By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor
BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) – Key protections for vulnerable children and parents’ rights, championed by three Louisiana Baptist legislators, were vetoed by Gov. John Bel Edwards following the regular legislative session.
— House Bill 648, authored by Rep. Gabe Firment, a deacon with the First Baptist Church in Pollock, prohibits physicians and therapists from performing surgeries or providing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children, because minors are intellectually and emotionally incapable of giving informed consent to these irreversible procedures. Additionally, any medically exploited child is permitted to file lawsuits against the medical professionals who approved or performed such procedures – and this right to sue extends until the victim reaches the age of 30 years old.
— Meanwhile, Rep. Raymond Crews, a member with FBC Bossier City, successfully shepherded H.B. 81 through the legislative process. It allows only the parents of a child to determine the name and pronouns that will be used to address that student in school.
— Finally, Rep. Dodie Horton, a member with FBC Haughton, championed H.B 466 that prevents anyone connected with the school system from grooming a child with inappropriate discussions about sexual orientation or gender identity. All three pieces of legislation received overwhelming support in the House and Senate during the regular session (75-25; 73-28; 74-25, respectively). However, only HB 648 was successful in being passed into law over the governor’s veto during the legislative override session convened on July 18.
Although all three were considered by the House during the 2023 Veto Override Session, only HB 648 managed a two-thirds vote in both chambers to become law.
FIVE LBC INITIATIVES
HB 648 was one of four measures that were inspired or otherwise informed by a resolution adopted by messengers of the 2022 Louisiana Baptist Convention. A fifth emerged from the rapidly developing insurance crisis for churches.
— HB 648 Last year, Louisiana Baptists adopted “RESOLUTION 2: ON PROTECT[1]ING CHILDREN FROM PERMANENT PHYSICAL HARM OF SEX CHANGE SURGERIES AND DRUGS,” which was used to inform the drafting of HB 648. This resolution was a follow-on action to a resolution in 2016 that messengers approved that decried “the sexual politics of transgenderism.” The LBC Office of Public Policy worked with Firment to craft HB 648 and to push the legislation during an anticipated veto override session.
— HR 14 Rep. Horton, joined by Rep. Valerie Hodges as co-sponsor, put into policy “RESOLUTION 1: ON THANKING GOD FOR THE SUPREME COURT’S PRO-LIFE RULING IN DOBBS V. JACKSON,” by implementing the resolve statement that the legislature designate June as “Sanctity of Preborn Life Month.” The measure was made official with the signatures of the Speaker of the House Clay Schexnayder and Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin.
— HR 71 Rep. Laurie Schlegel drafted this legislative instrument, based “RESOLUTION 4: ON A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO THOSE EXPERIENCING MENTAL, EMOTIONAL, RELATIONAL AND ADDICTION ISSUES,” to form a subcommittee within the House Committee on Health and Welfare “to study the mental health crisis plaguing the citizens of Louisiana and the resources available to assist individuals with a mental health diagnosis in this state.” The first meeting of this panel is set for August 24.
— SR 96 Sen. Beth Mizell, the president pro tempore of the Senate and a member with FBC Franklinton, championed the formation of a task force “to study acute and long-term adverse health events related to medical marijuana.” This aligns with “RESOLUTION 3: ON PROTECTING LOUISIANA’S YOUTH FROM THE HARMS OF MARIJUANA.”
Finally, in March, Steve Horn, executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, reached out to the Office of Public Policy to share that churches were contacting the state missions office about insurance notices of nonrenewal and soaring premiums due to the four hurricanes of 2021-22.
Church Mutual announced it was withdrawing from Louisiana below the I-10 corridor, and then out of the state altogether. Meanwhile, premiums with another major insurer soared and a third company was severely selective in what churches it would pick up from those dropped by other companies.
Sen. Robert Mills, a member of the FBC Bossier City, with co-sponsor Sen. Katrina Jackson, pushed through SB 147 which establishes a church self-insurance program. So, legal authority is in place to begin the program.
However, the one-time seed money needed to set up the program was deleted from the budget bill, HB 1.
The Office of Public Policy is working with state and national leaders, as well as other possible sources, to find the necessary funds to get the authorized program up and running. The program will then be sustained via the premiums paid by churches and other faith-based organizations that join the cooperative, officially known as the “Louisiana Churches and Nonprofit Religious Organizations Self-Insured Fund.”
OTHER BILLS
Louisiana Baptists were joined by numbers of other conservative voices to champion other legislation, while successfully standing firm to defeat some onerous bills.
Sen. Mizell successfully shepherded SB 63, a religious liberty initiative, through the legislative process. The measure will be listed as “Amendment #2” on statewide ballots, and if approved by voters on October 14, 2023, the Constitution of Louisiana would be amended “to provide that the freedom of worship in a church or other place of worship is a fundamental right that is worthy of the highest order of protection.”
Unfortunately, one of the most promising pieces of legislation, SB 194, the “Card ‘em Act,” also authored by Mizell, was defeated by the powerful alcohol lobby. Already, federal law prohibits the sale of alcohol to anyone under the age of 21 years old. However, Louisiana law permits 18 -20 years olds to enter bars, although legally not able to buy alcohol. The bill would have restricted access to bars to only those at least 21 years old. Also, it would have permitted underage drinkers and their families to sue establishments that violated this law and harm resulted. At first the bill was watered down in committee. Then it was sent to languish on the calendar of a committee until time ran out for the regular legislative session. Importantly, data shows that 75 percent of Louisiana high school seniors are 18 years old, and another 12 percent are older. That means at least 87 per[1]cent of high school seniors are legal to frequent bars.
Meanwhile, the Office of Public Policy collabo[1]rated with pro-life forces to defeat HB 598 (by Rep. Candace Newell) and HB 549 (by Rep. Cedric Glover) which would have modified state pro-life laws to allow exceptions for rape and incest. Three other similar bills were subsequently tabled or otherwise were killed through the legislative process.
Likewise, HB 40, sponsored by Rep. Delisha Boyd, which would have established special rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity was defeated in committee.
Finally, the Office of Public Policy was the only testimony against three bills which would have legalized recreational marijuana or otherwise set the stage for legalization. All three, HB 17, HB 24 and HB 612, written by Rep. Newell, were soundly voted down during the first hearing for each.
