The Louisiana Legislature's special veto session is now under way in Baton Rouge.
Lawmakers may take up any of the 25 bills and the parts of three budget bills Governor John Bel Edwards rejected during and immediately after this spring's regular legislative session. Most political analysts expect lawmakers to override the veto of a bill prohibiting certain types of medical care for transgender youth. Even if the override is successful, it won't come without a fight and lots of politicking by Governor John Bel Edwards.
According to LAPolitics.com publisher Jeremy Alford, it's happened before in the two previous veto override sessions during Edwards's term in office, and he says it could happen again during this veto session. He told WWL's Tommy Tucker that Governor Edwards could use the threat of withholding funds for projects in their districts or the promise of a administrative position to force some lawmakers to think twice about overriding his veto.
"There have been cases recently where we've seen a senator not show up or take a walk and be recorded absent for a vote," Alford said. "One recent case that came to mind: former state Senator Ronnie Johns. He wound up skipping, and not long after, he became the chairman of the Gaming Control Board--appointed by the governor."
Does the lame duck governor have enough influence to get his way?
"There's going to be a little bit of horse trading. There's going to be a lot of politics in this thing," Alford said. "I'm not sure that he has enough political capital to turn this issue, at least on this individual piece of legislation. We're going to have to wait and see how much pressure the governor's office want to exert or engage in this process."
Alford says Republican leaders in the legislature are also expected to use lawmakers' votes against them during the upcoming elections if they fall in line with the governor.
"The reason we're seeing this issue is because it's a wedge issue," Alford says. "When you have a supermajority of Republicans, it's no longer good enough just to be a Republican. The question is: what kind of Republican are you? The litmus test becomes these kind of issues--gender-affirming healthcare. While we're not seeing out it in the real world, it's now this kind of wedge political issue that Republicans are using to weed out members in their own ranks. Now, it's on a policy platform in a session."
Alford says although the session must end by Saturday, it could adjourn as early as this evening.
