Hundreds of bills are taking their first steps to becoming Louisiana laws today, but as “Schoolhouse Rock!” put it, many have a long journey ahead.
The legislative session begins at noon today and ends on June 11. During this timeframe, bills will have to be passed in both houses before moving to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.
There will be 45 legislative days during the 60 calendar-day period.
As bills come before the state legislature, senators and representatives review, argue and shape them based on, among other things, their personal beliefs, their constituents’ opinions and the bill’s fiscal effects.
Much of the focus this session is on the governor’s spending plan and how legislation will mitigate cuts to higher education.
In a move praised by many higher education leaders, State Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville, introduced Senate Bill 155, which would allow higher education management boards to set tuition prices without two-thirds approval from the legislature.
House Bill 60, authored by State Rep. Thomas Carmody, R-Shreveport, would abolish the standing higher education boards and replace them with a single Postsecondary Education Board of Trustees.
HB 148, an increase on cigarette taxes from $0.36 per pack to $1.41 per pack proposed by State Rep. Austin Badon Jr., D-New Orleans, would allocate 70 percent of its funds to the Louisiana Board of Regents and state higher education.
There are 68 bills in the House Education Committee and 26 in the Senate Education Committee, but not all bills affecting higher education concern money.
State Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, a strong advocate for changing campus culture regarding sexual assault, authored SB 255. The legislation would make law some portions of what the Board of Regents recently approved regarding campus sexual assault prevention and awareness, including campus climate surveys.
Under the law, titled the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, the Board of Regents would submit a survey and its results to the legislature and publish it online. Compliance will be tied to Title IX funding.
Other bills have the potential to affect Louisiana far into the future.
HB 73, authored by State Rep. Barbara Nortom, D-Shreveport, would expand the state’s definition of “domestic abuse” and “dating violence,” allowing people to seek protection on broader counts.
Several bills in the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee take a harder stance on littering. HB 33 would double littering fines while HB 190 removes certain exceptions to the current law.
Bills in that committee could also help the “Sportsman’s Paradise” rid itself of a feral hog problem. HB 51 establishes a bounty on feral hogs, while HB 288 prohibits their release and importation and restricts the transportation of the animals.