5 things to watch as Louisiana's Legislative Session begins

Louisiana lawmakers convene at noon Monday for an eight-week Legislative Session to debate everything from guns to transgender rights to teacher raises to possible solutions for the state's property insurance crisis.

Following are five things to watch in this election-year session, which will be the last for Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards:

How will Republicans flex their super-majority muscles in Legislature?

When iconic state Rep. Francis Thompson of Delhi ditched the Democrats in March after 50 years of elective service with the party, he gave Republicans a super-majority in the Legislature for the first time in Louisiana history.

Thompson gave Republicans 70 votes in the House, the number needed to override a veto from Edwards. The GOP already had a super-majority in the Senate. And on Monday the Republicans got another defection from the Democrats in Jeremy LaCombe of Livonia, pushing the GOP total to 71.

Thompson, 81, is the longest-serving state legislator in Louisiana history, having first won election to the Legislature in 1974.

"Today marks a pivotal moment for the Louisiana Legislature," House GOP Chair Blake Miguez said while celebrating the flip.

Though Thompson has often previously joined Republicans on partisan votes, he rarely bucked a governor's veto.

His official party change may embolden Republicans to press their advantage in an election year where posturing will be prevalent on both sides of the aisle.

Debate over gender identity will escalate as culture war issue

As in other states, the national debate over gender identity will be among the marquee culture wars issues in the Louisiana Legislature.

Republican Rep. Dodie Horton of Haughton has brought back her bill to limit the discussion of gender and sexuality in classrooms, while Republican Bossier City Rep. Raymond Crews has a measure to require school employees to use the names and pronouns of students on their birth certificates unless they have parental consent and Republican Rep. Gabe Firment of Pollock is seeking to ban gender-affirming healthcare for minors.

"Unfortunately, some teachers are interjecting their own lifestyle choices into the classroom," Horton told USA Today Network last year before her bill was killed in the House Education Committee. "(The bill) defines the line that has recently been blurred by some teachers to share their personal sexual identity and gender preferences with our children."

Louisiana Republicans poised to expand gun rights

Lawmakers are poised to expand gun rights in Louisiana with Republican Oil City Rep. Danny McCormick's bill to allow adults 18 and older to carry concealed handguns without permits or training as is currently required.

"The question is why don't we trust law-abiding citizens with their Second Amendment Rights?" McCormick said.

It will be the fourth time McCormick has carried the measure, which cleared the House easily last year before it stalled in the Senate in the aftermath of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting where a gunman killed 19 children and two adults.

This year's bill will be debated in the wake of the most recent school shooting in Nashville where three children and three adults were killed last month.

Twenty-five states have enacted similar concealed carry expansion laws, including all three of Louisiana's neighboring states Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.

Louisiana is known as an "open carry" state, which means people can carry visible firearms without a permit or training.

Edwards once successfully vetoed a nearly identical bill, but that was before Republicans held a super-majority in both chambers.

What can be done to solve Louisiana's property insurance crisis?

Lawmakers passed an emergency bill during a February Special Session to provide $45 million in grant money to attract companies to write new property insurance along the state's hurricane-ravaged coastal corridor.

But that bill, signed into law by Edwards, was designed as a "tourniquet" to address the state's cratered market until long-term solutions can be enacted.

The crisis, in which many cases homeowners are paying more for their insurance than they are for their mortgage, cost Republican Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon his job. Donelon announced he won't seek reelection and will instead focus on shepherding changes through the Legislature that he believes will strengthen the market.

One proposal that has bipartisan support is a program that would provide grants of up to $10,000 for homeowners to hurricane-proof their roofs, called Fortify Louisiana.

Fortify Louisiana is in place, but unfunded. Multiple lawmakers have said they will advocate for at least $45 million to fund Fortify Louisiana.

Donelon also wants more money for the incentive program to attract more companies, but he's likely to receive pushback.

"If we can give $45 million to insurance companies that we aren't even sure will stay we can give $45 million to taxpayers to fortify their homes," said Republican state Rep. Jack McFarland, chairman of the House Conservative Caucus and a member of the Appropriations Committee.

More: Louisiana lawmaker seeks to shield children from TikTok, social media

Will teachers get raise? If so, how much?

Edwards has proposed a $2,000 pay raise for public school teachers, which he wants to increase to $3,000 if Louisiana's budget surplus grows as expected, but Republicans are wary of making such a commitment without more local skin in the game and with a temporary state sales tax falling off the books in 2025.

"The money is available," Edwards said. "It's the right thing to do."

But GOP Sen. Bodi White of Baton Rouge, chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, and other Republicans could propose a smaller amount as they did last year ($1,500 rather than Edwards' preferred $2,000) or approve a combination of a raise and one-time bonus.

"We cannot take the whole burden of the $3,000," White said. "I am not against them getting a raise... But I think we need to make sure we can sustain it."

The average teacher salary in Louisiana is $52,376. Edwards has long sought to move state teacher pay closer to the southern regional average, which is $56,309.

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1 

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: 5 things to watch as Louisiana's Legislative Session begins