Sine Die: The Legislative Session Comes to a Close
Health freedom has historic wins!
Where to begin?!? We had so many wins this session and we can’t thank you enough for your advocacy!! Let’s go in numerical order, beginning in the House, then the Senate.
HB46 by Rep Kathy Edmonston prohibits the requirement of covid vaccination for school attendance in ALL Louisiana schools, including colleges and universities, both public and nonpublic.
Why is this law necessary? Despite the steady stream of studies made available almost daily indicating extreme harm associated with these drugs, there are still schools across Louisiana requiring covid vaccination, including 86 K-12 schools in New Orleans. Schools can require covid vaccination only at the discretion of the Louisiana Department of Health which granted approval to schools across the state in 2021.
Thankfully, HB46 will be in place prior to the beginning of the next school year. Many thanks to Rep Edmonston for protecting students by carrying HB46!
HB47 by Rep Edmonston has FINALLY passed both chambers and proceeds unhindered to Governor Landry’s desk. Our first attempt at this legislation came in 2020, when Rep McCormick carried the bill and it only received three votes in House Health and Welfare. Interestingly enough, Tennessee took our bill language and passed it unanimously on the first attempt in 2021. Here we are four years later and it finally passes.
Despite its successful final passage this session, HB47 has not been without drama. An unfriendly amendment was added to the bill on the House floor - the Domangue Amendment - by freshman Rep Jessica Domangue. In an incredibly ill-advised move, Rep Domangue added language that would require students to be examined by a doctor if they submitted an exemption. Insulting parents and violating parental rights is not a great way to start your legislative career.
Thankfully, Senators Hodges, Miguez, and Edmonds were lined up to remove the amendment in Senate Education where Senator Valarie Hodges had the honor of stripping the odious amendment from HB47.
Thank you Rep Edmonston and Senator Hodges for your work on this very important bill! Also, many thanks to Dr. Cade Brumley for listening to our concerns and taking steps in January to get this language in Bulletin 741 for public and nonpublic schools, ensuring that all schools will be well aware prior to the 2024-2025 school year!
Here is my testimony in House Education Cmt for HB47 back in March of this year.
HB357 by Rep Beryl Amedee will ensure that a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is not a legal bank deposit account in Louisiana. As became very apparent during covid, a completely digitized currency is a path to totalitarianism. We must learn from the lessons presented to us by history and ensure that cash always remains a viable part of our economy. While a Central Bank Digital Currency is a construct of the Federal Reserve, it will not be a viable bank deposit account in Louisiana thanks to Rep Amedee!
HB467 by Rep Kim Coates is a bellwether of liberty and we could not be happier about its passage! Getting fresh, unprocessed, uncooked, 100% natural, raw milk on the market has been an arduous process that Rep Coates has handled with aplomb considering this is her first term as a legislator. She has worked miracles getting HB467 in a position where AG Commissioner Mike Strain and Secretary of Health Ralph Abraham are not waging war against it while farmers and consumers remain content as well. Many thanks to Rep Coates for her tireless efforts to get HB467 across the finish line!
Very soon, Louisianans will Taste the Liberty when 100% natural milk is on the market!
HB908 by Rep Beryl Amedee is the first of its kind legislation in the country which will prohibit discrimination against students who submit exemptions for vaccine requirements. Covid brought many societal biases regarding vaccination to the fore thus the reason for the legislation, but it is not exclusive to covid. In the last few months we have heard of instances where students were questioned by teachers regarding their measles vaccination status. During covid, then Attorney General Jeff Landry weighed in on the issue of discrimination against the unvaccinated in November 2021, writing a memorandum on RS 17:170 in which he stated:
“While La. R.S. 17:170 does not prohibit schools from imposing other safety measures that they believe to be necessary to preserve the health of students, faculty, and staff, and no statute or regulation specifically authorizes masking and testing protocols, any such additional safety measures should be applied in a nondiscriminatory and non-punitive fashion. As Judge Terry Doughty with the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana held recently, policies that are so punitive that they defeat the right itself will not withstand scrutiny.”
Now, Louisiana is the first state to recongize the need to protect students from these forms of discriminatory actions. Way to go!! Many thanks to Rep Amedee for carrying this legislation!
An issue dear to our hearts is the suffering of those who were denied their loved ones while hospitalized or in long-term care during covid. Last year, the No Patient Left Alone Act was amended significantly by Senators Fred Mills and Jay Luneau in the Senate Health and Welfare hearing, and it left many decisions to the discretion of the facilities. This year, Rep Chuck Owen went back to the original drawing board and brought to the table HB976, the Don Scoggins Law, named after the father of a former classmate. Mr. Scoggins suffered greatly while hospitalized during covid and died without his family by his side. He represents an untold number of Louisianans whose suffering will never be forgotten.
Our sincerest thanks to Rep Owen for fighting the battle to get this law on the books!
