Jeremy Alford: Time to see if Legislature will override vetoes

Lawmakers returned to Baton Rouge today for another veto override session — the third in as many years. At one time considered rare, this political exercise has become almost commonplace during this current term of state government.

For up to five days members of the Legislature will have the opportunity to reverse any of the regular session vetoes issued by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

The GOP-led House and Senate are likely to target a package of anti-LGBTQ+ bills vetoed by the Democratic governor. Most notably, the Louisiana Republican Party wants to override the veto on HB 648 by Rep. Gabe Firment, which is related to gender-affirming health care.

Whether lawmakers attempt to override anything else remains to be seen. An override requires a two-thirds vote from each chamber, which is a high bar.

Plus, it became clear over the weekend that the legislative leadership wants to keep a tight lid on the session’s agenda — and maybe confine the gathering to a single vote on Firment’s gender-affirming health care legislation.

Members of the budget-writing Senate Finance Committee, for example, were frustrated this weekend because a request from Chairman Bodi White to meet on day one of the veto override session was denied by Senate President Page Cortez.

"I don't understand it," White said. "In 20 years I've never been denied a meeting request."

In an interview www.LaPoliticsWeekly.com, Cortez said he didn’t plan to allow any "interim committee" meetings during the veto session. All of the action — meaning votes and debates — would be on the floor, he said, and members have already had enough time to review line item vetoes.

Members of the Finance Committee wanted extra time to review the governor’s extensive budget changes, explore their economic impacts and determine what could be done during the veto session.

Edwards applied line-item vetoes to three budgets measures, and issued traditional vetoes for another 25 individual bills. (To view all of the vetoes, click here.)

Of these instruments, a few are generating interest outside the orbit of the gender-affirming health care bill, including:

--SB 1 by Sen. Bret Allain to phase out the corporate franchise tax

--SB 6 by Allain to reduce the rate of the Quality Jobs Program project facility expense rebate when certain conditions are met

--SB 159 by Sen. Stewart Cathey to provide for the detention of 17-year-old juveniles under certain circumstances

--HB 188 by Rep. Larry Frieman to provide for denial of parole for dangerous offenders

--HB 125 by Rep. Mike Echols for agriculture land protection against foreign adversaries

--HB 260 by Rep. Beau Beaullieu on federal election guidance and funding

HB 585 by Echols to make structural changes to the state’s economic development agency and strategy

--HB 646 by Rep. Les Farnum for the annual canvass of registered voters

To be clear, there is merely interest in these bills at this hour. We’ll have to wait and see which can actually get votes once the session convenes.

History is certainly working against the Legislature, with only one successful override vote in more than three decades. That override, however, was delivered last year, in the form of a vetoed redistricting bill.

On the budget front, both Appropriations Chair Zee Zeringue and Ways and Means Chair Stuart Bishop were in the process of making their final decisions over the weekend about what should happen next.

Lawmakers who saw their projects vetoed by the governor are ready to vote right away, and many of their colleagues may fall in line.

In the House, 31 reps filed ballots to cancel the veto session, while 74 kept their ballots so the Legislature could meet today. In the Senate, 12 members opposed the session and 27 were in support. (View the Senate ballots here and the House ballots here.)