Legislative Session Update 5/23/22

Here’s what happened last week at the Louisiana Legislature:

Electoral Justice: Power Coalition Priority HB 1082 for modernized election planning passed the House floor with no objections and moves on to the Senate. Power Coalition Priority HCR 14 for voting accessibility passed favorably out of committee and moves to the Senate floor. Power Coalition Priority HB 1083 to stop hair discrimination (The CROWN Act) passed out of committee and will move to the House floor. We will need coalition support as it passed with a very tight margin (8 yay, 6 nay). You can show your support HERE!  Thank you to everyone who has supported our priorities! 

Maternal Health: HB 784 for maternal mental health passed out of the legislature and heads to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law! This is a huge win for mothers across Louisiana! S/O to NBEC and Frankie Robertson from the Amandla Group for their leadership on this important bill! 

Housing Justice: HB 160, to stop illegal evictions after storms passed favorably out of committee and moves to the Senate floor this week! S/O to LAFHAC for their leadership on this bill! 

Carceral Justice: HB 729, which limits the release of photo identification of an arrested person passed out of the Senate. We support this bill along with our partners at VOTE, JAC, and LA Progress!

This Week:

Juvenile Justice: HB 746, which would prohibit solitary confinement for juveniles, will be heard this Tuesday in Senate Judiciary B. We are supporting this bill with our partners at Louisiana Stop Solitary Coalition,  LCCR and VOTE. 

Health Justice: HB 54, which would make requiring vaccination status a crime, will be heard this Tuesday in Senate Judiciary C. We are strongly opposing this ridiculous and harmful bill with our partners at Louisiana Families for Vaccines.