Tag: Gov. John Bel Edwards

Six Governors Hit Taxpayers with $90,000 Bill for U.N. Climate Conference Travel

The Center Square

Gov. Jay Inslee brought his wife to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, sticking Washington taxpayers with the bill, which included more than $12,510.08 for business class airfare for the couple, something no other governor did at taxpayer expense.

Inslee led a delegation of subnational governments to the conference. The total travel tab for Washington taxpayers cost $25,955.32, more than any other U.S. state examined by The Center Square. The higher cost was due in part to the governor’s decision to fly with his wife in business class while other governors who attended at taxpayer expense flew in less expensive seats.

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Lousiana House Overwhelmingly Passes Fetal Heartbeat Ban – Dem Gov Expected to Sign

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by Mary Margaret Olohan   The Louisiana House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday banning abortions after the child’s heartbeat can be detected. The bill overwhelmingly passed the Louisiana House of Representative with a vote of 79-23 and would “prohibit the abortion of an unborn human being with a detectable heartbeat,” according to CNN. The House rejected an amendment to the bill Wednesday that would have made an exception for abortions in cases of rape or incest, NBC reports. The Louisiana Senate also approved the bill and added amendments requiring ultrasounds and making an exception for “medically futile” pregnancies. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who has described himself as a “pro-life candidate” has said he will sign the bill into law. However, the ban will only go into effect if the Mississippi heartbeat bill passes the federal appeals court. Obama appointed Judge Carlton Reeves blocked the Mississippi abortion bill Friday. “As I prepare to sign this bill, I call on the overwhelming bipartisan majority of legislators who voted for it to join me in continuing to build a better Louisiana that cares for the least among us and provides more opportunity for everyone,” Edwards said in a statement on Wednesday…

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Louisiana Governor Vetoes Bill To Curb Protests Against Controversial College Speakers

Wendy Wilson

  Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has vetoed a bipartisan bill that sought to protect controversial speakers on college campuses. The bill, which passed overwhelmingly in the state legislature, was a response to protests by college students across the country against speakers they viewed as offensive, many of them conservatives. Some protests have turned violent, such as one at Middlebury College in Vermont. The legislation would have asked colleges to establish disciplinary measures to punish hecklers and violent protesters, reports WORLD magazine. The Democratic governor said June 27 that the legislation was “unnecessary and overly burdensome” and would “only frustrate the goals it purports to achieve,” according to The Times-Picayune. But free speech advocates said his veto was shortsighted because it ignores the “hecklers veto.” The bill passed by the legislature was “significantly watered-down” compared to an earlier version that called for stiffer penalties for disrupting speakers, according to the The Times-Picayune. The bill was sponsored by House Republican Caucus Chairman Lance Harris of Alexandria, who said he modeled his proposal after an Arizona law that passed last year. Republicans in several other states have proposed similar measures.  

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