Battle over COVID response expected during special session

The Louisiana Legislature will go back to work Monday for a special session to take up unemployment benefit funding and the damage inflicted by Hurricane Laura.
But the biggest fight may be over Gov. John Bel Edwards’ power to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The session opens at 6 p.m. Monday and must end by 6 p.m. Oct. 27.
“When we convene next Monday, our priorities are to address the devastation facing Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Laura as well as the impact COVID-19 continues to have on our state,” said Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette.
“We will also be working to resolve issues with the Unemployment Trust Fund, which, if left unaddressed, could result in financial turmoil for business owners and program beneficiaries.”
The state’s unemployment trust fund has been a source of concern for months.
The pandemic pushed Louisiana joblessness to 9.5% in June, more than double the July 2019 rate.
The unemployment trust fund had more than $1.1 billion in March but has dwindled to less than $150 million. If the fund drops to $100 million, the state government must borrow from the federal government to replenish it.
And that, Edwards has said publicly, would mean a surcharge on employers to repay the debt.
The Legislature is also expected to take up aid for Hurricane Laura victims, especially school districts whose property was destroyed by the most powerful storm to hit Louisiana since the mid-19th century.
The session is widely regarded to be the stage for another attempt by Republican lawmakers to rein in Edwards’ emergency proclamations in response to COVID-19.
After Edwards’ initial stay at home order, the closure of nonessential businesses and suspension of public school classes in March, he moved the state into Phase Two of coronavirus restrictions in June. He ended the stay at home order and allowed many businesses to reopen with limits on their capacity.
But, after a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, Edwards moved in mid-July to close bars to on-premises drinking, limit crowd sizes and impose a statewide mask mandate.
Conservatives have generally pushed to reopen the economy more quickly, especially with the expiration of federal measures such as the Paycheck Protection Program.
At least two groups of bar owners sued over the closure of their businesses, unsuccessfully so far. There has been talk since at least mid-summer of a legislative petition that would take away the governor’s power to declare a public health emergency.
“This session is about the people — the student whose education is further disrupted by disaster, the homeowner trying to rebuild, the local business struggling to keep its doors open, and the worker relying on benefits to make ends meet after being laid-off,” Cortez said. “It is my hope that together, we will be able to address these issues during the session and move Louisiana forward.”
In a press release Monday, Edwards expressed concern that the session call allows lawmakers to file bills on 70 different items.
“At a time when our state is dealing with the COVID-19 health emergency, hurricanes, and one severe weather event after another,” Edwards said, “I am concerned that the Legislature has again called themselves into a month-long session with an agenda of 70 items. This session will occur at a time when the public will again be restricted in their access to the State Capitol and their ability to give needed public input.”
The governor defended his handling of COVID-19.
“From the beginning of this emergency, I have relied on public health experts and the White House Coronavirus Task Force to guide Louisiana’s response to this historic emergency,” Edwards said. “Further, this response has been in line with the measures taken by our neighboring states that have unfortunately also been enormously impacted by COVID-19.
“Put simply, the measures we have taken in Louisiana are working and we are making significant progress. However, to abandon these efforts in defiance of the unanimous advice of the public health experts and the Trump administration would seriously jeopardize the lives of our people and the gains we have made. Further, it is important to remember our work in containing COVID-19 is far from done, as Louisiana still has the highest number of per capita infections in the country.”