Even in the era of John Bel Edwards, some good ideas still slip through the cracks.

Tomorrow, the Louisiana House is set to debate HB 594 by State Rep. Jay Morris (R-Monroe) which would reimpose work requirements in order to receive SNAP or food stamps. When Edwards became governor, he waived the work requirements which Bobby Jindal reimposed last year. Jindal had previously waived them for years after the Great Recession.

While Morris’s bill doesn’t undo Edwards’s waiver this year, it requires him to seek the approval of the legislative committees of health and welfare. That means unless Legislature signs off on a waiver of work requirements, Edwards cannot request another one in September.

The bill passed the House Committee on Health and Welfare 10-0, but we’re sure the bill will run into some tougher opposition on the House floor. The final vote tally will be interesting, but we do expect it to pass largely because it has flown under the radar this session.

But this bill will likely have a tougher time in the Louisiana Senate. There we can expect Governor Edwards to try and kill it behind closed doors.

The Edwards administration meanwhile is planning on drafting a different executive order around work requirements, whatever that means.

It’s still important to lay the groundwork for 2019 now. This bill helps does that.