We are so excited about HR133 by Rep Chuck Owen which creates a “Covid Commission” to evaluate the state’s response to covid. The resolution requests the House Select Committe on Homeland Security “to review state government actions during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, including the related shutdowns and other postpandemic activities.” The committee is charged to report:
Recommendations for any changes to law to enable the state to better handle future pandemics.
Identification of successes and failures of government during the pandemic including the related shutdowns and other postpandemic activities with recommended pathways for the future.
Identification of key governmental infringements on the civil liberties of Louisiana's citizens and recommended pathways for the future.
Identification of actions by government that may have assisted or harmed educational outcomes of Louisiana K-12 and higher education students and recommended pathways for the future.
Identification of key governmental actions that affected the economic health and future of the state of Louisiana and recommended pathways for the future.
A better committee could not have been chosen for this task.
Look for more on this later this summer!
HR222 by Rep Kathy Edmonston requests LDH to study factors affecting children with autism and, among other things, the prevalence of ASD in this state by region and demographic. The CDC is reporting 1 in 36 children are affected by autism, while states like California are now seeing 1 in 22 children with autism.
These statistics are horrifying considering the trajectory of these rates continues to rise. What will Lousiana’s rates look like? And, more importantly, how will the state tackle the epidemic of autism? It has been estimated that 1 in 2 children will be affected by autism by the year 2030. How does society provide for such a rapidly growing population of individuals with a spectrum of special needs? Hopefully, the results of this study resolution will spur the state to action.
Many thanks to Rep Edmonston for this HR!
With the loss of HB288, the coroner bill, Rep Beryl Amedee felt compelled to introduce HR292, a study resolution which simply requests the Louisiana Department of Health to conduct a study to examine the relationship between unexpected deaths of infants and children ages two and under and the administration of vaccinations. As LDH already has the statistics on hand needed to conduct the study — death certificates and the Louisiana Immunization Network data — the study should be straightforward which made the addition of a fiscal note an obvious tactic to kill the resolution. Watch as Rep Frieberg does just that in the video below.
While the resolution passed, Frieberg’s amendment leaves it to the discretion of LDH to determine if it will be too costly to perform. Thankfully, there are indications that LDH will conduct the study. We will be sure to share the results when/if completed.
By the way, after adding the amendment, Frieberg went on to vote against the resolution. See which Republicans joined Freiberg in voting against Amedee’s HR in the image below.
Many thanks to Rep Amedee for bringing this resolution!
Now for good news from the Senate. . .
As we shared last week, Louisiana is the first state to pass legislation restricting the state from enforcing any rule, regulation, fee, tax, policy, or mandate issued by the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and the World Economic Forum.
This bill was co-authored by Senators Thomas Pressly and Valarie Hodges and Rep Kathy Edmonston.
Last but defintely not least is SB357 by Sen Alan Seabaugh which clarifies that a majority of either chamber, House or Senate, may end a declared emergency. This law was the basis for the infamous, or perhaps contentious, Seabaugh Petition and then Rep Seaugaugh’s efforts to end Edwards’ declared public health emergency for covid which was in effect for two long years.
SB357 also clarifies that portions of a declared emergency may be ended while keeping the emergency order in place. This is much needed clarification in the law and brings a balance to the power of the executive and legislative branches of our state government.
Many thanks to Senator Seabaugh for SB357 and this much needed balance of power in Louisiana!
Other bills we supported:
HB238 by Representative Michael Echols protects agriculture land against foreign adversaries. Needless to say, food and land security is of utmost importance to families across Louisiana. This is much needed legislation that keeps Louisiana’s farmland out of our enemies’ hands.
SB294 by Senator Valarie Hodges confirms the protections of free speech and First Amendment protected activities on college and university campuses. It goes without saying that speech questioning shutdowns, lockdowns, and mandates should be respected on our college campuses — more so, vigorous debate on these topics should be welcomed. We support legislation that would protect this type of much needed debate.
HB608 by Representative Roger Wilder III creates the the Women's Safety and Protection Act. Why do we like this bill? It requires state agencies to abide by the most basics of biological facts and will make it difficult for them to refer to women as “birthing persons,” an offensive term that defies biology as only women can give birth.
These are amazing wins!! Over the last four years, we supported countless pieces of legislation, nine passed by the legislature, and almost all vetoed by Edwards.
In the coming days we will share the legislative losses this session. Much more advocacy is needed to get more health freedom protections passed.
Thank you for helping us fill our tanks during session!! Our advocacy is only possible with your help! THANK YOU!!
If you find value in our work, please consider donating to us to help fund our efforts. We are 100% volunteer and do not get paid, but we give our time to research, inform, and empower others because we know it’s critical to maintaining our liberties. Parents must know their rights so they can protect their freedom.
For media inquiries, please email info@healthfreedomla.org
Don’t leave your family and friends without the information needed to fight for their health freedom! Click the button below and share Braving Freedom! 🇺🇸