Building Back Stronger for 's Working Families

LOUISIANA DEMOCRATS

Legislative Priorities 2021 Regular Session

LoAuiCsiHanSa N deewmsolectrtaetric party april 2021 BILLS SUPPORTED BY THE LOUISIANA DEMOCRATIC PARTY:

HB 409 (Freeman): Sexual harassment on college campuses is a serious problem, and decisive action must be taken immediately. Representative Aimee Freeman's bill installs a system of accountability by creating a mandatory reporting chain for allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault. HB 604 (James): The stigma of a criminal record too often leads employers to pass on otherwise qualified applicants. Chronic unemployment leads to reoffending, which creates a vicious cycle that ruins lives, tears families apart, and wastes taxpayer dollars. HB 604 makes it easier to remove criminal convictions from public records, enhancing employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals. Representative Ted James' record relief bill will strengthen families, grow Louisiana's economy, and save taxpayers money. HB 353 (Landry): We must make the neighborhoods where our children live and play safer, which requires common-sense reforms. Representative Landry's bill requires a background check before transferring a firearm between unlicensed individuals except for transfers between family members, law enforcement, and other certain individuals. HB 430 (James): Building trust between law enforcement and the people they serve is integral to creating safer communities. Transparency is key to building trust. HB 430 increases transparency by requiring sustained complaints about an officer to remain on file for at least ten years. SB 151 (Sen. Barrow/ Reps. Freeman, Marcelle, and Moore): Foster children suffer unimaginable pains and heartache. We should do everything in our power to ensure they are protected and cared for, not subjected to further abuses. SB 151 creates a Bill of Rights for foster children, including privacy rights, a stable and safe environment, access to medical and mental health care, in addition to other resources. SB 215 (Barrow): Communities are stronger when barriers to women fully participating in the economy are removed. Sen. Barrow's bill removes such barriers by prohibiting employers from discriminating against women for reasons related to pregnancy or childbirth. It also requires employers to provide workplace accommodations to pregnant and postpartum women, leading to better maternal health outcomes and a stronger economy.

LoAuiCsiHanSa N deewmsolectrtaetric party april 2021 BILLS SUPPORTED BY THE LOUISIANA DEMOCRATIC PARTY:

HB 243 (Newell): Over 65% of Louisianans support the legalization of marijuana. Representative Newell's bill is a significant step in that direction. HB 243 decriminalizes the possession and distribution of marijuana, which would eliminate excessive criminal penalties that carry unintended lifelong consequences. Decriminalization will ease the burden on our justice system, eliminate overly harsh penalties, and save taxpayers money. Rep. Newell is leading a bipartisan effort with GOP Rep. Richard Nelson submitting HB 524, which decriminalizes marijuana and permits regulation for recreational use. HB 196 (Jordan): The Louisiana Constitution prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude, with the exception of servitude as punishment for a crime. Four states have removed this exemption, banning all forms of slavery and involuntary servitude. Representative Jordan's bill would make Louisiana number 5. Involuntary labor is a major contributor to over-incarceration, which is a serious problem in Louisiana. HB 196 would address this issue, marking a major milestone in Louisiana prison reform by abolishing the "punishment clause." HB 245 (Carpenter): Louisiana women suffer the third-highest pay gap in the nation. Full-time women earn just 73% of their male counterparts. This injustice disproportionately hurts women of color. Representative Carpenter's bill addresses this issue by preventing an employer from using wage history to determine an applicants' future pay. It also allows employees to openly discuss and compare pay, so the wage gap is no longer out of sight. HB 245 is a progressive piece of legislation that advances equality, strengthens families, and grows our economy by promoting equal pay for equal work. It ensures past pay inequities will not determine future wages and injects transparency into the process. SB 55 (Luneau): Insurance premiums should not be calculated using discriminatory metrics. Sen. Luneau's legislation prohibits insurance companies from using gender, credit rating, and marital status to determine insurance rates. SB 10 (Fields): Children are our future, and education is our investment in that future. When children start school late, they are disadvantaged through no fault of their own. So it is critical that we invest as early as possible. Sen. Cleo Fields' bill prevents late starts by making kindergarten mandatory.

