Tom Aswell | The News
The Louisiana Legislature will convene for an 80-day session on Monday, April 14, a little more than a week from now.
The Livingston Parish News will be looking at the 43 bills filed by the seven state senators and representatives who combine to represent Livingston Parish.
Beginning with the State Senate, we will be taking the members alphabetically, beginning with Rick Edmonds, who represents Senate District 6, which includes a sliver of Livingston on the extreme east, including Denham Springs, and southeast Livingston and parts of East Baton Rouge, and St. Helena parishes.
SEN. RICK EDMONDS
- SB 25 is a bill calling for a constitutional amendment to provide for a separate school district for the City of St. George. (The bill was referred to the Senate Education Committee).
- SB 64 calls for membership of the Shenandoah Estates Crime Prevention and Improvement District to be governed by a nine-member board of commissioners. Pending before the Senate Local and Municipal Affairs Committee).
- SB 81 would provide for “academic transparency and parental access to digital instructional and other educational materials. It is a sweeping bill that would authorize parental observation of virtually every facet of a teacher’s syllabus, tests, test keys, school rules, policies and schedules. (Senate Education Committee).
- SB 90 would add betting on the outcome of an election to a list of election-related offenses. (Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee).
- SB 190 Designates a portion of U.S. 61 in East Baton Rouge Parish as the “Jackson, Gerard, Garafola, Tullier Memorial Highway.” (Senate Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee).
- SB 191 provides for the composition of the five-member Board of Commissioners of the St. George Fire Department. (Senate Local and Municipal Affairs Committee).
- Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 (SCR 2) provides for legislative approval of the Minimum Foundation Program formula for the funding of public education for 2025-26 school year. (Senate Education Committee).
SEN. VALERIE HODGES
Sen. Valerie Hodges’s Senate District 13 comprises most of Livingston Parish and smaller sections of East Baton Rouge and Tangipahoa parishes.
- SB 7 requires fiduciaries such as a manager of publicly managed assets, proxy firm, or contractor of any public retirement or pension system, fund, or plan to discharge its duties solely for the exclusive purpose of providing financial benefits to participants and their beneficiaries.
- SB 22 Creates the crime of theft of utility property with a penalty of up to $10,000, depending upon whether or not the theft resulted in an interruption of service to the public.
- SB 209 provides for recoverable damages and medical expenses for personal injury from a motor vehicle accident at a rate of 120 percent of the Medicare reimbursement rate in effect or 170 percent of the applicable state Medicaid rate, to satisfy unpaid charges for treatment.
- SB 216 requires that certain construction contracts with the Department of Transportation and Development contain provisions to discourage contractors from delaying construction completion times and for the provision of incentives to reward contractors for projects completed prior to deadlines.
- SB 226 is a lengthy bill to prohibit the acquisition of property by a “foreign adversary” or a “prohibited foreign actor.”
SEN. BILL WHEAT
Senate District 37, represented by State Sen. Bill Wheat, includes only a small part of Livingston Parish and larger portions of Tangipahoa and St. Tammany parishes.
- SB 5 removes the Hammond City Court from city courts in which jurisdiction is concurrent with district courts in certain cases.
- SB 20 is a proposed constitutional amendment which would increase the number of nonfiscal, general, pre-filed bills that a legislator may file from the present five to seven and would provide that a fiscal bill may include the repurposing or restricting the use of existing tax proceeds.
- SB 21 would add veterinary clinics to the definition of healthcare facilities and veterinarians to the definition of healthcare professional as they are applicable to the law pertaining to assault and battery of emergency room personnel, emergency services personnel or healthcare professional as a crime of violence.
- SB 40 would update licensure requirements for persons regulated by the Department of Insurance by cutting the requirement of continuing education from 24 hours to 22, changing the law exempting licensing requirements for individuals employed by an insurer who adjusts a loss from $500 to $2,000 and that insurance producers who write property and/or casualty or personal lines complete one hour of instruction by the Department of Insurance on any insurance law changes.
- SB 85 provides that the governing authority of any parish or municipality may establish and post no-wake zones on local waterways.
As can be seen, none of the bills filed directly affect Livingston Parish exclusively, though House members may submit bills that pertain to the parish specifically. Those will be covered in an ensuing story in the next issue of The Livingston Parish News.
