At the session: See how SW La. lawmakers are voting
(Special to the American Press)
Southwest Louisiana legislators, for the most part, have supported the more controversial measures of the current regular session. Rodney Schamerhorn, R-Hornbeck, for example, was the only one of the area's 4 senators and 9 representatives to vote against a bill shielding the state's nursing homes from large lawsuit penalties.
Senate Bill 134 from Sen. Thomas Pressly, R-Shreveport, will require lawsuits against nursing home management companies to go through the state's Medical Malpractice Act, which caps the payout that a company could be on the hook for. The cap is $500,000, but the individual owner or provider would pay only $100,000, while the state's Patient's Compensation Trust Fund would make up the rest.
Pressly's bill passed the Senate 26-11 and the House 58-37.
Voting for the bill were Republican Sens. Mark Abraham of Lake Charles, Heather Cloud of Turkey Creek, Mike Reese of Leesville and Jeremy Stine of Lake Charles and GOP Reps. Ryan Bourriaque of Grand Lake, Dewith Carrier of Oakdale, Les Farnum of Sulphur, Brett Geymann of Moss Bluff, Chuck Owen of Rosepine and Troy Romero of Jennings.
Reps. Wilford Carter, D-Lake Charles, and Phillip Tarver, R-Lake Charles, were recorded as absent.
Abraham, Cloud, Reese and Stine voted for SB 19 by Sen. Michael 'Big Mike' Fesi, R-Houma. The legislation would authorize Louisiana to dispense the controversial ivermectin drug without requiring a prescription from a patient's physician.
The bill passed the Senate 28-8 and the House 67-26.
Reps. Bourriaque, Carrier, Farnum, Owen, Romero and Schamerhorn voted for the bill. Carter, Geymann and Tarver were recorded as absent.
House Bill 148 by Rep. Jeffery 'Jeff' Wiley, R-Maurepas, was a measure strongly pushed by Gov. Jeff Landry. It will allow the state insurance commissioner to reject auto insurance increases even when they are justified by factual information. Opponents, including Commissioner Tim Temple, said it would cause insurance companies to not want to do business in Louisiana.
The bill passed the House 68-34 and the Senate 26-9.
Reps. Bourriaque, Carter, Farnum, and Romero voted for it. Reps. Carrier, Geymann, Owen, Schamerhorn and Tarver voted against the bill. Abraham, Cloud, Reese and Stine voted for the bill.
The vote on HB 674, an ethics bill, was unanimous in the House and 34-2 in the Senate. Twelve of the 13 Southwest Louisiana lawmakers voted for the bill that would limit the investigatory powers of the state Board of Ethics and make investigations more difficult. Carter was reported as absent.
The Advocate in an editorial on the bill said there was a lot packed into it, 'so you would expect it to have sparked spirited debate on the House floor. Yet not a single Republican or Democrat raised any questions.'
HB 693 that is described as 'a sprawling revision of Louisiana's campaign finance laws and disclosure' passed the House 77-16. Bourriaque, Carrier, Farnum, Owen, Romero, Schamerhorn and Tarver voted for the bill. Carter and Geymann were recorded as absent. The Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee made some amendments to the bill Wednesday.
SB 2 by Sen. Fesi that was designed to take fluoride out of public drinking water cleared the upper chamber 24-10. Abraham, Cloud, Reese and Stine voted for the bill. However, the House Health and Welfare Committee with a 5-10 vote killed the bill.
Dentists and doctors who testified in committee said if fluoride were taken out of water, 'We're going to see a significant amount of decay.'
SB 101 by Sen. Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia, would allow those 18 and older who can carry a gun without obtaining a permit and those with permits to carry it up to a school's property line. Current law says a concealed carry permit is needed to have a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school.
