May 14, 2025 • 53 mins
Urgent Legislative Updates and Advocacy Efforts
Dive into intense legislative discussions and advocacy efforts in Louisiana! This episode covers the controversial Senate Bill 80, moves against carbon capture and sequestration, and vital bills on parental rights, election transparency, and more. With constitutional priorities and citizen participation in the spotlight, discover how you can join the movement to protect freedoms and influence crucial decisions in the state Capitol.
SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Hey, good morning, everybody.
Welcome to the state of freedom.
It's early Tuesday morning and we have a jam packed schedule.
seems like the legislature loves to just stack things up all at one time.
This week's time is around nine o'clock the morning hours anyway on Wednesday.
So we need as many of you down at the Capitol as possible prepared to testify, prepared toput in red and green cards.
(00:27):
And there's no shortage of topics that we're going to be covering that the legislature isgoing to be covering this week from transparency to censorship to carbon capture ethics.
And the list goes on and on parental rights.
So we have a jam packed episode for you this morning and we are going to try and do it inrecord speed so that Chris can get to the Capitol to testify against.
(00:53):
one gnarly bill, so in particular, which we will get to.
All right, let me start out with the scripture of the day.
It's Psalm chapter 134.
It's the whole chapter, but don't sweat it.
It's only three verses.
Okay, here we go.
It says, all his loving priests who serve and sing, come and sing your song of blessing toGod.
(01:15):
Come and stand before him in the house of God throughout the night.
Watch, lifting up your hands in holy worship.
and bless the Lord.
May the Lord whom you worship, the mighty maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion'sglory." And I believe this is another aspect of service to the Lord that's going to be
(01:35):
increasingly important as we move forward and that's worshiping through the night.
know, uh fasting is an act of service that draws us closer to the Lord by deprivingourselves of food and bringing our body and soul into submission.
ah by not letting our stomachs and minds rule us, but instead choosing to dedicate thattime and energy to seeking the Lord.
(01:58):
The night watch worship is similar to fasting, but instead of food, we forgo sleep inorder to ensure that the Lord is blessed and honored even as the rest of the world is
sleeping.
So, you know, when David recovered the Ark of the Covenant, he established a tent, David'stent.
in it for which the priests were to serve the Lord 24-7 with prayers, worship andsacrifice.
(02:24):
And notably, his son Solomon inherited the greatest time of peace and prosperity perhapsin all of human history since the Garden of Eden.
And I'm convinced that there's a direct connection between bringing a sacrifice of praise,truly sacrificial, sacrificing sleep in the night hours and around the clock.
(02:45):
I'm convinced that that is a key to blessing the next generation with peace andprosperity.
Yeah, and while we do all of that, Danielle, it is equally important that we always keepin mind why we're doing it.
know, T.S.
Eliot said that, you know, the last temptation and the greatest treason is to do the rightthing for the wrong reason.
(03:06):
God looks at our motives as well.
So if we're fasting, praying and all of the things that are objectively good, we don'twant to sully or contaminate those actions by having a deluded motive.
We always want to make sure that
we're doing the right things for the right reasons.
uh Because even the exercise of religious diligence can become an exercise in pride andego, and it's very, very subtle.
(03:34):
And so we have to remember to do things in humility and always be purifying our motivesfor why we are doing them, not for ourselves.
We're doing them to glorify and advance the kingdom of God.
And that is where the real blessing comes.
Amen, Chris, that's so true.
I think it's so easy to get caught up in uh kind of that religious spirit where it'seasier to be disciplined and not have to have too much heart into it rather than it is to
(04:04):
actually spend the time and uh unpack why we're doing what we're doing.
I mean, you look at the Pharisees.
mean, the Pharisees did everything so punctiliously.
They followed all the rules.
They did all the fasts.
They did all the rituals.
And yet Jesus called them a brood of vipers.
On the outside, you look good, but inside your heart is corrupt.
(04:26):
So that's because of their motives, their motives and their attitude.
So let's check our motives.
All right.
Check our motives.
Well, that's a good word for us getting into some salty, salty things today.
Why don't we start, Chris?
I'll mention what's going to be this afternoon first, uh which is a House floor debate andSenate floor debate.
(04:48):
The first thing up on my list is House Bill 304 by Representative Robbie Carter.
And this is his bill related to CCS expropriation.
that would put the hearing venue, I believe, in local government's hands rather than atthe whim of whatever other, I don't know, whatever other cause, right?
(05:13):
Even though when it comes to injection wells, that's what we're talking about under hisbill, uh you are uh required under his bill to bring any action to expropriate any piece
of property in the parish where the property, the property owner are located.
And that is, uh I think, a matter of basic fairness.
so it's a good bill.
(05:34):
uh It doesn't address fundamentally the issue of carbon capture sequestration, but it'scertainly
addresses a very important venue question, which is that uh the property owner should notbe inconvenienced when it comes to those type of proceedings, and that's why they should
be held on the property where he's located.
And this better pass.
this better pass, Chris, I listened to some of the debate on this in House NaturalResources last week, I believe, or it may have been the week before.
(06:03):
And one of the objections was that this is already the case.
