BATON ROUGE, La. (WGNO) — The House Civil Law and Procedure Committee killed the controversial Religious Freedom Bill Tuesday. Moments later, Governor Bobby Jindal issued an executive order to the bill could be enforced.
“It’s interesting because the Governor has been very critical of the executive actions of President Obama, now he’s doing it here on a state level,” says political analyst Jeff Crouere.
Crouere says major businesses like IBM and Dow Chemical have come out against the measure.
“The loss of conventions, the loss of big sporting events, the loss of tourists coming here,” says Crouere.
The New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau testified at Tuesday’s hearing.
“We do an amazing job from Orleans Parish, not only on a regional basis, but in putting millions and millions into every district in the state of Louisiana,” says CVB President and CEO Stephen Perry.
The CVB says more than $800 million was pumped back into the state last year, adding that such legislation would not only be a detriment to the state’s economy, but also its image.
“We’re attempting to create precedence that carve out the ability to discriminate, the ability to be bigoted and to make the state complicit in official state-sanctioned bigotry,” says Perry.
Jindal’s critics say he appears to be someone who’s forgotten about Louisiana and is more interested in his presidential aspirations.
“This is all happening while everyone is looking at a fiscal meltdown Louisiana is facing. A $1.6 Billion budget deficit. A lot of people are saying this is not really the time to focus on this,” says Crouere.
The Executive Order is in place until next year when the next Governor could repeal it or until the end of the 2016 legislative session.