The bill passed the Senate 28-11 and the House 72-23. Abraham, Cloud, Reese and Stine voted for the bill. Bourriaque, Carrier, Farnum, Geymann, Owen, Romero and Schamerhorn voted for the bill. Carter and Tarver were recorded as absent. The bill went back to the Senate with amendments with which the House must approve.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Over the finish line': Tuberville says passing spending bill bolster economic growth
ALABAMA (WHNT) — As the Big Beautiful Bill is under consideration in the Senate, an Alabama Senator says his top priority is to get the spending bill passed. U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville said Thursday the legislation is likely to undergo some significant changes while in the Senate, but he said his ultimate goal was to get the bill over the finish line. Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate to run for lieutenant governor 'The number one priority in this bill is getting the jobs and tax cuts done,' Tuberville said. The spending bill has received criticism from conservatives over the past few days, including the former head of the Department of Governmental Efficiency. Elon Musk has called the bill an 'abomination,' posting on social media platform X about how the spending bill will significantly increase the national debt. 'The problem that Elon Musk looks at, I look at it different,' Tuberville told members of the press on Thursday. 'Number one, the way to grow this country is to get the tax cuts done and that tax cuts are in this bill and we need to make them permanent.' Tuberville said he and his colleagues have complained that Democrats spend too much money. He said he wants to cut back on how much can be cut from this bill. 'There's a lot of things the federal government, in this bill, is trying to send down to the states,' Tuberville said. 'We can't afford it in Alabama. We can't afford to pick up the tab for a federal government agency that was started years ago by the federal government. We don't need it in the state.' Tuberville said he is looking to the future to make changes. 'Remember, we will do another reconciliation after this,' Tuberville said. 'We have two more in the next year and a half, so whatever we don't get done in this bill, hopefully we can get done in the next.' The president has given Republicans in the Senate a tight deadline to pass the spending bill, asking them to have it on his desk by July 4th. The Tax Foundation estimates the bill passed by the House of Representatives will add more than $2 trillion to the national deficit over the next 10 years. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Republican Jim Carlin launches primary bid against U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst in week of campaign kickoffs
Former state Sen. Jim Carlin, shown here at a rally in October 2021, has launched a Republican campaign for U.S. senator. (Photo by Katie Akin/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Former state legislator Jim Carlin, a Republican, announced he is running for Iowa's U.S. Senate seat in the upcoming election — the latest candidate this week to announce their plans to run in 2026. Carlin, who served in the Iowa Senate from 2017 through 2023 and previously in the Iowa House, is running for the seat currently held by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst. Since his time in the Iowa Legislature, Carlin went on to found the Iowa Liberty Network, an organization focused on recruiting and electing 'constitutional conservative' candidates in state government and other public offices. In an interview with the Iowa Capital Dispatch, Carlin said Ernst is not reflecting Iowa Republicans' values in Congress. He pointed to the Heritage Action scorecard for Ernst from the 2023 session, when she received a 42% score on how often her votes aligned with conservative goals. He pointed to her support for money to aid Ukraine in its war against Russia and her vote in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act as examples of Ernst not voting in line with conservative values. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Carlin said Ernst has not delivered on her commitment 'make 'em squeal' by cutting federal spending, as well as promises to work to repeal the Affordable Care Act and 2014 campaign statement that she would only serve two terms in the U.S. Senate. 'The people of Iowa can judge whether or not she's keeping those promises,' Carlin said. 'And I believe that when they … evaluate it, when they look at her voting record and the decisions she's made as a sitting senator, that they will come to the conclusion that she doesn't represent them well in terms of the things they want to see done and the things that they believe in.' Bryan Kraber, Ernst's 2026 campaign manager, pointed to Carlin's failed primary bid against U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley in the 2022 election. 'Good luck trying to take on this combat veteran,' Kraber said in a statement Friday. 'Senator Ernst has a proven record of conservative leadership—cutting waste, securing the border, and making Washington squeal to keep Iowans' hard-earned money in their own pockets. And she delivers for our families, farmers, and veterans. Iowans already saw through Carlin's last failed campaign, and they'll reject his desperate attempt at relevance again in 2026.' Though Carlin and Ernst are battling on conservative bonafides, much of the conversation centered on the upcoming race has focused on Ernst's town hall statement that 'we are all going to die' last week during talks on the funding cuts to Medicaid included in the budget reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. House. Carlin said he supports President Donald Trump's spending goals and believes cuts that should be made to federal programs but 'her handling of that showed a lack of judgment.' 