Louisiana lawmakers end special session
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Lawmakers ended Louisiana’s special legislative session Friday, October 23, just days ahead of the Tuesday deadline.
Lawmakers called the special session to address relief efforts for both the pandemic and storms that struck the state, but drew criticism from the governor for what he described as not accomplishing much.
This session marked the second time in 2020 that state lawmakers entered a session on their own, without instruction from the governor. It is only the third time this has happened since 1954.
The session ended amid fireworks as GOP lawmakers continue their efforts to strip the governor of his ability to enforce a declaration of emergencies. A petition that could potentially halt the governor’s order for the week has gained support from a majority of those lawmakers and is set to be delivered to the governor later Friday.
Senate President Patrick Page Cortez released the following statement at the conclusion of the session.
“We did what we came here to do. We secured funding for those areas most heavily impacted by the recent hurricanes. We agreed on a package of bills to protect businesses and the unemployed. And, we passed several measures critical to the state’s response to COVID-19, including a compromise on how emergency declarations are handled. I want to thank my fellow Senators as well as our colleagues in the House of Representatives for their efforts. It has been a tough year for Louisiana, but we are resilient and we will continue to come together as we recover and rebuild.”
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