For a fiscal-oriented session, the Louisiana Legislature sure managed to fit in a multitude of bills this year that had nothing to do with the state’s spending plan.
Debate over whether the state’s annual spending cap should be lifted dragged on for so long, the budget-making process ended with a cram session in the final hours of the session. Volatile proposals involving library books, gender identity and juvenile justice also contributed to the time crunch.
From the fray emerged those who could claim victory for their causes, while others were left empty-handed or further marginalized.
As we recap who took the wins and losses from this year’s statehouse doings, keep in mind the governor still holds the fate of many of these measures in his veto pen.
Lawmakers who sponsored anti-LGTBQ+ bills were able to obtain legislative approval this year after running into walls in previous sessions. Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollack, got his ban on gender-affirming health care for trans youth passed.
Rep. Raymond Crews, R-Bossier City, gained approval for his bill that lets school employees refuse to call students by their names and pronouns other than the ones assigned to them at birth. Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton, pushed through legislation that bans discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools.
Firment might be wise not to count his chickens yet. A federal judge in Florida has blocked a similar ban on gender-affirming...
Field Marshal Lord Bramall, one of Britain’s greatest soldiers, was known affectionately to his grandchildren as “Papa”. Alex Bramall, his grandson, a fashion photographer, was particularly close ...