'You don't flippantly say to people, 'well, we're all going to die,'' Carlin said. 'That actually kind of reminds me of Hillary Clinton's statement, 'what difference does it make,' on the other side of Benghazi when people died. I thought it was really inappropriate.' Iowa Rep. J.D. Scholten, D-Sioux City, announced Monday he would compete for the Democratic nomination, saying he 'just can't sit on the sidelines' following the Senator's comments. Scholten and Nathan Sage, a Mason City Democrat, are the only Democrats to have officially joined the race, but other potential Democratic candidates also weighed in on Ernst's comments this week. State Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, who has expressed interested in a run, said 'it is of course true that we are all going to die, but our Senators shouldn't be the ones killing us' in response to Ernst's comments. State Rep. Josh Turek, D-Council Bluffs, is also weighing a bid for the seat. Turek joined a call with Protect Our Care Iowa, an organization advocating for health care access through programs like Medicaid, on Thursday and said the proposal to reduce Medicaid spending by $625 billion in the next decade and implement work requirements will prevent more people with disabilities from accessing needed care. Republicans supporting the 'big, beautiful' tax and spending bill have repeatedly stated people with disabilities and complex medical conditions as well other protected populations, like minors, seniors, parents of dependent children and pregnant people will not be subject to work requirements or taken off the program. But Turek said as a person with a disability who has worked for an organization assessing and providing mobility devices, he has extensive experience with how funding cuts and moves like Iowa's Medicaid privatization have limited access to needed health care and services for Iowans with disabilities. The state legislator said he went to Washington, D.C., to speak with all members of Iowa's federal delegation about how the proposed changes will hurt people in need. 'I talked to them specifically about this bill and about the cuts to Medicaid, and additionally about what they're looking at doing on grant funding,' Turek said. 'And we're looking at 140 organizations and groups here in Iowa, disability services — beyond just Medicaid, that are looking at losing all of their funding in some cases, or 50%, 25%. They cannot plead ignorance. They know exactly what this bill is. It's a tax break to the richest, most wealthy Americans off the backs of the poorest and the most vulnerable.' Ernst's comment also led to another campaign launch for the Iowa House. India May, the 33-year-old from Charles City who sparked Ernst's comments on Medicaid during the Parkersburg town hall, is running for Iowa House District 58, currently represented by Republican Rep. Charley Thomson, R-Charles City. May, the Ionia Public Library director, is a county death investigator for Chickasaw County and registered nurse. She shouted 'people will die' at Ernst during the public meeting. 'People are not — well, we all are going to die, so for heaven's sake,' Ernst responded. The day after the meeting, Ernst made an 'apology video' filmed in a cemetery where she said she 'made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this earth.' 'So I apologize, and I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well,' Ernst said in the video. She also added that 'for those that would like to see eternal and everlasting life, I encourage you to embrace my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.' In a social media post responding to the video, May wrote that Ernst's apology was 'disingenuous and reinforced gaslighting and christofascism aimed toward her MAGA supporters.' She also used the platform to highlight her own run for office. 'In short, my response to Joni's phoney apology is this: I don't want to see another Iowan choose between medicine or food. It's already happening and this bill will make it worse,' May wrote. '… Joni may be disappointed to know that I will continue to email her every day with my concerns, and that it is my intention to run as a progressive Democrat for Iowa House District 58, to undo the damage caused by the incumbent, Charley Thomson, who recently made headlines for targeting a nonprofit organization.' May had referenced the directive sent by Thomson in his capacity as the House government oversight committee chair to the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, an immigrant rights organization, requesting information about the nonprofit organization's clients, donors and members. An attorney for Iowa MMJ rejected the request in April, saying it was not legally valid. Iowa Rep. Eddie Andrews launched his bid for Iowa governor Wednesday, running as a Republican for the seat that will be vacated by Gov. Kim Reynolds following the 2026 election. Andrews, a Johnston Republican first elected in 2020, is one of the first GOP candidates to officially run in what is expected to be a crowded field. Former