Now,
Yeah, that's true, but not necessarily.
it is.
uh Venue is proper in the parish where the immovable property is located, but venue undercircumstances can also be proper in the place where either the property owner may live
(06:26):
because the property may not be in the parish where he is living, or it can alsopotentially be in the uh the parish where
the person bringing the expropriation action is domiciled.
So there are multiple venue provisions, but this would mandate that the action be broughtin the parish where the property is located.
(06:51):
Beautiful.
One last question on that.
uh Without this bill, could it also be possible that it could be where the contract issigned?
Like for instance, if the company has its location in Baton Rouge or if the government issigning part of the contract.
That way, I'm just saying, does this force it generally out of Baton Rouge?
(07:15):
Yes, but under normal circumstances, a possible venue certainly would be where thecontract is executed.
Yes, so that's why this bill is important.
Great, we see the extraordinary bent toward corruption outside of this bill.
Yeah, I would say so.
All right.
Also on carbon capture, uh House Bill 601, this is an important one by RepresentativeBrett Gaiman and it uh is about CO2 sequestration's eminent domain rules.
(07:48):
Yes, and this deals with carbon capture sequestration pipelines.
Very good bill that Representative Guymon brought a second time because it failed thefirst time.
We were able to flip three Republican votes the second time we brought it in the HouseNatural Resources Committee.
And this bill outlaws eminent domain for purposes of carbon capture sequestrationpipelines.
(08:11):
And this is probably the most important carbon capture sequestration bill that remains.
and very significant.
So we're going to be following this very, very closely and urging every Republican toenthusiastically support this bill.
Yes, and I would like to think Chris that the first failure of this bill was a shot acrossthe bow made in-house natural resources.
(08:40):
Maybe the shot heard around the house, Chris, that people would understand that they needto get in line and follow the will of the people instead of the will of the special
interest big industry that's been pressuring them.
Yeah, and it's worth noting that on the second vote on HB 601, DeWitt, Kerner, and JacobLandry switched their votes from no to yes, which enabled that bill to pass through
(09:04):
committee.
So I wanted to acknowledge them for that.
Absolutely.
Thank you for hearing and responding.
And we know that not all of our representatives did so.
No, but that was because of a lot of pressure on that bill, 601, that they switched theirvotes.
Yeah.
Okay.
Next up House Bill 615 also set to be debated on the House floor today.
(09:25):
Another one by Representative Gaiman.
This is his one that would regulate the solar industry in Louisiana.
Yeah, and it would confer significant authority on local jurisdictions to establish theparameters, Danielle, and regulate the development of solar energy, solar generation
facilities.
I don't believe in that enterprise to begin with, but this bill will allow localjurisdictions to have a lot of authority over its development and whether or not it is
(09:56):
developed.
ah And it protects private property.
in those jurisdictions.
It's a good local autonomy bill as far as solar facility generation.
So it's a good bill.
Yep.
Okay.
Now moving to the Senate, Chris, for floor debate today is Senate Bill 226 by SenatorValerie Hodges.
(10:16):
This is the bill that had a lot of uh difficulty faced strong headwinds in committee,which is really antithetical to the Constitution.
It's antithetical to state sovereignty.
It's antithetical to everything that caused President Trump to be elected, protecting
(10:36):
are protecting the people of the state of Louisiana, protecting the property of Louisianafrom being sold to foreign adversaries, inhabited by foreign adversaries, or manipulated
by foreign adversaries in the case of our voting systems.
I believe, Chris, and you should know more about this than I do, that Senator Hodges islooking to get some of this salvaged.
(11:01):
In some ways, I wonder if she may put it back, recalendar it today so that it could gether a different day after, I don't know, maybe she spent the weekend working on it, but
they decimated it in committee.
They decimated it in committee.
They took out the codification of President Trump's executive order that would make surethat our foreign adversaries have no influence over our election system at all.
(11:27):
And that's a very broad statement because it does a lot of things within that rubric.
But that was gutted in Gregory Miller's Senate Judiciary A and also gutted in SenateJudiciary A was the provision in the bill that would allow
expropriation of any property currently owned by a foreign adversary or someone connectedto a foreign adversary if the property is located within 50 miles of a critical
(11:56):
infrastructure facility, a military base or something along those lines.
That was also gutted.
quite uh shocking.
And perhaps it shouldn't be that a Republican dominated committee, Senate Judiciary A,
led by Greg Miller would gut those provisions in that bill.
It's extraordinary.
And uh Nancy Landry made a couple of what we believe are flagrant misrepresentations inthat hearing in order to get that bill killed specifically with regard to elections.
(12:27):
So the bill is limping into the Senate in current posture.
But as you said, Danielle, Senator Hodges is trying to do something to resuscitate it, andthere can be.
amendments put on there to put those provisions back in the bill.
Hopefully there is the will to do it.
I know there's been a lot of fallout from the actions that occurred in Senate Jude A andhopefully the legislators are hearing it and hopefully there are some smart senators who
(12:53):
understand how important this is.
Yeah, well, you and I and Katie and a number of other people who are very strong care verydeeply about this issue of our elections not being manipulated and frankly, our property
not being purchased by foreign adversaries.
All of this should be common sense.
