2024 Regular Session Adjourns Final Legisla Ɵ ve Update
You’ve heard your government a ff airs sta ff tell you frequently that elec Ɵ ons ma Ʃ er and have systemic changes and consequences throughout government. For the fi rst Ɵ me ever, Louisiana has a Republican Governor with a Republican super-majority legislature with which to work. Other than his e ff orts at having a Cons Ɵ tu Ɵ onal Conven Ɵ on, Gov. Landry con Ɵ nues to rack up victories at the Capitol. Depending on where you personally sit, this will no doubt impact your thoughts on how things are going in Baton Rouge. For LSMS though, much of the legisla Ɵ on this session focused on anything but healthcare, leaving us to quietly manage what a ff ected physicians, pa Ɵ ents and the prac Ɵ ce of medicine. Here is a taste of what we saw this year.
included a roll-back of various statutes changed during the prior administra Ɵ on. With li Ʃ le to no Ɵ me between organizing and the two special sessions, the regular session began on March 11 with Governor Landry focusing on three major points: 1 – Calling a Cons Ɵ tu Ɵ onal Conven Ɵ on to follow the regular session culmina Ɵ ng in a ra Ɵ fying vote during the November Presiden Ɵ al Elec Ɵ on, 2 – Deregula Ɵ ng property insurance in the hope of encouraging new companies to underwrite policies in Louisiana, and 3 – O ff ering school choice to allow parents to direct how state money follows their child using tools like Educa Ɵ on Savings Accounts.
The 2024 Louisiana Legisla Ɵ ve Regular Session has adjourned Sine Die. For most par Ɵ cipants from legislators to regulators to lobbyists, Sine Die comes with a big *SIGH*! For these folks, the legisla Ɵ ve season began with the organiza Ɵ onal session on January 8 of this year and has been non-stop for just 5 days short of 6 months! As a refresher (since there’s been a lot of water passing under the bridge this year), the fi rst special session was short and speci fi c to redistric Ɵ ng Louisiana’s Congressional seats. The goal was to create a second majority-minority district. This was accomplished by crea Ɵ ng a “slash” district across the state that contains parts of Baton Rouge, Alexandria and Shreveport – and everything in between. The changed district is currently represented by Congressman Garret Graves, a Republican from Baton Rouge who has announced he will not run for Congress this Fall. The most well-known name expected to appear on the ballot is State Senator Cleo Fields of Baton Rouge. Also contempla Ɵ ng a run is State Senator Gerald Boudreaux of Lafaye Ʃ e. The second special session was slightly longer but s Ɵ ll a short whirlwind and focused on Criminal Jus Ɵ ce. During the second special session, the legislature focused on strengthening sentencing, moving 17-year-old o ff enders into adult prisons and giving ci Ɵ zens greater ability to carry guns. Changes also
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LDH Secretary Ralph Abraham, MD, and his wife Dianne at the legisla Ɵ on recep Ɵ on with a Ʃ endees from VCOM. L to R: Dean Mark Sanders, DO; Direc Ɵ on Leann Bond; the Abrahams; Dean Emeritus Ray Morrison, DO and students Jimmy Nguyen, Chris Ɵ ne Le and Kenny Kha-Vo.
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