Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards laid out his top legislative priorities Monday.
He said minimum wage, pay secrecy and reducing auto insurance rates are his primary focus.
Edwards threw his weight behind New Orleans Senator Troy Carter’s minimum wage bill that would lift the state from $7.25 to $9.00 an hour by January 2021 and $10 per hour by July 2021.
“We’ve fallen behind too far for too long in Louisiana, and we know that an overwhelming majority of the people of Louisiana agree with us on that,” Edwards told the Baton Rouge Press Club.
Edwards made raising the minimum wage a pillar of his 2015 election, and 2019 reelection efforts.
The Governor is also back supporting a push to prevent employers from firing workers who openly discuss their salary with other workers, and allow workers to keep their previous job’s pay secret.
“Important steps to make sure that every person is paid on their merits and the nature of their work, not on their gender and the payroll of their employer,” says Edwards.
He came out in favor of a series of bills by Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau that bars auto insurance companies from charging customers more based on their gender, credit, or military service.
“Premiums ought to be set on driving records, not on whether someone is poor or female, or that sort of thing. It’s common sense, and the right thing to do,” says Edwards.
Republicans are pushing to lower the jury trial threshold to 15,000 dollars, but Edwards says he believes the current 50,000 dollar level is adequate.