(13:15):
And it leads to the question who owns these senators?
And I guess we know that Nancy Landry owns them because she proved that they voted theyvoted that way.
ah So we'll see, we'll see if the voice of the people is able to triumph in this case aswell.
I pray that it is.
We certainly are not going to be letting up the pressure.
(13:36):
Chris, is there still a call to action on this?
How else can we hammer these people?
ah I would call your state senator.
Call your state senator because this will be going on the House floor.
when is this going for?
Senate floor.
It's scheduled for today.
Okay, scheduled for today.
So this morning, this morning, you can call 225-342-2040, 225-342-2040 and demand thatyour state senator promote amending the bill to allow protection of our election system
(14:04):
and to allow expropriation of property.
that is owned by a foreign adversary in Louisiana within 50 miles of a military base.
Just tell them you want the original, say, we want the original SB-226 on the floor, theoriginal, before it was gutted in the committee.
(14:35):
And please take to social media as well.
uh Facebook and Twitter follow.
uh You can go and amplify the work that LACAG is putting out there.
You can amplify the work that the state of freedom is putting out there.
There are a number of others who are very, very energized on this issue.
So make your voice heard on social media so that your neighbors and friends and relativesalso know that.
(14:58):
you know, our state senate is up to some shenanigans and it needs to be rectified.
Okay, next up is Senate Bill 8, Chris.
This is by Senator Jay Morris and this relates to making it easier to hire and fire in thestate.
Yeah, a lot of current employees in Louisiana, Danielle, are what's called classifiedcivil servants, which makes them virtually untouchable, very, very difficult to fire, very
(15:26):
difficult to uh demote or discipline because they're protected.
our elected officials behave that way, Chris.
Some of our elected officials behave that way exactly.
And so this bill would simply allow the state to reclassify a number of these employeesfrom classified status to non-classified so that there is more accountability among these
(15:50):
employees.
And that's what we need because quite frankly, if there's no fear of ever being able tolose your job or be significantly disciplined.
chances are you're not going to perform on the level that you would if you did have thepossibility of discipline or firing.
And so that's what Senator Morris is trying to do here.
Yeah.
(16:10):
All right.
by the way, it's a constitutional amendment.
So if it passes, it will just go on the statewide ballot.
And we're going to support that amendment when it gets there.
Definitely.
Okay, now Chris, what's up for today?
There's only a couple things on the docket for today that we care about, perhaps even onlyone.
In Senate Judiciary A, which is getting a reputation for itself right now, ah today at 930in the Hankel Room, will be Senator Jay Morris's SB 39 will be uh heard and we are
(16:44):
strongly, strongly against this bill.
Do you want to talk about it a little bit?
Yeah, I mean, we have a serious over detention problem in Louisiana, Danielle.
The Fifth Circuit has said so.
The Department of Justice has said so.
That the Department of Corrections is routinely holding inmates weeks and months andmonths after they have served their time.
(17:11):
You can't do that in a constitutional republic.
You can't do that.
in a free society.
And the Department of Corrections is responsible for properly calculating those out datesand making sure that when people's sentences are served and their dues are paid, that they
are released.
Well, in original form, Senator Morris's bill, uh SB 39, would have basically said, evenif these inmates are held over uh false imprisonment, that there's no responsibility on
(17:43):
the state.
the state is basically immunized from liability unless you go through all of these oneroushurdles in order to be able to get some kind of relief.
So it really is a bad bill because it shields the state from accountability for a problemthat they have created.
(18:04):
So the suggestion I'm gonna make when I testify this morning,
is that uh instead of making it harder for people who have been aggrieved, legitimatelyaggrieved, to seek recourse for that, oh why don't you just address the problem?
Why don't you calculate the dates properly?
DOC is responsible for this, the public safety and corrections.
(18:27):
They have a $1.2 billion annual budget or something along those lines.
Certainly you can calculate the dates properly and make sure that these prisoners arereleased when they're supposed to be released instead of immunizing the people responsible
for it from liability.
Now, I will say this, Danielle, because of concerns that we've and others have raised, thebill has been substantially amended, but it is still not good enough.
(18:54):
And we're going to go in and testify against it and express the very concerns.
that I just expressed to you, because we are not about a Republican or a Democrat orpartisan politics.
We are about, as we've been from the very beginning, we are about the Constitution, we areabout citizens, and we are about basic due process, and that's what we do.
(19:15):
And so, even though Senator Morris is a good Senator, this is a bad bill, and we're gonnacontinue to oppose it.
Chris, a couple of points on that.
Number one, we have had success in getting nasty, ugly, uh wrong-headed bills transformedinto exactly what they should have been in the first place, which is a solution to the
(19:37):
problem.
We did that with Senator Kirk Talbot's uh on firearms last year, if I recall.
So I am hopeful that we are able to pull that off for this one as well and maybe get some,get a.
DOC to do what it needs to do.
Secondly, I'd just like to point out that since we've been following this super majorityRepublican, uh, conservative legislature, uh, since this new legislature came in and that
(20:06):
in 20, when did they come in Chris?
24, 20, 20, 24.
Yeah.
January, 2024.
Right.