state Rep. Brad Sherman had announced he is running as a Republican gubernatorial candidate before Reynolds left the race. U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra and Iowa Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, have both launched exploratory committees for a gubernatorial campaign, and other high-profile Iowa Republicans like Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and House Speaker Pat Grassley have expressed interest but not made a decision on whether to run. In a news release on his run, Andrews said his work as a state lawmaker shows why Iowans should back his campaign — he highlighted his support for 'landowner rights' through supporting bills restricting the use of eminent domain in carbon sequestration pipeline projects, efforts to increase psychiatric residencies and provide more incentives to keep doctors in the state, as well as proposals to end sales tax on certain essential items. As governor, Andrews said he wants to focus on improving Iowa's education system, making mental health care more accessible, and pledged to 'destroy the human trafficking industry in our state.' 'Iowa deserves a Governor who listens and delivers,' Andrews said in a statement. 'My experience as a tech entrepreneur, minister and legislator prepares me to serve you.' Democrat Julie Stauch, a longtime Iowa political operative, also launched her campaign for governor this week. Iowa Auditor Rob Sand is considered the frontrunner in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, though Stauch alongside Democrat Paul Dahl will be competing against him in the primary June 2, 2026. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Democratic congressman steps up his work to pull Musk toward his party
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., talked with one of Elon Musk's 'senior confidants' on Thursday about whether the ex-DOGE leader, now feuding with Donald Trump, might want to help the Democratic Party in the midterms. 'Having Elon speak out against the irrational tariff policy, against the deficit exploding Trump bill, and the anti-science and anti-immigrant agenda can help check Trump's unconstitutional administration,' Khanna told Semafor on Friday. 'I look forward to Elon turning his fire against MAGA Republicans instead of Democrats in 2026.' Khanna, who has known Musk for more than a decade, has long argued that Democrats unwisely pushed him away from their party. Now the world's wealthiest man, Musk benefited from the Obama administration's clean energy investments, defending them against Republican attacks in the 2012 election. He supported Democratic nominees for president until 2024, when he endorsed Trump for president — and spent more to help elect him than he had for any Democrat. Since Musk began attacking the Trump-backed GOP tax bill as an 'abomination' this week, Democrats in Congress have amplified his criticism and even adopted some of his language. But few besides Khanna have gone as far as talking about bringing Musk back into the Democratic tent; most Democrats are furious at Musk's DOGE work to dismantle parts of the federal government and are confident that he is a political liability for Trump. 'How great is it that that dipshit Elon Musk is out?' Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota said at last Friday's Democratic fish fry in South Carolina, after Musk left the administration. 'The decisions he was making were literally killing people, so he could dance around and act like he was doing something.' Musk was a 'historic villain' whose unpopularity had helped Wisconsin Democrats win the state's April 1 supreme court race by 10 points, said state Democratic Party chairman Ben Wikler. At their 'Fighting Oligarchy' rallies, the largest political events since Trump was sworn in, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., torched Musk as the embodiment of what Democrats and fair-minded Americans should be against. Some Democrats believe that Musk could have stayed in their coalition, had they paid him a little more respect — specifically, had Joe Biden invited Musk to the White House electric vehicle summit early in his presidency. Khanna is in that camp. Others counter that the party's overall shift leftward after 2016 alienated Musk, who was never coming back. He clashed with Elizabeth Warren ('Senator Karen') over the idea of a wealth tax, and with progressives over the 'woke mind virus' that he blamed for the gender transition of his third child. That's the camp where most Democrats are, although some — like Walz — see this as a political opportunity. Still, the idea of an irate multibillionaire making problems for Republicans is enticing to plenty of Democrats, who have not been above meddling in GOP primaries to help weaker candidates win nominations. What if Musk made Republicans burn money to defend their incumbents, as he slammed them with TV ads? That's all theoretical, as Musk said last month that he would do 'a lot less' political spending now that he'd achieved his goal of electing Trump. If Musk is sincere about the political views he posts about on X, he is completely at odds with the Democratic Party, and the best they could hope for is him making trouble for Republicans out of spite. In Politico, Holly Otterbein and Lisa Kashinsky about the Democrats who hoped that Musk would have a 'villain-to-hero' arc, and help them beat Trump. But Khanna was the only voice in the party who fully believed it could happen.
