Due to disruptions brought about by COVID-19, Louisiana lawmakers are now expecting at least one special session to be called in Baton Rouge, possibly following the June 1 adjournment of the ongoing regular session, writes Jeremy Alford in a new opinion piece. Essential budgetary and health care needs will need to be addressed, and additional lawmaking hours will be required.
Our senators and representatives convened their regular session March 9, the same day Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Louisiana’s first official case of coronavirus. Roughly five weeks have passed, and the Legislature has yet to find an opportunity to safely return to Baton Rouge to get the policymaking ball rolling.
As such, many others who ply a trade inside the Capitol aren’t ruling out a second special session for 2020, either, maybe in the fall, Alford writes.
There have been some suggestions that a second special session could be dedicated to the topic of economic development. The governor, for his part, recently announced that an economic development task force was being formed to help guide the state’s recovery.
Lawmakers also have a variety of topics they want to cover this calendar year, and a regular session followed by a single special session may not be enough. For example, about two weeks ago most lawmakers Alford interviewed said their constituent calls largely involved queries about school closures. But since then, unemployment questions have dominated district offices. Read Alford’s full column about special legislative sessions.
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
