The scope and flavors of legislation up for consideration in the 2016 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature would put a Golden Corral to shame — fantasy football, “blaze pink” hunting apparel, buying and selling aborted fetuses, service monkeys, drones, disposal of pet remains, cursive writing and switchblades.
Those measures are the cameo interludes to the normal, heavy-lifting legislation:  state pension reform, TOPS scholarship criteria, public school changes, minimum wages and cutting budgets.
The only topic not formally up for consideration but one keeping every lawmaker up at night is where to find sufficient money to fill an estimated $800 million gap in the next fiscal year. That, however, will have to wait for a governor-initiated special session, probably on the heels of the regularly session.
In all, 1,216 proposed laws have been filed, and more submitted before the curtain comes down on this annual dance on June 6.  A majority never get past committee attention, let alone become law.
During the 2015 regular session, for example, both the House and the Senate only approved 482 of the 1,106 introduced, although then-Gov. Bobby Jindal vetoed nine of those.
Rep. Barry Ivey, R- Baton Rouge, has filed the most bills this year – 41 in total. Rep. Jean-Paul Coussan, R- Lafayette, Rep. Phillip DeVillier, R- Eunice, Rep. Dustin Miller, D- Opelousas, and Rep. Scott Simon, R- Abita Springs, are the only representatives not to file a bill.
In the Senate, the Senate President John Alario, R- Westewego, Sen. James Fannin, R- Jonesboro, and Sen. Gregory Tarver, D- Shreveport haven’t contributed to the bill bin.   
But there is still time.  Lawmakers can introduce legislation up to April 5.   
Here, by topic, is some of the more interesting legislation that could provide for lively discussions:
Minimum Wage
Senate Bill 269, by Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, would establish a state minimum wage at $8 an hour in 2017 and raise it to $8.50 in 2018. Gov. John Bel Edwards voiced his support for the measure in his State of the State address on Monday.  Currently, it is $7.25 an hour, the same as the federal minimum wage.
Criminal Justice
A bill filed by Rep. Kirk Talbot, R- River Ridge, would make fantasy football gambling legal in Louisiana, an exception to the current state laws governing gambling and gambling by computer.
This national trend of making the exception for fantasy football began after fantasy gambling companies, such as FanDuel and DraftKings, were ordered to stop accepting bets because they were in violation of state gambling laws.
House Bill 639, by Rep. Jerome Richard, I-Thibodaux, would require a caretaker to submit to a blood test when an infant dies in his or her care to determine whether he or she was abusing alcohol or illegal drugs at the time of the child’s death.
Guns, knives, drones, and explosives
There are threebills that would allow constitutional carry — the ability to carry a concealed weapon without obtaining a permit. A bill by Sen. Ryan Gatti, R-Bossier City, would do so by changing statutory law. In addition to a similar statutory change, Rep. Barry Ivey, R-Baton Rouge, has also filed a bill that would do the same thing by amending the constitution which requires voter approval to change and enact.
Sen. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, has authored a bill which would allow victims of domestic abuse to carry a concealed weapon without a permit for 90 days after a court issues a protective order. Sen. Gary L. Smith, Jr., D-Norco, has filed a bill that would allow people who have a concealed carry permit to also carry switchblades.
Senate Bill 124, Dan Claitor, R- Baton Rouge, would create the crime of trespassing with a drone if it is flown less than 350 feet above someone’s property without his or her permission, and a bill by Gatti would require anyone handling explosives to take out $50 million in liability insurance.
Education
Sen. John Milkovich, D- Shreveport, wants to prohibit the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) from implementing Common-Core standards and assessments for public schools, a perennial schoolyard scuffle.
If passed, Milkovich’s bill would require content standards and assessments be determined by the governing authority of each public school unless a petition signed by at least 10 percent of the registered voters in the school district is given to the local school board. In that case, the board would be required to hold an election to decide whether to adopt statewide standards.
Rep. Beryl Amedee, R- Houma, wants to require public schools to post signs in their buildings with the number for the state child abuse hotline operated by the Department of Children and Family Services.
Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton, believes cursive should be taught in all public schools and has filed a bill which would require it start in the 2016-2017 school year.
“We’re short changing our kids,” Mizell said. “Not only can they not write cursive, but they can’t read it, which means they can’t read historical documents or even letters from their grandparents.”
Feral hogs     
Feral hogs will be awarded attention from Sen. Rick Ward, R-Port Allen, that chamber’s youngest member, whose SB345 aims to create a feral hog task force to study the population of these wild animals in Louisiana and make recommendations to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries on how to control it.
According to state wildlife experts, feral hogs are “quickly becoming the most serious problem facing land managers and hunters in Louisiana” because of the damage they cause and their propensity for spreading disease.
Similarly, Louisiana hunters may be facing an increase in the cost of a basic hunting license from $15 to $17 to deal with the pig problem if Rep. Major Thibaut, D-New Roads, gets his way.  HB199 would allocate the $2 from the license increase to fund a feral hog management program.
Hunting
The House Natural Resources committee may be dealing with the quirkiest proposal of the litter.  If passed, HB179 by Rep. Malinda White, D- Bogalusa, would add “blaze pink,” meaning a daytime fluorescent pink, as a color option for hunters in addition to the classic “hunter orange” requirement.
“As a female hunter myself, I think the official fluorescent pink color might encourage women to be more involved in the sportsman’s paradise,” White said.
Deer hunters using buckshot, slugs, a muzzleloader or a centerfire rifle are required to wear at least 400 square inches of the bright orange material or a hat of the same color.  This would add fluorescent pink to the list of options.
Pet cemetery
A bill by Sen. Conrad Appel, R- Metairie, would allow cemeteries to designate a section where pet remains can be buried with, or next to, their owners. If the cemetery only has one section, however, it cannot be converted to incorporate pets.
Babies
There are a few bills filed concerning the wellbeing of babies, alive and deceased.
A bill by Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, would require birthing facilities to provide information to parents of newborns regarding shaken baby syndrome and sudden infant death syndrome.
And Rep. Julie Emerson, R- Carencro, wants newborns to be screened for Krabbe disease, a rare, often fatal degenerative disorder that affects the myelin sheath of the nervous system.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Rep. Stokes, seeks to prohibit the harvesting of post-abortion fetal remains, requiring their formal burial or cremation.
American flags
Sen. Gary L. Smith Jr. believes the American flags flown by the state of Louisiana should truly be American.
He has filed a bill that would require that any U.S. flag or state flag purchased by Louisiana for public use to be manufactured in the United States, and made with materials and supplies grown or produced in the United States.
On weightier notes, the Legislature will also consider 69 bills on business, 53 dealing with  state retirement and pension, 147 on education matters, 80 on transportation issues, 47 addressing the tax system, 161 in crimes and criminal procedures, 35 on labor and employment and 65 on legislative affairs.