Thursday a Baton Rouge judge hears a case determining whether a State House petition has the power to overturn Governor Edwards’ public health emergency.
Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino said the House is arguing the act that gives the Governor the power to issue those orders also allows a majority vote of one chamber the right to cancel them. Edwards disagrees.
“So it is an interesting state constitutional issue and here both sides are making non-frivolous arguments,” said Ciolino.
The case was prompted by the signing of a legislative petition at the end of the special session last month by 65 House Republicans that claims to have overturned the order. A similar petition was never circulated in the State Senate. Senate President Page Cortez said the Senate does not see enough data to support overturning the orders.
The act used by the House was passed and signed into law in 2003 but never utilized until now. Ciolino said the Governor is arguing it is unconstitutional because of the power it gives a single chamber.
“The pandemic has caused a lot of unusual rulemaking and lawmaking across the country and this is just putting some of that rulemaking and law-making to the test,” said Ciolino.
The House is represented in Judge William Morvant’s court by Attorney General Jeff Landry. Last week Morvant rejected a request by the AG to block the Governor’s extension of Phase Three pandemic restrictions into December.
Edwards has so far prevailed in court defending the declaration, but Ciolino said previous legal attacks only focused on the constitutionality of the public health restrictions.
“This litigation is very different, it presents the structural constitutional issue under the state constitution rather than an individual liberties issue under the federal constitution,” said Ciolino.
Edwards vetoed the only legislative instrument that made it to his desk from the recent special session that would have allowed the Legislature to limit his public health authority.
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