We're four days away from the start of a new régime at the state capitol. Governor-elect Jeff Landry and the supermajority Republican legislature are expected to roll back some of the policies implemented during John Bel Edwards's administration, but what new policies will impact Louisiana residents first?
"All of these criminal justice reforms that we've seen implemented over the last eight years, we're going to start to see the pendulum swing on that," LaPolitics.com publisher Jeremy Alford said. "We're talking about mandatory minimums, discretion for judges, tough-on-crime/smart-on-crime policy issues."
Lawmakers will take up the criminal justice reform rollbacks during a special session that will start shortly after they take office. Alford also expects lawmakers to address the home insurance crisis as soon as their regular session starts in March.
"There was a lot of chatter about another special session on insurance issues," Alford said. "It looked like it was going to be possible, but now it looks like it's not going to be possible.
"Lawmakers had a special session last year," Alford continued. "I don't feel like consumers feel like anything was truly done. I think the industry loved it because they got some more money to work with and some incentives to come do stuff here, but in terms of the folks who are paying these homeowner policies, there was zero relief. Lawmakers are going to have to address that."
Alford also notes that Governor-elect Landry is expected to sign a number of executive orders upon taking office. However, what those executive orders will address remains unknown.
"He most certainly may have a list ready to go when he takes office," Alford said. "So if there's any truly immediate changes to watch for, that's going to be the front to keep an eye on on Monday to see if Jeff Landry is so eager on anything that he's able to do it just by executive order."
