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The 2024 Regular Louisiana Legislative Session is over! So much happened this year, and is about to explode as bills become law. Plenty of details below.

This year has been hard. If you appreciate the difficult work that we do in Baton Rouge, please drop a donation. I use off-season donations to pay monthly and annual expenses, interns, and debt retirement (myself and my accountant). Becoming a monthly donor is very helpful to me as I can budget for this and the next couple of years.

On Monday, June 24, I'm hosting a post-session recap at Urban South from 5-7 pm, kids always welcome, recap starts at 5:30. I always stay long. Sign up here to submit questions.

I am going to the Democratic National Convention in August and I am EXCITED.

This is the longest email I have sent in 5 years, and it could have been much longer.

- Mandie

MY LEGISLATION

I am thankful that Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Jack McFarland and Vice Chair Orleans Rep. Jason Hughes came through with $1.3 million to help clear Orleans' DNA testing backlog, which includes rape kits. I worked with him on this for several months; Jack saw the importance and made sure it stayed in the budget.

The Broadmoor Improvement Association (BIA) in House District 91 provides essential services such as food assistance, medical referrals, educational programs, youth activities, & mental health services. BIA is set to receive $250,000 from state-allocated funds for (1) capital maintenance projects, and (2) securing & improving services offered to the public. Funds will be used by the BIA to repair & maintain the broken HVAC systems in community church buildings, which will allow these essential services to function year round.  Some of the funds will be used to upgrade property BIA owns, for ADA compliance, adequate security, emergency exits, structural support, & offices.  

I always file a mix of practical, reach, and educational legislation. What I sent to the governor is generally "good government" legislation:

Two consumer protection insurance bills: one to require disclosure of all available discounts to customers, and another to further penalize misbehaving companies. (A constituent sent the idea for the first one because of his own experience, and we made it happen!)

Increased sentences for public bribery and malfeasance in office, coupled with a revamp of our laws on white-collar crimes and crimes involving elected officials. Rich people commit crimes too.

Two election-related bills, one that tightens a loophole that bad faith, malicious actors take advantage of to behave with impunity, and another that is Louisiana's first step towards regulating artificial intelligence in elections, a new technology that could completely erode all trust in what we see and hear about candidates.

A very hectic yet average day in the life of a Louisiana legislator.

And finally, several resolutions that set up the first steps for future legislation, related to frequency of elections, databases for missing persons & unidentified bodies, a study of community Medicaid programs, and others.

Two of my losses were sad. I passed the only bill to the House floor that would have restricted gun usage in the City, for parade routes only. Passing that bill out of the criminal justice committee was surreal. The NRA spent the weekend harassing members. The 38-58 vote, including 9 R yay votes, shows that even R legislators, like the public, do not support everyone over 18 being able to conceal carry a gun they don't know how to use.

I tried to remove language from our constitution that says marriage is only between a man and a woman. Many couples are rightly concerned about what could happen to their families should Obergefell be overturned. We also need to be clear that everyone is welcome in our state. This bill was about to make it out of committee without opposition until one conservative member single-handedly killed it. 

The House refused to pass my resolution that asked the Dept. of Health to gather statistics related to pregnancy & maternal health since Dobbs in June 2022. Rs claimed I was trying to undermine state law on abortion with the resolution. Resolutions. cannot. create. laws.

I tried, and failed, for the 6th & 7th times, to have the legislature clearly confirm that a pregnant woman who has or tries to have an abortion won't face criminal charges. They again refused, because LA Right to Life told them to. We need this now more than ever. (Video from 2023.)

If you like what I do in BR, click below to let me know!

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLIEST YOU'VE EVER SEEN 

Comprehensive updates, from some of our journalist friends. "Da Winnas & Da Loozas", of course. No surprise that most Louisianans think the state is headed in the wrong direction.

The House Democratic Caucus, led by Chair Matthew Willard of New Orleans, worked hard this session. We were the only opposition to so much bad legislation.

GOOD

We will have two majority minority Congressional districts on our fall ballot, although that may change in the future. I testified in a federal court case on the maps earlier this year.

The new HEMP and THC biz was saved! It was a ridiculous fight, with zealous abolitionists and the liquor industry on one side, and our scrappy small businesses on the other. In the last hours of a difficult session, we were able to pull out a win for many friends, constituents, and local businesses. Have a Driftee to celebrate.

The legislature appropriated $8m to a summer feeding program that could bring as much as $70m to the state, because the governor refused to do so. Thanks to New Orleans Rep. & Approps Committee Vice Chair Jason Hughes for making sure this happened.

Several union-busting bills were demolished in Senate labor, of all places.

Senate President Cameron Henry of Jefferson Parish is a check on the governor.

Contrary to city gossip, Sewerage & Water Board WILL be receiving $24 million this year for its new power station.

