Article archive / November 2020
Originally published: . Volume 11, No. 11. Source pages: 1, 7.
The Louisiana Legislature wrapped up its Special Session on October 23, dealing with a number of the emergency issues for Covid-19 and the hurricanes. Conservative legislators put forth numerous bills to curb the governor's emergency power to restrict citizens in their behaviors, but only one measure passed through both houses, HB 4.
HB 4 would have provided procedures for either house of the legislature to terminate renewals of emergency declarations or specific provisions therein. However, on October 27 Gov. Edwards vetoed HB 4 stating that"… the bill does not represent a serious approach to responding to a public health emergency."
Among example bills that passed, HB 26 establishes a tax holiday due to Covid-19 and hurricanes. The sales and use tax levied by the state shall not apply to the first two thousand five hundred dollars of the sales price or cost price of any consumer purchases of tangible personal property that occur on Friday, November 20, 2020, and Saturday, November 21, 2020, in order to provide tax relief for citizens recovering from Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Delta, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rep. Edmonds' HB 20 was approved. HB 20 establishes an income tax deduction for educational coaching services for an in- person facilitator of virtual education delivered by a public or approved nonpublic elementary or secondary school that were paid by the taxpayer between March and Dec. 31, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also authored by Rep. Edmonds, HB 52 provides that during any state of public health emergency relating to one or more infectious diseases, the La. Dept. of Health shall publish on a publicly accessible website a report providing the total number of children between the ages of five and 17 in La. known to have been infected with each disease addressed by the public health emergency declaration.
HB 77 by Rep. Davis will allow the board of directors of a corporation to determine that any meeting of shareholders shall be held solely by means of remote communication, when the bylaws do not expressly require otherwise.
Rep. Zeringue's HB 94 exempts certain businesses impacted by COVID-19 from paying license renewal fees during the declared state of emergency and for six months following the termination of the state of emergency.
Rep. Butler's HB 95 requires the La. Department of Health to allow visitation of residents at intermediate care facilities by residents' family members during a public health emergency.
SB 32, by Sen. Fields, makes accommodations for teacher evaluations. Present law requires that student assessments be conducted and student achievement and student growth data be used in evaluating teachers, schools, and school districts. The new law additionally provides that notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, for the 2020-2021 school year, the results from student assessments shall not be used for student progression or teacher evaluations.
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