Louisiana Lawmakers End Override Session in Just Hours

SHREVEPORT, LA - In a quick session that lasted only a few hours, Louisiana state lawmakers wrapped up the veto override session. Both houses voted to override Governor John Bel Edwards' veto of only one bill.

The House of Representatives did muster up the 70 votes needed to override 3 bills, but the only one that got enough votes in the Senate was HB 648 by Gabe Firment. That bill prohibits certain procedures to alter the sex of a minor child. That override vote in the Senate was 28 yeas and 11 nays, It needed 26 to override the Governor.

On the other bills, the Senate could not get the 26 votes (2/3 majority) needed for an override.

Another measure that was overridden in the House was the bill on vaccine mandate exemptions for students already in schools. The Senate only got 23 votes to override that veto.

The other override in the House was HB 585 which deals with ownership of farmland by foreign entities. Lawmakers were trying to put restrictions in place on the ownership of land, but the Governor vetoed that bill.

The ACLU of Louisiana released the following statement in response to legislators overturning Governor John Bel Edwards’ veto of House Bill 648.

“Lawmakers who voted to overturn Governor Edwards’ veto of House Bill 648 have chosen to sacrifice the health and safety of Louisiana’s transgender children and undermine the rights of their parents. This is extreme government overreach and a direct threat to the civil liberties and constitutional rights of all Louisianans. We condemn today’s override of HB648, and we will never stop fighting to protect the rights of transgender youth and their families.”