So since they've come in, they have proven to us that their version of tough on crimeincludes no, no,
accounting for recidivism, no ability for rehabilitation.
So I think one point you could reasonably make to Senator Morris is the direction of thisRepublican legislature is just life sentences for any crime committed.
(20:35):
Yeah, and it's all punitive and no rehabilitation is what it comes down to.
Everything is punitive because you know what?
Punitive sells and rehabilitation very often does not, unfortunately.
But if you explain to people that the vast majority of people who are released from prisondo repeat, they are recidivists.
(21:03):
Maybe we need to have a renewed focus on rehabilitation, ah not only because it's good forsociety, because it makes us safer, but it also reduced the fiscal burden on the state and
on the taxpayer.
The longer an inmate is in prison, the more money we have to pay to keep them there.
So everybody benefits from investing in true rehabilitation.
(21:27):
And if they want true economic development, if you want to drive more people to come backto this state, we should also at the same time with the same breath, be focusing on the
people who live here.
And that should include making their community safer, not necessarily by locking everybodyup forever, but by making sure that the people who do get locked up because they committed
(21:49):
some crime and they're there, you know, rightfully, that when they come out, they're readyto be productive members of society.
no question about it or else they're going right back in and what have we accomplished?
Exactly, All right.
uh I'll move us along because I know you got to get going here, Chris.
But House Health and Welfare tomorrow at nine o'clock.
(22:12):
Like I said, nine o'clock is the witching hour for these folks.
House Bill 400 will uh be, m it's Emily Chennevere's uh parental rights bill uh restoringfor the first time since I don't know when.
parental rights for a minor's consent to any kind of medical procedure.
(22:34):
Yeah, and it's unfortunate that currently in Louisiana, a minor can receive all manner ofmedical procedures and services without the consent or knowledge of their parents or their
guardians.
And this is a bill that absolutely has to pass because that statutory authority has toreturn to the parents in situations like this.
(22:57):
mean, how do you exclude a guardian or a parent from
participation in a decision like that.
It's just extraordinary that it wouldn't be.
So it's a good bill by Emily Schenneveer.
The reason why it was deferred originally last week, Danielle, is so that they could tweakthe bill a bit and make sure that there are exceptions in situations where a child would
(23:22):
be put in even greater danger if he disclosed or she disclosed to their guardian orparent.
oh
what it is they intend to do because there are times, unfortunately, when the parents orthe guardians are the ones who have caused the harm or the ones who are doing the abuse.
And it makes the situation even worse and endangers the child even more if they have toreport to them in that situation.
(23:42):
So I think that's why it was deferred.
I think that's been cleaned up.
yeah, we're going to be going forward and probably testifying on HB 400.
It's important bill.
It is an important bill and you only say probably because there's I don't know fivecommittees that are meeting at nine o'clock tomorrow.
uh House natural resources and environment also nine o'clock tomorrow.
(24:05):
That one will be, or it's scheduled to be in room four.
And this one is the first bill that we've got on our list here, Chris is house bill sixeight by representative Kim coats and, uh, and co-sponsored by Senator Valerie Hodges.
This is her atmospheric protection act, which
uh would prohibit geoengineering and weather modification in the state.
(24:26):
It's kind of like Senator Facy's bill, but you think this one may have some stronger teethto it.
Yes, it sort of, mean, Florida has passed and it's now been signed by the governor, Ibelieve, a geoengineering bill that would prohibit all this poison being poured out of
these airplanes into our atmosphere, which is very, very harmful to us.
(24:48):
And so hopefully Representative Coats bill will get through.
Senator Facey, as you said, has a bill SB 46 as well.
And we worked with him over the weekend and with people who actually drafted the Floridalegislation to make his bill even stronger.
But one of those two bills certainly needs to go through and be signed by the governor.
(25:10):
This is a huge issue, Danielle, not just in Louisiana, but nationally.
And people are starting to understand and they're starting to understand that thenarrative that, this is just uh contrails.
This is just natural exhaust.
coming out of the back of the airplanes, nothing to worry about is total garbage and totalnonsense.
And people know what is going on with this.
(25:32):
And that's why it's so important not only to prohibit this activity in Louisiana, but tomake sure that there are strong penalties associated with the violation of the law.
And I'm so thankful we have RFK Jr.
over at HHS.
I feel like he is one of the people that's in the highest ranks of understanding this.
(25:54):
And hopefully we'll see the gaslighting around this stop as well.
People saying, like you said, this doesn't exist because it's clear that it does exist.
It's clear that it does exist, but the prevailing legacy media narrative is that this isjust all a big lie and it's a conspiracy theory.
So, but it's not.
It's not.
(26:15):
All right.
In-house education tomorrow, which is Wednesday, 930 a.m.
in room one, Senator Miguez's SB 117, this would be getting the ultra-processed foods outof our public schools.
Yeah, we strongly support this bill and it is similar to Senator McMath's bill as well.
(26:37):
But yeah, just getting out all the garbage, all of the dyes out of our food that our kidseat.
I we have an obesity epidemic.
The chronic disease epidemic in Louisiana is extraordinary.
We're at the very top of the list.
And a lot of that comes down to what our kids are eating on a daily basis.