LoAuiCsiHanSa N deewmsolectrtaetric party april 2021 BILLS SUPPORTED BY THE LOUISIANA DEMOCRATIC PARTY:

HB 7 (Freeman): Items like tampons and diapers are no less essential for women and parents than food and medicine. Representative Aimee Freeman's bill exempts feminine products from local sales and use taxes, just like other essential goods. , Baton Rouge, and Shreveport have already exempted feminine products from sales taxes. HB 7 takes that exemption statewide, benefiting women and parents across Louisiana. SB 7 and SB 49 (Carter and Peterson): Louisiana Democrats believe in the dignity of work, but we also believe in fair compensation for an honest day's work. Louisiana ranks near the top in the number of people working for the federal $7.25 minimum wage. You cannot raise a family on $7.25 per hour! Senators and have both proposed graduated minimum wage increases that guarantee working people a living wage. No one should be forced to work for starvation wages in the richest country on earth. Louisiana must raise the minimum wage now! SB 105 (Boudreaux): African Americans have made invaluable contributions to our state and nation through their service in the Military. Unfortunately, those contributions too often go unnoticed. Sen. Boudreaux's bill would erect a statue commemorating the contributions of African American service members in Louisiana Veterans Memorial Park.

LoAuiCsiHanSa N deewmsolectrtaetric party april 2021 BILLS OPPOSED BY THE LOUISIANA DEMOCRATIC PARTY:

SB 104 (Fesi), SB 156 (Mizell), HB 542 (Amedee), HB 575 (Firment): These are discriminatory bills that viciously target young people. SB 104 and HB 542 drastically expand the power of the government and prey on at-risk youth seeking medical care, as well as doctors and therapists. SB 156 and HB 575 are not only mean-spirited but also unnecessary and could come with a hefty price tag for Louisiana. North Carolina lost $3.6 billion in business when they passed a discriminatory transgender law in 2016. Part of that $3.6 billion exodus was the NBA All-Star game's move from Charlotte to New Orleans. In 2015, the NCAA forced Indiana to choose between losing the Final Four and amending a discriminatory LGBT bill passed by their legislature. Louisiana should focus on rebuilding stronger. We should be true to our values and welcoming to business, avoiding discriminatory bills that score cheap political points at the expense of others' humanity and much-needed revenue for our State. HB 20 (Miguez): Election integrity is critical to a healthy democracy. This partisan bill handcuffs election officials by prohibiting them from taking advantage of available grants. Representative Miguez is trying to force election officials to choose between further securing our elections and unnecessarily spending more taxpayer money. HB 438 (Miguez): Government should be transparent and responsive to the citizens it serves. Representative Blake Miguez's proposed bill requiring identification for public documents installs yet another barrier between government agencies and the people who hold them accountable. HB 597 (Miguez): Government is designed to protect individual liberties, not diminish them. HB 597 leverages government resources to coerce Louisiana business owners, depriving them of their First Amendment rights afforded by the U.S. Constitution. SB 224 (Cloud): Voting is the most basic right afforded to Americans. We should make voting easier and work to build trust in the election process. Sen. Cloud's bill seeks to remedy a non-existent issue. Louisiana does not use drop boxes, and drop boxes have proven secure and reliable where utilized. In short, SB 224 solves nothing while perpetuating misinformation and public distrust in our elections.

LoAuiCsiHanSa N deewmsolectrtaetric party april 2021 BILLS OPPOSED BY THE LOUISIANA DEMOCRATIC PARTY:

HB 16 (McCormack) and HB 118 (Frieman): We must make the streets and neighborhoods where our children live and play safer. This requires reasonable reforms that balance public safety with our civil liberties, not hyper-partisan legislation devoid of common sense. HB 16 would flood our streets with untrained people wielding dangerous weapons, whereas HB 118 would strip law enforcement of important tools used to keep our neighborhoods safe. These are irresponsible bills that would endanger Louisiana families. HB 149 (Frieman): During the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Edwards charted a prudent course that balanced economic concerns with public safety and saved lives. Partisans repeatedly tried to inject politics into the equation, which contradicted the science and threatened to endanger lives. The State's chief executive receives regular council from subject matter experts that enables him to make objective, evidence-based decisions. Investing the legislature with the power to terminate emergency orders invites partisan politics into matters of life and death. HB 564 (Garofalo): HB 564 is an anti-free speech and anti-education piece of legislation. It is an egregious example of government overreach that aims to cancel history and truth, making it impossible to teach young people about critical junctures in American history, like slavery, the suffrage movement, Jim Crow, and civil rights. HB 186 (Bacala): We should be working to make health care more accessible and more affordable for all Louisianans, not writing punitive laws that seek to make children's health care more expensive for poor families.

LoAuiCsiHanSa N deewmsolectrtaetric party april 2021