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The Louisiana Legislature adjourned the state’s first veto override session in modern history Wednesday without overturning a single veto.
Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards rejected 28 regular session bills this year. The GOP-dominated Legislature, however, failed to reach the necessary two-thirds majority in each chamber to erase Edwards’ veto pen.
The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, or Senate Bill 156, was seen as the GOP’s best opportunity for success. The transgender athlete legislation would have prohibited students from competing on teams that differ from their assigned gender at birth.
The bill initially passed with bipartisan support, but Edwards vetoed the legislation, saying it “unfairly discriminated against transgender youth.”
A successful Senate override vote occurred Tuesday, but the House failed to advance the effort Wednesday after tabling 20 other bills to get to it.
Rep. Laurie Schlegel, R-Jefferson, spoke in favor of the measure. Members were allowed to discuss only the governor’s stated objections in his veto message, not the merits of the legislation.
Schlegel reminded her colleagues that nothing had changed since the bill passed in May with 78 votes and 50 co-sponsors.
“If you’ve seen the polling on it then you know in this state, in every single district, whether it’s Democrats, Republicans or Independents, they overwhelmingly believe biological males should not play female sports,” she said.
Edwards also cited the NCAA’s anti-discrimination policy covering transgender sports bans in his veto statement, which he said could impact the state economically. New Orleans is scheduled to host the 2022 men’s basketball Final Four.
“It’s unimaginable to me that we could let any outside organization hold our state hostage on a bill,” Schlegel said.
Rep. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, was the lead dissenting voice.
“Protecting our girls is something I choose to believe every member of this Legislature wants desperately and undeniably. It’s something that I believe our governor undoubtedly wants,” he said. “But members, not only is this bill unnecessary, I can assure you that it does not, in fact, protect our girls.”
Duplessis warned of lawsuits, personal privacy violations, bullying and economic losses. He added that helping girls in sports would involve additional funding to create more opportunities.
“They’re not on a mission to dominate sports. They’re on a mission to survive,” he said of transgender youth.
Rep. Jeremy LaCombe, D-Livonia, unsuccessfully urged House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, to let he and other members speak.
“Some of us have been put in astronomically difficult situations,” he said.
LaCombe voted for the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act in May but chose to sustain the governor’s veto Wednesday.
Democratic Reps. Chad Brown, Mack Cormier, C. Travis Johnson and Pat Moore also voted against the override after previously supporting the bill, as did Rep. Roy Daryl Adams, the lone Independent in attendance.
Schlegel closed by asking members to “fight like a girl and override this veto.”
Seventy votes were needed but only 68 came – two short of the required super-majority. The 68-30 final result prompted Schexnayder to suspended further deliberations.
Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, moved to adjourn hours later, indicating no other reconsidered bills would receive attention. The House soon followed in tow.

Lenn Ray Bourgeois Jr., 55, a native and resident of Patterson, died Saturday, July 17, 2021, at Ochsner St. Mary in Morgan City.
Visitation will be Saturday from 9 a.m. until services at 11 a.m. at St. Luke Baptist Church in Patterson. Burial will follow in New Salem Cemetery in Patterson.
He is survived by a daughter, Ashley Mack of Broussard; five grandchildren; a brother, Ryan Bourgeois of Gibson; and a host of other relatives.
He was preceded in death by a daughter, parents, a brother, a sister and stepfather.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

The average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Louisiana is $927, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition.
The group’s newly released “Out of Reach” report analyzed rents throughout all 50 states and emphasizes the need for affordable housing.
The COVID-19 pandemic and related stay-at-home public health orders made housing problems even more dire for many low-income families and individuals, study authors said.
“During the peak of the crisis, when it was imperative for everyone to stay home and maintain social distancing, over 580,000 Americans were experiencing homelessness in shelters or on the streets,” the report reads. “Millions more were at severe risk of eviction because interruptions in incomes broke their already-strained budgets.”
Despite the Pelican State ranking in the bottom half of the nation’s most expensive rental states, Louisianans still have to make $17.82 an hour — 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year — to keep up with the oft recommended one-third income limit for living expenses, the report said.
Rents were estimated according to fair market value, defined as what a person can expect to pay for a modestly priced rental home in a given area.
“In order to afford this level of rent and utilities — without paying more than 30% of income on housing — a household must earn $3,089 monthly or $37,062 annually,” said the report.
When compared with the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, working Louisianans would need two and half jobs to afford a decent roof over their heads.
New Orleans requires the highest average hourly housing wage in the state at $20.40. Vernon Parish, Baton Rouge and Lafayette follow behind, requiring $17.33-$19.77 an hour.
Instead of working two and a half full-time jobs at the federal minimum wage, Louisianans would need to work two full-time jobs to afford a one-bedroom rent.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the 2021 national housing wage for a modest two-bedroom rental is $20.40 an hour. Residents of California must make $39.03 an hour, the highest in the nation.
“Because the federal minimum wage does not rise automatically with inflation, it is worth considerably less today than it was worth in recent decades. If the minimum wage had increased at the rate of productivity growth, it would be over $21 per hour in 2021,” the report said.

GARAGE SALE
Friday and Saturday, July 23-24, 7 a.m. to noon at 619 David Drive, Patterson. Proceeds benefit Pilgrim Grove Baptist Church missionary department.