You get the junk out of their diet and watch how quickly things improve.
(27:01):
Yeah, 100%.
All right.
I said Wednesday was a big day.
Wednesday, 930, room two, House governmental relations.
There's a lot going on there tomorrow.
First is House Bill 160 by Representative Kelly Dickerson.
And this is her ethics complaints bill.
Very good bill, Danielle.
(27:21):
We've been in communication with Representative Dickerson.
uh This is a bill that would require anybody who files a complaint against another personwith the state ethics board for violating some state ethics law or some campaign law to
disclose their identity.
We think it's very, very important as a matter of fundamental fairness and due processthat if someone's going to file a complaint that they have to disclose who they are.
(27:49):
That seems very, very basic.
The concern that we have that is now being addressed in HB 160 is to make sure that thereis protection in the bill against retaliation against someone who files a meritorious
complaint.
You have a situation where a citizen knows something that's going on or an employee andthey file a complaint against a powerful public official and they suffer reprisal and
(28:16):
retaliation.
and that sort of thing.
And it happens and it very well will happen uh unless there is a whistleblower protectionin the bill, a prohibition of retaliation.
And that's what uh Senator Dickerson is doing with the bill now.
And so hopefully that will be in place going forward.
(28:38):
And hopefully we have a good bill that protects both the uh accused and the complainantwhen it comes to ethics complaints.
Yeah, and we'll be watching this one closely, Chris, because I believe RepresentativeDanny McCormick brought something similar to this last year that got killed in that
committee.
And I don't have any space in my life right now to tolerate legislators that want uh lesstransparency and that gaslight us into saying that we need less transparency.
(29:09):
Yeah, and it was Chuck Owens' bill and it failed.
Yeah, it's okay.
And it failed in committee, uh Republican committee, but I think it's got good momentumthis year and hopefully it will pass.
Yeah, hopefully it'll pass.
Maybe that shot heard around the house from House Natural Resources last week has theseguys on full alert.
(29:32):
I certainly hope so and I plan to testify on HB160.
Chris, you need five of yourself for tomorrow alone.
I wish I had what Padre Pio had, which is the gift of bilocation, but I haven't gottenthat one yet.
No, you haven't.
So if you are listening to this and you are able to get to Baton Rouge tomorrow, if any ofthese issues are important to you, even if you're not comfortable testifying, please get
(29:58):
there and put in a red card, a green card.
Your body being in that room staring at those legislators makes a huge, huge difference.
All right, Chris.
Yeah.
House Bill 405, this is by Democratic Representative Matthew Willard.
We are strong supporters of this bill.
It would require the Secretary of State to prepare and publish information about how she'simplementing the changes that the legislature sends her to with regards to election law.
(30:30):
Tell us what's going on, Nancy.
That's the bottom line.
Tell us what's going on.
Make sure we know every step of the process.
If you can post broadly on X and all your social media platforms the date when a judicialvacancy is going to be filled and when an election is going to be held, then you can be
equally transparent about the processes whereby you are attempting to procure a new votingsystem for the state of Louisiana so that we all have an opportunity to weigh in.
(30:59):
and express our opinions going forward.
That is critically important, and Willard's bill will require her to make sure that she'stransparent in these important processes.
And Chris, I can already hear her objection now.
Well, we don't need this bill because I'm already the most transparent secretary of statein the history of the world.
And we don't need any more oversight because I know what I'm doing and we are sotransparent already.
(31:29):
Yes, help me protect you from knowing anything about what I'm doing.
Yeah, all right.
Yeah.
I really applaud Representative Willard for bringing this bill.
is sorely needed in this uh atmosphere.
And Representative Willard, by the way, is a Democrat, which emphasizes even more that weare looking at what's in the best interest of citizens and not the party affiliation of
(31:57):
who's bringing a bill.
That's right.
Okay, next up, Chris, is House Bill 471 by Representative Edmonston.
This one is a bill that she was bringing in response to the overwhelming outcry and angerand disdain for the four constitutional amendments, especially proposed constitutional
(32:20):
amendment two on March 29th.
I know you were going to reach out to her and see if she was still planning to bring this,Chris.
I don't know if you were able to get in touch with her this morning.
Yeah, I reached out to her and she said that uh because every constitutional amendmentthat's being brought now, including the really the functional equivalent of constitutional
(32:41):
amendment two, which representative Emerson is bringing again, is dividing up object byobject uh each amendment.
so
Representative Edmonston is not going to bring the bill, is not going to have the billheard because she has, because of what she's seen in the changes in the way these
amendments are currently being brought forward.
(33:02):
She did say that if the time arises in the future when she needs to bring this forward,then she will do it.
But that's just a decision that she made.
uh My own personal view is that it nonetheless needs to be in law, even though they areabiding by it right now.
that probably should be codified.
(33:24):
But Representative Edmonston has decided to wait and see.
We are keeping a very close eye on this.
And we're going to make the very same objections that we made before if they bring anothermonstrosity like Constitutional Amendment 2 and the way that it was brought.
Yeah, well, Representative Edmonston, I thank her for drafting this bill.
