Jeremy Alford: Special session will be battle of the branches
Efforts by conservative legislators to rein in the order-making authority of Louisiana’s Democratic governor will at some point pull in members of the Judicial Branch as well. In fact, right now a battle that covers ground across all three branches seems unavoidable.
For starters, a special session of the Legislature will convene Monday to drill down on COVID-19 restrictions, among other policy topics. Republican lawmakers are in a tough spot, since Gov. John Bel Edwards will definitely veto any bills that seek to infringe upon, reverse or eliminate the kind of emergency powers that are the foundation of his office.
Lawmakers, for their part, don’t have the votes to override a veto.
But they do have a constitutional trick up their sleeve in the form of a temporary suspension resolution, which can be enacted solely by the Legislature for a period of roughly one year.
Such a maneuver, however, would probably be challenged in court and already Democrats are labeling the idea as an inappropriate use of a suspension resolution.
Republican lawmakers have also been working to put legislative signatures on three different petitions to overturn Edwards’ current emergency COVID-19 order.
As of Tuesday morning, none of those petitions had enough signatures from lawmakers to reverse the governor’s actions.
Even if one does gain enough support, the Edwards administration would likely be justified in seeking an injunction, which would in turn lead to a lengthy courtroom discussion about whether executive powers are inherent.
Finally, there are a sprinkling of representatives and senators who want the Legislature to sue the governor for not bringing an end to the current COVID-19 restrictions.
Lawmakers in Pennsylvania brought a similar lawsuit over the summer and some of their counterparts in Louisiana want to use the litigation as a model. Of course, that would immediately bring together our three branches of government.
State lawmakers are feeling the heat.
Angry constituents have been hammering them on social media, in emails, through phones and at grocery stores.
Complaints are mounting about the late start of high school football, early closing times for bars, capacity issues for businesses and the mask mandate, to name a few issues.
The solution, as conservative lawmakers see it, is to attack the source of the restrictions — the laws that grant the governor rule-making authority during public health emergencies.
Lawmakers were within their rights to attempt a reversal of Edwards’ decisions using the petition process prescribed by law.
But now they’re trying to change an important and fundamental law to address a specific problem that only exists within the snapshot of time that we’re living.
Lawmakers should proceed with care on this matter, because this isn’t just another bill or resolution they’re proposing.
This approaching special session could alter the relationship shared by the Executive and Legislative branches for generations to come. Then again, keen observers knew this day was coming.
House members, in particular, were no doubt empowered by their predecessors, who in 2016 bucked the wishes of the governor on the selection of the next speaker.
Representatives held another independent internal election earlier this year before joining senators in calling themselves into a special session, which was traditionally a task carried out by governors.
During the regular session this year we also saw Rep. Barry Ivey, a Republican from Central, pass a bill through the House to allow the Legislature to call itself into an emergency session — without notice — during times of attack, disaster or public health emergency, an authority previously held only by governors.
Rep. John Stefanski, R-Crowley, likewise pushed language earlier this year to give lawmakers more of a say in how projects are proposed to the Bond Commission for financing, which — you guessed it — is a privilege enjoyed by the Executive Branch.
Although both of these efforts failed to gain traction on the Senate side, they were notable. Ivey’s bill was the most significant change proposed to Louisiana’s continuity of government laws in more than five decades.
The bill would have even transferred certain appointment powers from the Executive Branch to the Legislative Branch.
“The executive branch has very broad authority in regard to emergency powers and the Legislature does not,” Ivey told his colleagues during the floor debate. “We are very limited in what are able to do.”
These matters should not be taken lightly by anyone involved. The issues speak directly to the organizational structure of our government and public health policies.
One of the best things we can all do is to think ahead on these proposals, and not confine our thoughts to just the present day.
Where this whole debate heads next will be important to not only those of us living through these interesting times, but also to our children and grandchildren, who will be saddled with the decisions that will be made in the coming weeks.
For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.