New Orleans will be receiving, and spending, a lot of money to get the city ready for the Super Bowl. Of course it took a football game for this to happen.

Click image above to read more.

INSURANCE (meh)

Your insurance is not likely to go down anytime soon. I am being honest. Most of what was passed this year was regulatory. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple says the reforms will put the state on the right track; unclear when results will be seen.

I'm not sure that more than a few legislators truly understand how bad it is. I said on the floor that I'm now one of those homeowners who is struggling to pay my mortgage. Silence.

Remember: if your insurer drops you, you can get on Citizens.  Also: there will no longer be a 10% upcharge on Citizens policies - which is nice. Thanks Rep. Matt Willard for working to make this happen, as well as extending the fortified roof plan.

Cartoon by Walt Handelsman

BAD

A LIST OF TERRIBLE LEGISLATION PASSED THIS YEAR IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER,

WHICH ARE PROBABLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND DEFINITELY MEAN

As of July 4th, anyone can conceal carry a gun over 18 without a permit or training, with few restrictions; there are no special provisions for Mardi Gras or the French Quarter. The public absolutely does not like this. Can't think of many worse ideas.

An absolutely gross example of an unconstitutional law is the new one that will make it a crime to be within 25 feet of a police officer after being told to stop. This is a response to Black Lives Matter protests, which was a response to the recorded violence and extrajudicial executions, mostly of Black men, which we witnessed in recent years. This violence would not have been able to be recorded at 25 feet. We have the right to monitor our government. (Btw, we have a law that prohibits interference with an investigation.)

Surgical castration is now an allowed punishment. It's medieval, unconstitutional, irreversible, plus, Louisiana has an extremely high false conviction rate. Rep. Edmond Jordan, the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus Chair, explained to the chamber the historical significance of the bill, as castration was used when Black men were lynched during Jim Crow. Passage of this bill was blasted across national media, just like.......

Speaking against SB 276, yet another attempt to hurt and arrest women.

SB 276, the abortion pill bill: misoprostol, a medication used thousands of times a day for inducing labor, miscarriages, postpartum hemorrhaging, ulcers, and less frequently, for medication abortion, is now a schedule IV drug, which means if you are caught with it without a prescription you face 1-5 years imprisonment; it will now also be much harder for people to obtain when they have a medical emergency, and they will be recorded in a state database. This bill was filed by the same senator who tried to kill the hemp industry; he also actually tried to sneakily lift a state ban on political contributions by casinos (!!). The Advocate said that SB 276 "put him in the national spotlight." The governor signed it the day after it passed.

This will be repeated across the country, in an attempt to get rid of all medication abortion, & move toward the hateful far right's ultimate goal: arresting women.

I probably gave 20 interviews on this bill, including this to the Washington Post.

The Ten Commandments must be posted in every classroom, K through college.  69 Republicans voted against my amendment to add the Golden Rule.  The author said she didn't know where the Golden Rule came from.

Attacks on LGBTQ rights: (1) a "bathroom bill"; (2) Don't Say Gay; & (3) the Pronoun Bill. The author of the bathroom bill was "unable to point to a specific incident in Louisiana in which a woman was harmed by a transgender woman in a restroom or changing facility." These are more of the jumble of hateful copycat bills filed across the country each year.

Many bad criminal (in)justice bills passed, like jailing 17 y.o. with adults, expanding the death penalty, & eliminating parole and good time. (I was able to add an amendment that prevents legislators, the governor, and their families from selling execution supplies to the state.)

Teachers did not receive a raise, just another $2000 stipend.

The lege gave much more power to the governor. At the last minute he was awarded even more secrecy over his records. Democracy dies in darkness. 

Correctional facilities received a ton more money, I guess to prepare for the explosion of new inmates from the bad bills passed earlier this year.

ESAs - education scam accounts! Luckily not funded (yet).

This video gives several reasons as to why Education Scam Accounts are a bad idea. (They changed the name from Savings to Scholarship and no one blinked lmao because this is all lies to steal public dollars and give them to privately owned schools.)

LOOKING FORWARD

BUT! We made it. Older, wiser (?), and with more headaches and wrinkles, but we are in this fight together for the next 3.5 years. We have a new Democratic Party chair, a revitalized Democratic State Central Committee, a Senate President from next door who is firmly pushing back on the governor, a second Congressional District, and, most of us were able to bring home some bacon. This will grow with time and energy.

Please seek out opportunities and organizations that you're interested in, and some that take you out of your comfort zone. You never know where it might lead. Maybe you'll be sitting next to me in 2028. Maybe you'll be in City Council chambers in 2025. Maybe you'll change careers, go back to school, or start a whole new gig in your retirement.

Please get people to vote in November! It will be much more important than 2020.

I did a lot of little videos like this during session, this one was about con con. We may have to do this in August. No joke. More to come.

Lennon's First Pride Parade. I may get him a bubble machine for his upcoming birthday.

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