(33:44):
And I would also say, you know, I don't want her to be intimidated by the fact thatthey're saying the same garbage they say all the time.
What's the favorite line, Chris, that you love to repeat of the legislators?
You are, you are, this is a solution in search of a problem.
(34:05):
right.
We just did that the one time.
We promised never to do it again.
Of course, there's no problem in Louisiana, as if they've never heard of something calledpreemptive legislation.
We see the train coming down the track.
We see what's happening in other places.
So by God, God forbid we would pass something that would preemptively prohibit somethingthat may become a real threat tomorrow.
(34:29):
I'm not sure our legislators understand that concept.
Yeah, much less when it has already happened to us.
less when there's already precedent for it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I might give representative Edmonds to call and encourage her to keep it on the docketanyway.
Maybe others should do the same because I appreciate that she wants to take, you know,give people credit for what, for changing their, their MO, but it doesn't mean that they
(35:01):
won't do it again.
def, it definitely does not mean that they won't do it again.
So, okay, Chris here.
Up next is, this is also House Governmental Affairs on Wednesday morning, Senate Bill 80.
This is the one that I hate the absolute most.
I even hate it more than the cockroach, if that's even fathomable by our audience.
(35:23):
This is Senator Gregory Miller's exit polling bill, which amounts to a censorship bill.
It is a censorship bill because it preemptively prohibits ordinary law abiding Louisianacitizens from conducting lawful exit polls.
And it restricts that activity to quote, bonafide news organizations.
(35:47):
You know, the ones that we've all come to know and trust so much, Danielle, the CNNs ofthe world.
So if you don't work for CNN or some other legacy media organization,
You can't conduct an exit poll at a voting precinct.
Where in, unless Nancy approves it, where in the Constitution is that distinction made?
(36:09):
Nowhere in the Constitution.
You know how you solve the problem, assuming there is someone who's not doing it the rightway or someone who's causing a disruption?
You call law enforcement, you handle it there, but this is an unconstitutional priorrestraint on speech and on freedom of association.
flagrantly illegal.
You can't do it.
(36:30):
The Constitution makes no distinction and our legislature should not be making adistinction about who gets to exercise free speech and who doesn't.
And that's why this is such an obnoxious and horrible bill.
And we have a call to action up on this.
uh The House Governmental Affairs Committee has received a lot of communications alreadyand I encourage everyone to go lacag.org.
(36:57):
and do the call to action on SB 80.
Some people say, Danielle, well, this is not really that big of a deal.
You know why it's a big deal?
It's a big deal because of the precedent that it sets.
It sets a precedent whereby the government is able to determine who gets to exercise theircore constitutional rights and who doesn't.
(37:18):
And we don't seek the permission of the government for our constitutional rights.
They exist to secure those rights.
not make arbitrary distinction about who gets to exercise those rights.
That's why SB 80 is an obnoxious piece of legislation.
So well said, Chris.
(37:39):
And I'd just like to know, and maybe this is something people could put in their commentsto the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, why is Senator slash Chairman Greg Miller
carrying Nancy Landry's water?
Because we have seen it now.
We saw it with the way that they destroyed Senator Hodges' bill on Thursday.
(38:00):
Is it Thursday?
Tuesday, Wednesday, last Wednesday.
And now this, I just, I don't appreciate it.
And both of these bills, this one is so negative and as you said, unconstitutional.
And Senator Hodges bill on the other hand is patently a protection for the people.
(38:23):
Yeah, have to show the government has to show a compelling state interest in order to beable to abridge fundamental constitutional rights.
They've shown no compelling state interest.
You know what she said at the hearing?
She said that there was a disrupt, some disruption up in, you know, in North Louisianawhere these 65 and 70 year old ladies were conducting a very polite exit poll.
(38:52):
not disrupting anything.
You know what the problem was with Nancy?
She didn't like what they were asking them about.
It's not the nature of the activity, it's the nature of the subject matter that sheobjected to.
And that is not a compelling state interest.
Just because a secretary of state does not like what someone's speech or what someone issaying or who they're maybe associating with, that's not a constitutional ground.
(39:20):
to restrict that speech.
And our legislators have got to understand that.
And it's got to be done this session, and this bill has to be killed.
And I'll remind our listeners one more time, but I'm not promising it will be the lasttime that the biggest censorship organ of our entire state, our entire government is the
(39:44):
secretary of state's office.
They have time and time again, censored the voice of the people with regard to any numberof issues, namely the election, but also the vaccines.
And I will not stand for it.
I absolutely will not stand for it.
So please go to lacag.org and do the call to action on this so that we can make a verystrong statement.
(40:09):
Yes, and Danielle, I am in possession of an email and there probably are others, but I'min possession of an email and I know that a number of people who are in uh the business of
doing election security and are concerned about free speech protections have it as well.
And it's an email from the Louisiana Secretary of State uh when Kyle Ardwin was SecretaryState and uh
(40:39):
Nancy Landry was his first in command, first assistant, and it's an email uh reportingspeech to the Center for uh CISA, Center for Infrastructure Security Administration or
whatever.
(40:59):
It's a federal agency uh that set up uh a speech censorship portal so that they could
crush online speech about elections that they disagreed with.
