The coronavirus has mutated—and so have the politics attached to the government response in Louisiana. Each wave of increased infections refreshes partisan arguments, sending combatants back to their drawing boards.
Once again, a legislative petition to revoke the state’s coronavirus restrictions is in play. House members managed to trigger this at the tail end of the October 2020 special session, but a district judge later ruled a one-chamber petition did not have the ability to terminate the governor’s emergency order.
The judge, however, was “dead wrong” and conservative lawmakers have resurrected the petition approach, according to GOP Rep. Alan Seabaugh, a Shreveport attorney who sits as a member of the state Supreme Court Committee on Board Admissions and is one of the graders of the constitutional law section of the Louisiana Bar Exam.
“House members are thinking about how best to approach this again and there are preliminary discussions ongoing,” Seabaugh says. “We want to do it more strategically than last time. But it’s something that’s being discussed. The last couple of days my phone has not stopped ringing. People are worried about losing their jobs if they don’t get vaccines. They’re worried about sending their children to school with masks on. The state is on the verge of exploding.”
Using a law meant to help policymakers navigate continuity of government issues, a simple majority of lawmakers in either the House or the Senate can sign onto a petition to end a governor’s “state of public health or emergency.” The law states the governor “shall” take the appropriate steps to make this happen, but Gov. John Bel Edwards did no such thing last year and instead sued the Legislature.
Just before Thanksgiving, 19th Judicial District Court Judge William Morvant took Edwards’ side and ruled the law was unconstitutional because it didn’t require both chambers to sign the petition. Lawmakers in favor of another petition say this situation is different because vaccine requirements were not a part of the conversation last year.
Taking yet another approach to anxiety in his district, Sen. Patrick McMath, a Covington Republican, asked for a legal opinion from Attorney General Jeff Landry to address concerns about masking mandates for young students. McMath wanted to know whether the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has “the authority to make rules related to the mask mandate placed on our children.”
Landry’s office responded by saying that only BESE and the Legislature have standing to oversee safety mandates at K-12 schools. If BESE does indeed have the proper authority, McMath says he hopes “they will put an end to this overreach.” BESE is expected to discuss the topic next week.
Then there’s Rep. Danny McCormick, who’s taking his message directly to the people. During a Facebook Live appearance last week, McCormick, a Republican from Oil City, asked viewers to practice a “peaceful, noncompliant” approach to the mask mandate.
These are all political variants of debates, messaging and ideas that surfaced in the wake of the coronavirus’ big reveal last year. Then again, lawmakers have little choice but to respond to this latest surge and the government’s reaction. They hear from constituents on a daily basis about masks, personal freedoms, business operations, school safety and more.
The governor, meanwhile, is hearing the same concerned voices. Edwards is trying to find that fine line between making smart and safe decisions and delivering a gut punch to regional economies. Edwards isn’t alone, as local leaders are making tough decisions as well. Fairs and festivals, for example, are already being canceled as football season approaches. This is not how anyone wanted summer 2021 to end.
From a political perspective, the next few weeks in Louisiana are going to be messy. The silver lining may be that the state’s elected class is unwilling to just sit and watch.
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
