A legislative veto-override session could begin as early as next week, depending on whether a majority of Louisiana lawmakers favor moving forward with such a session by a deadline coming up on Thursday.
Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed 28 bills passed during the regular legislative session this year, including those that would bar discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools, ban requirements that students get COVID-19 vaccines prior to attending campuses, limit foreign adversaries from owning agricultural lands in Louisiana and prohibit minors from getting sex-change procedures.
Other bills that were vetoed include a measure requiring disclosure of third-party litigation financing agreements in civil cases and a phase-out of the corporate franchise tax over four years if certain conditions are met. These bills were favored by business groups.
House Speaker Clay Schexnayder (R-Gonzales) said a decision on a veto-override session will take place by midnight on Thursday and will be determined by whether a majority of lawmakers want to come back for an additional session that would not last more than five days.
“The veto-override session is scheduled to convene on the 18th of the month and can only last five days, but I expect the Legislature will adjourn earlier,” Schexnayder said in a statement emailed to the Louisiana Record. “In terms of what bills will be brought up for a vote, that will be decided by members and not leadership.”
Override sessions generally take place 40 days after the adjournment of the regular legislative session. Currently, Republican lawmakers hold supermajorities in both the state Senate and the House of Representatives.
Among the groups supporting a veto-override session is Citizens for a New Louisiana, which has criticized the governor for vetoing measures providing “medical freedom” and “protecting children, restorative justice and much more,” according to a post on the group’s website.
“Legislators authored bills about vaccine requirements, library book content and a trio of bills relative to name change, discussion of sexuality with students and surgery/puberty blockers,” the post states. “... The nation watched to see if Louisiana would become a sanctuary for sex change surgery and chemical sterilization of minors.”