As of last Friday (July 14, 2023), the Louisiana legislature did what it needed to do, to conduct a “Veto Session” to constitutionally reconsider the merits of the twenty-eight (28) specific legislative bills passed by that Legislature and vetoed by Governor John Bel Edwards. Also, there are numerous individual appropriations by the Legislature that were “line item” vetoed by the Governor.

Every bill and every appropriation vetoed by the Governor would had become law, if the Governor had left each legislative act, and each line item appropriation, alone.  Instead, each vetoed bill and appropriation is canceled by the Governor, unless both the House and the Senate again support each vetoed item by a margin of two-thirds of the members in both the State House and State Senate.  Such a “two-third vote” on a bill or appropriation  is known as a “Veto Override.”

Many of the vetoed bills passed with margins that will support a Veto Override, but the approval votes must be cast again in the Veto Session.  The “2023 Regular Veto Session” started Tuesday (July 18, 2023) and must adjourn before Sunday (July 23, 2023).

This is my scorecard for you to use to measure whether your legislator is voting strategically in the best interest of the State of Louisiana to cumulatively eliminate Louisiana’s business and resident out-migration.

We all know why this strategic voting is so necessary.  Louisiana’s economic ongoing disaster was declared nationwide once again, this time by CNBC Business Online.  The author and business analyst rated Louisiana the worst state in the Union in which to try to conduct business.  In the CNBC article published on July 12, 2023, business analyst Douglas A. McIntyre, summarized Louisiana’s totally dysfunctional business/governmental climate with his title to the article: “Business Should Flee Louisiana As Soon As Possible.”

Mr. McIntyre’s analysis reaffirmed Louisiana’s embarrassing state of business affairs, declaring:  “Louisiana does poorly across almost every metric used by CNBC.  It is at the bottom based on the quality of the workforce, infrastructure, economy, ‘life, health and inclusion,’ and technology & innovation.”

Unfortunately, this damning critique of Louisiana’s business and governmental environment is well known in Louisiana.   Equally, we know it is true.  And worse than Mr. McIntyre’s criticism is the fact that this abysmal economy is forcing Louisiana’s own citizens, children, parents, and grandparents to exit Louisiana as a continuation of the out migration of our best and brightest.

Again, we know that the 2023 legislature just squandered a $2 billion historic blessing of excessive tax revenues and federal gifts. By a unanimous vote in the Senate, and a two-third vote in the House, they busted the constitutional spending cap.  Then, they waived the fiscally brilliant HB1 budget, thereby refusing to fully pay down Louisiana’s state employees and teacher’s retirement debts, imprudently reduced the contribution to Louisiana’s rainy day funds which would have both empowered our local school boards to give reoccurring teach pay raises, and would have automatically created a cut in income taxes and franchise taxes for all working citizens.

Only nineteen brave, far sighted Representatives supported the strategically brilliant HB 1.  All your Senators and the Governor, conspired to override the constitutional spending cap and just spent, spent and spent.

The debacle of a 2023 regular legislative session is done.  Each incumbent legislator will answer publicly to the voters for their disastrous waste of Louisiana’s manna from heaven, and your taxpayers and our spendthrift federal government.  The fiscal insanity is undenied.

All that is left for this misguided group of fiscally illiterate legislators is the upcoming Veto Session.  As our legislator’s eyes and brains are dimmed, and their willingness to think and vote strategically to improve Louisiana is missing, I compiled this “Scorecard” for the voters to judge our legislator’s actions at the regular Veto Session.  There is much strategic work to be done.

1. If you are an author of a vetoed bill, or a line item veto of an appropriation, demand that your Chamber vote to override the veto.  Defend your bill’s merits and demand that your colleagues stand up to defend your bill.
2. Override the veto of three bills that protect Louisiana’s children from sexual abuse, mutilation and grooming by school staff.
3. Override all the “political punishment” vetoes on bills and appropriations against the districts of the nineteen State Representatives would voted not to override the constitutional spending limit.
4. Override the veto of the bill that eliminates the authority of any public school to mandate a COVID vaccine as a condition of attendance or participation with the school, and the bill that requires better disclosure on exceptions to vaccinations.
5. Override the veto on the bill that will phase out the franchise tax.
6. Override the veto on the four public safety bills that cumulatively create a Statewide child predator data base, that reassigns seventeen year old criminal back to the adult criminal justice system, that created a 25 feet wide “safety zone” for law enforcement officers, and that adds new restrictions on granting paroles for violent criminals.
7. Override the veto on the bill that will strengthen the duty to clean up the voter registration rolls.
8. Override the veto on the bill that prevents the adversaries of the United States (China, Russia, Iran, etc) from buying agricultural land in Louisiana, and the bill that stands against a big government introduction of “digital currency.”
9. Override the veto of the bill that required disclosure of financial interests in insurance case litigation, and the bill that grants insurance rate reductions with a “fortified” roof.
10. Pass a Resolution that confirms that the necessary vote to override the constitutional spending cap was never legally passed out of the Senate committee, as the constitutionally defined “quorum” was not present when the committee vote to pass SCR3.
11. Override the veto that attempts to unconstitutionally redirect to another purpose appropriated funds, and attempts to eliminate the reduction of a condition to the Department of Health overall appropriation, and thereby ignore the $100 million reduction in the appropriation for the Department of Health.

The only hope in Louisiana for an economic turn around – a “Revolution of Louisiana Excellence” –  is the upcoming election of our new state leaders, including the election of a wholly new set of state legislators.  Except for nineteen specially brave state representatives, “incumbency” is a sign of failure.  Louisiana’s voters have a unique opportunity to save Louisiana from our nightmare of a state drowning in its debt and mismanagement. We will see if our senators or our representatives can vote better at the veto session.  Then it will be the voters’ turn to enjoy voting out the bad, and voting in the good.

Paul Loy Hurd, Attorney At Law; Radio host of “Hurd’s Louisiana Live” talk radio; weekdays, WGSO 990AM (New Orleans); can be reached at paul@paulhurdlawoffice.com.