No vetoes overturned after historic ‘veto session’

Published 12:51 pm Friday, July 23, 2021

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A two-day “veto session” by the Louisiana Legislature ended Wednesday, with none of Gov. John Bel Edwards’ vetoes being overturned.

Edwards vetoed 28 bills on July 2, and any of those actions could have been overridden with enough support in both houses. It would have been the first time in nearly 30 years that the Louisiana Legislature had overridden a governor’s veto.

Arguably the two most controversial vetoes were over legislation banning transgender girls from school sports teams, and legislation that would have allowed lowered restrictions on the concealed carry of firearms.

The concealed carry override failed by three votes in the Senate, and never moved to the House for consideration. The transgender sports override narrowly passed the Senate, but failed by two votes in the House.

There were other attempted overrides in the Senate, but they all failed as well.

This week’s veto session was the first time under the state’s nearly 50-year-old constitution that legislators returned to the Capitol to consider enacting bills a governor had rejected.

The prior two veto overrides in the 1990s took place during a regular session, when lawmakers already were in the building.