And our Secretary of State participated in that, made reports to CISA, which then wasreported to the Department of Homeland Security uh and other federal agencies in order to
(41:25):
crush that speech.
if these people, if Kyle Ardwin and Nancy Landry were really for the people, they wouldhave told the federal government to pound sand.
And they did not.
They said, here's all the people you can come after in our state.
You want any more?
Do we get bonus points for more?
Yeah, the fact that a government agency, in this case, the Secretary of State, would beengaged uh in a collusive effort to censor and suppress speech is obnoxious.
(41:54):
It's a core violation.
Not only do they not, the government again is supposed to be in the business of protectingspeech and especially the speech that you don't agree with.
That's what it's all about, not censoring the speech that you simply disagree with.
because it's disinformation or misinformation in your view.
(42:15):
That is so dangerous.
Would that be a violation of their oaths of office, Chris?
Yeah.
The government is constitutionally prohibited from getting in the business.
It's called the First Amendment.
The government shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.
(42:36):
They cannot do that.
And if they're doing that, then it's flagrantly illegal and it's very, very serious.
And this was the Secretary of State, or she was working.
in the administration of Calard when this occurred during the 2020 election cycle.
So you're right, you know, I'm not convinced at all that she has an appreciation for thisfundamental constitutional right that citizens have.
(43:03):
And SB 80 certainly reflects that she does not.
Yeah.
All right.
I'm going to move us here along so you can get to the Capitol.
House Administration of Criminal Justice also tomorrow morning, Wednesday at 10 in roomsix.
House Bill 426 is going to be heard then.
That's by Democratic Representative Wilford Carter.
(43:26):
And this one is related to uh bail and bail modifications.
Yes, and this bill simply codifies uh the uh constitutional uh Sixth Amendmentprotections, the presumption of innocence, and uh makes sure that the judge considers the
(43:47):
presumption of innocence when someone is accused of a crime and they're being held on bailor on bond, that he's not been convicted of any crime just because he's been accused.
And this would codify the fundamental requirement that the judge understand that andremember that in a way that when he sets bail, the purpose of bail is simply two things.
(44:09):
The amount of bail is calculated based on two criteria, whether or not the accused is acurrent threat to an immediate threat to anybody and B, oh whether or not he's a flight
risk.
And if those things don't exist or only exist only minimally, then the judge simply has toset bail in an amount that will assure his appearance in court.
(44:36):
It can't be punitive and he certainly can't uh proceed from the false assumption that he'sbeen convicted of something, which he hasn't.
It's an accusation, it's not a conviction.
So I like this bill because it codifies certain core protections.
that anybody who's accused of a crime by the government should enjoy when it comes to thesetting of bond.
(45:02):
Yep, absolutely.
And next up is a bill brought also by another Democratic representative, uh RepresentativeDenise Marcel.
It's House Bill 457.
This is one I like a whole lot.
It's related to solitary confinement.
And we like this one, Chris, because we've seen so many people wrongfully imprisoned, butalso people who are there that get thrown into solitary confinement because of the whims
(45:28):
of the guards, not necessarily.
always because they've done something wrong.
And even if it is that they've done something wrong, Representative Denise Marcel believesthat they should be able to at least in that circumstance while they're sitting in a cell
by themselves with no contact with any other human being should be able to readeducational materials.
(45:48):
We've also asked her if she would include faith materials in this bill so that peoplecould have access to a Bible, to the scriptures when they are in solitary confinement.
What better way to
rehabilitate people than giving the opportunity for them to pour over the scriptures in adark time.
yeah, a pour over the scriptures.
uh know, a lot of people are in the process of pursuing GEDs, uh trade certificates,bettering themselves.
(46:18):
They make a mistake.
They go into solitary confinement.
There's no reason to abort that entire process just because they're in solitaryconfinement.
The ultimate goal, again, is to get them to a place where
they can be productive members of society.
And while solitary confinement is appropriate under certain circumstances, we fully agreewith it, there should be an opportunity for them to try to maintain to some degree uh what
(46:47):
it is they're pursuing uh in the jail.
And certainly they should have uh access to religious materials and to the scripture.
Yeah, and that kind of time puts people in severe psychological distress.
So having reading materials that are productive would help, I think, a great deal.
Yeah, and and Rep.
(47:08):
Marcel is a Democrat.
We agree with the bill and we support it.
Yeah.
Okay.
Last bill on the docket for tomorrow in uh Senate transportation, 1 PM, room E.
Senator Valerie Hodges is bringing an important bill, SB 216, which would, uh it's aroundthe bidding processes at DOTD or related to DOTD.
(47:32):
And the bidding process would discourage delays and incentivize early completion of roadprojects.
I think the entirety of the state could stand up and cheer at this one.
We thought the entirety of the state would stand up and cheer at her foreign adversariesbill, so I guess we could stand to be wrong.
Danielle, the entire state did stand up and cheer.
(47:53):
The only people who were not standing up and cheering were Republicans on Senate JudiciaryA who couldn't bring themselves to do the will of the vast majority of citizens of
Louisiana and protect our elections and protect our infrastructure from foreignadversaries.
the state, believe me, the state was behind that bill and the state
(48:15):
will be behind this bill as well, uh SB 216, which will create real incentives for thetimely uh and efficient completion of state road projects and create disincentives when
there are unnecessary delays.
