense pressures from inflation, according to Public Affairs Research Council's Melinda Deslatte.
- It's also not yet clear just how much Landry's recent crime bills will cost the state. At least 15 of them will grow spending, according to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
Legislators must adjourn by June 3.