BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Louisiana’s Legislature officially reached its deadline for adjournment, Monday, June 6, at 6 p.m., and Governor John Bel Edwards held a Monday evening press conference, which is available to view in the video player on this webpage.
During the conference, the Governor touched on the how the state budget has been used for faculty pay raises, saying, “I wish it could be more.” He went on to explain that financial incentives would play a major role in bringing more educators to the state.
Edwards moved on to discuss the funds that have been set aside for Louisiana’s infrastructure initiatives.
He added that $120 million has also been allocated towards coastal restoration.
The Governor said that though Louisiana’s lawmakers disagree, they continue to work towards what’s best for the state. In regards to an inability to collaborate, Edwards added, “I pray we never, ever look like Washington D.C.”
After this, Edwards moved on to discuss SB 44, a bill that would keep transgender women and girls in Louisiana from competing on college and K-12 women’s and girls’ athletic teams.
Visibly emotional, Edwards explained that such laws could increase the societal challenges that transgender children face.
Edwards implied that the bill was unnecessary and used this to segue into the topic of equal pay for women, pointing out that Louisiana is falling behind other U.S. states in providing women and men with equal pay.
“In seven straight years,” Edwards said, “I have asked the legislature to address that. They can’t do it. But they can address something that is nonexistent. ”
Edwards concluded the session by answering several questions from the media.