BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana lawmakers wrapped up their 2022 regular legislative session ahead of the 6 p.m. deadline for adjournment Monday.
There was less drama than in past sessions because lawmakers wrapped up work on the state budget in May, avoiding last minute debates and down-to-the-wire votes.
A couple of high-profile bills died in the final hours. A proposal to arm volunteer teachers and school administrators to combat school shootings never got a needed Senate vote. A measure allowing lawmakers to more easily end health emergencies declared by governors also failed.
Gov. John Bel Edwards said he won’t veto a bill to keep transgender women and girls in Louisiana from competing on college and K-12 female athletic teams – even though he opposes it.
He vetoed a similar bill last year and an override effort fell two votes short in the House.
This year, he said, it’s clear that a veto would be overridden. But he stressed that he still believes there is no need for the measure, which he called “mean-spiritied” earlier this year.
“Whether it’s intended or not the effect is to send a strong message to at least some of these young people that they shouldn’t be who they think they are, who they believe they are, who they know that they are,” Edwards said.
Edwards said he was pleased with the session overall, and praised a budget that includes more money for higher education, elementary and secondary school teacher pay raises and transportation infrastructure.
“Overall I’m very happy with the work that was accomplished this session,” Edwards said.
