THIS WEEK'S NEWS:
The 2023 Legislative Session is finally both winding down and beginning to hit its peak. We have two weeks left and the issue of state spending still hasn't been resolved. As of today there is no timeline for the Senate Finance committee to send the bill to the Senate for a vote.
Take a look below for a weekly shot of the news from around the state.
The issues at the capitol this week ranged from transgender issues to the death penalty with a little tax and budget discussion in the middle. A state senate Republican voted down a transgender bill and now has national infamy as you can read from The Advocate here. (FREE VERSION HERE)
For truckers, we had a good week. SB 196 by Sen Peacock took another step in the process by making it out of the House Civil Law Committee. Next week it will be heard on the House floor then on to the governor's desk. We can only assume that the Governor will veto the bill because the trial lawyers aren't fans of it. It's a stark reminder that elections have consequences and no other constituency has felt that more than truckers over the last eight years since John Bel has been in office.
Another bright spot in the week was the advancement of HB 221 by Chairman Wright which would give the legislature additional oversight of agencies regulations. The bill passed the House floor with a vote of 67-28. Next step is the senate committee and with only two weeks left in the session, it needs to be heard next week.
Also of note was that the House Transportation Committee deferred HR 161 which would have required DOTD to study the use of automated chocking systems. To see LMTA's reasoning behind our opposition, you can view Amar's testimony here.
