Louisiana election officials have scheduled a special election for the District 7 seat in the Louisiana State Senate for July 10.

The seat became vacant after Troy Carter was elected to the U.S. House to represent Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District on April 24.

The primary will take place on June 12, and the filing deadline is on May 7.

The Louisiana February 6 special primary election and March 20 special general election for House District 35 are canceled.

A special primary election was originally scheduled for February 6 followed by a special general election on March 20 to fill the vacancy in House District 35.

Stephen Dwight, who previously held the seat, resigned December 1, 2020, following his November election as Calcasieu Parish District Attorney.

Brett Geymann, a former state representative, was the only one to file for the House District 35 seat and qualify before the filing deadline of January 8.

A Republican, Geymann was the District 35 state representative from 2004 until he was term-limited in 2016. Louisiana does not have lifetime term limits, allowing Geymann to run again for the House seat.

Geymann will be sworn in on January 19.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards will call a special election on March 20 to fill the 5th Congressional District.

This seat was previously held by the late Luke Letlow, who died December 29 from COVID-19 complications.

Letlow, 41, had been elected to replace incumbent Congressman Ralph Abraham, who had previously chosen not to seek reelection.

Letlow is survived by his wife, Julia Barnhill Letlow, and two children.

The special election would coincide with already scheduled spring elections on March 20 for the primary and April 24 for a runoff.

Until then, the 5th Congressional District will be without a representative once Abraham’s term expires and the new Congress is sworn-in January 3.

The Louisiana Legislature will convene in a special session on September 28 to address issues such as COVID-19, storm relief, and unemployment.

The Louisiana Constitution authorizes lawmakers to call themselves into special session upon the written petition of a majority of the elected members of each house.

Lawmakers may file and consider bills on 70 items. House Speaker Clay Schexnayder announced the special session will focus primarily on Hurricane Laura disaster relief and recovery efforts, on-going issues with COVID-19 relative to funding and the economy, and the state’s Unemployment Trust Fund.
Several House members have also asked to address the continued proclamations issued by Gov. John Bel Edwards during the pandemic and what many see as an imbalance of power.
The session is set to begin September 28 at 6 p.m. and must adjourn by 6 p.m. on October 27.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Lobbyists in Louisiana can now spend a bit more on wining and dining state lawmakers and other public officials.

When the new budget year began July 1, the lobbying limit on food and drink for a public official edged up $1 per person, per occasion.

The new limit per person at an event is $63.

When the lobbying cap was first enacted, the limit was $50 per occasion.

However, the 2008 law that sets the limit allows annual adjustment tied to increases in the federal consumer price Index for food and beverages.

That index rose 1.8 percent in the last year.

Louisiana lawmakers have until final adjournment at 6 p.m. on June 30 to pass the government spending plan for the fiscal year that begins on July 1.

In the special session premised in large part on COVID-19 relief, lawmakers gave final legislative approval June 29 to send $250 hazard pay checks to up to 200,000 frontline workers.

Qualifying jobs include health workers, emergency, fire and law enforcement personnel, bus drivers, garbage workers, and grocery store and convenience store workers.

Additionally, negotiations on the state budget continue into the final day of the special session.

Louisiana lawmakers called themselves into a 30-day special session that began on June 2, immediately following the adjournment of the regular session.

The special session agenda focuses on piecing together a more than $30 billion operating budget for the financial year that begins on July 1.

The session will also center on tax credit considerations, exemptions, and suspensions for businesses that were forced to reduce operations since March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Louisiana lawmakers will resume their regular legislative session on May 4 to address budget issues and virus response legislation.

Despite the stay-at-home order in place through May 15, many legislators are ready to return for the remainder of session.

These final four weeks began March 9, and the session was postponed March 16.

Legislative leaders also anticipate a large financial gap from widespread unemployment, forcing down tax collections and oil prices.

Altogether, the next financial year, beginning July 1, is predicting between $500 million to $1 billion less in state funding.

With a session that must end June 1, many legislators are eager to use the available days to assist with economic recovery.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Gov. John Bel Edwards delayed Louisiana’s presidential primary a second time due to COVID-19.

The primary was originally scheduled for April 4. Edwards initially postponed the election until June 20 at the request of Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin.

Now the primary election has been pushed back an extra three weeks to July 11, making it one of the last states on the current primary calendar.

Ardoin also asked lawmakers to approve emergency procedures for the election. He sought to expand early voting from seven to 13 days.

Additionally, he wants to widen the availability of mail-in absentee ballots to people impacted by the virus.

With a 5-1 vote, the Senate and Governmental Affairs rejected an emergency certification that Ardoin needed to move ahead with the changes to polling places, early voting timelines, and absentee-by-mail voting eligibility.

The vote’s impact on the election is uncertain.

Only 58 House members and 21 Senate members of the Louisiana Legislature returned briefly on March 31.

Lawmakers did not set a date for their next return, opting instead to recess upon the call of the presiding officer.

House Speaker Clay Schexnayder and Senate President Page Cortez will decide when the session will resume.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said March 31 he is likely to extend his statewide stay-at-home order until April 30 to coincide with federal guidelines.

In the meantime, official legislative proceedings are halted.

The legislature is prohibited by statutory, constitutional, and rule requirements from meeting remotely.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

On March 16, the Louisiana Legislature was temporarily suspended due to COVID-19.

The suspension is scheduled to be in effect until 11 a.m. on March 31.

Per the constitution, the legislature is still scheduled to adjourn sine die on June 1.

Louisiana lawmakers plan to create a contingency package of spending bills in case coronavirus concerns threaten to derail the session.

Under the constitution, the legislature is required to pass a balanced budget before the fiscal year ends on June 30.

Ordinarily, legislators don’t pass a state budget until the final hours of the session, which must end this year by June 1.

The state’s Revenue Estimating Conference has not yet settled on an official revenue projection.

The purpose of the projection is to dictate how much a lawmaker may spend.

Both the House and Senate remain on schedule to debate the budget and all other legislation.

The Louisiana State Legislature announced that anyone planning to enter the state Capitol building will be screened for coronavirus beginning March 16.

An email was sent from the Senate and House Communication Offices regarding how to prevent the spread of the virus.

Besides all legislators, the staff and members of the public who enter will be subject to COVID-19 screening.

Louisiana will postpone its presidential primary originally scheduled for April 4.

The state is the first to do so in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Louisiana will push the election to June 20, from the planned date of April 4.

It has also delayed its municipal elections scheduled for May 9 to July 25.

States such as Arizona, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio, which hold primaries on March 17, have so far moved forward with their election events as planned.