And I know that, Danielle, this has to be one of your favorite bills of the session.
(48:38):
It is, it is because the Bourg Bridge is still not completed.
If someone from DOTD is listening to that, I'd appreciate a phone call.
I've heard that the Bourg Bridge is now delayed until July.
I don't know if that rumor is true.
I have seen that the signal package, which they were allegedly waiting on, has been up.
There is now blinking red lights.
So what is the stinking delay?
(49:00):
What is the delay?
This is a community bridge.
It's been ongoing for four years.
We suffered through Hurricane Ida.
with no ability to cross that bridge.
It's absolute disgrace.
And I hope that DOTD has put some serious fire underneath the rear ends of the contractor.
And I did talk to Senator Valerie Hodge's staff yesterday, about this bill.
(49:25):
I mentioned that to you.
Asking that debarment be included in this.
And for those who don't know, because Chris educated me on debarment a couple weeks ago,it's the idea that if you screw up so bad,
that it's just unbelievable, you cannot get, you don't get the opportunity to bid again.
What Senator Valerie Hodges staff told me was that they did discuss that with Joe Donahue,the Secretary of Transportation.
(49:52):
He said that that kind of provision already exists in statute.
So I guess we need that statute to be dusted off and used because I think probably if Ihad to guess, Chris, and maybe this is just me,
Either DOTD staff has relatives that are contracting on some of these projects.
(50:17):
I can't come up with a reasonable reason for debarment to not be in active use.
And maybe we need some billboards about debarment just to remind the contractors whilethey're on their way to project.
If you screw this up, you can never ever bid again.
Absolutely.
And as far as the bird bridge goes, Danielle, if I were in DOTD, I'd want to finish thatjust because I would not want We the People Bayou community all over me on this.
(50:48):
I really wouldn't.
I don't want them on my bad side.
That's correct.
That's absolutely correct.
Well, Chris.
Yeah, 100%.
So Chris, thank you so much.
I know you have to get to the Capitol.
That rounds out our what we're following through Wednesday.
We will pick this conversation up Thursday morning at 8 a.m.
(51:08):
bright and early.
I mean, hopefully the majority of things get uh it seems like everything's jammed intoWednesday, but maybe maybe Thursday will be a day that they.
do some serious debate on the floor since they're jamming so much into the committeestomorrow.
But that will remain to be seen.
ah
that everybody uh shares and subscribes and shares the state of freedom.
(51:34):
We're spreading the voice of liberty.
have two loyalties, the Constitution and Louisiana Citizens, and we are that voice.
You're going to get the unvarnished, uncensored truth about what's going on in ourgovernment.
We are loyal to you 100%.
And that's it.
And we don't make any apologies about that.
And the broader
the reach of the state of freedom, the more informed, the more effective we're going to beand ultimately the better government we're going to have.
(52:03):
So that's what's at stake here.
So make sure you share and subscribe the state of freedom and also uh share LACAG,Louisiana Citizen Advocacy Group, go on, become a monthly member so that we can continue
to level the playing field against a big powerful special interest.
We're in the situation that we're in now, Danielle, because of corrupt.
special interest lobbyists and politicians who have fallen in bed with them.
(52:28):
They have to be exposed, they have to be defeated, and we have to return our government tothe people and we are in the process of doing that.
And it's such a privilege to be able to do it.
And it's certainly a privilege to be able to have such a good wing lady like you,Danielle.
Right back at you Chris.
Well you have a great day.
Keep in touch.
All right.
Love y'all.
(52:48):
Bye.
Hey, good morning, everybody.
Welcome to the state of freedom.
It's early Tuesday morning and we have a jam packed schedule.
seems like the legislature loves to just stack things up all at one time.
This week's time is around nine o'clock the morning hours anyway on Wednesday.
So we need as many of you down at the Capitol as possible prepared to testify, prepared toput in red and green cards.
(00:27):
And there's no shortage of topics that we're going to be covering that the legislature isgoing to be covering this week from transparency to censorship to carbon capture ethics.
And the list goes on and on parental rights.
So we have a jam packed episode for you this morning and we are going to try and do it inrecord speed so that Chris can get to the Capitol to testify against.
(00:53):
one gnarly bill, so in particular, which we will get to.
All right, let me start out with the scripture of the day.
It's Psalm chapter 134.
It's the whole chapter, but don't sweat it.
It's only three verses.
Okay, here we go.
It says, all his loving priests who serve and sing, come and sing your song of blessing toGod.
(01:15):
Come and stand before him in the house of God throughout the night.
Watch, lifting up your hands in holy worship.
and bless the Lord.
May the Lord whom you worship, the mighty maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion'sglory." And I believe this is another aspect of service to the Lord that's going to be
(01:35):
increasingly important as we move forward and that's worshiping through the night.
know, uh fasting is an act of service that draws us closer to the Lord by deprivingourselves of food and bringing our body and soul into submission.
ah by not letting our stomachs and minds rule us, but instead choosing to dedicate thattime and energy to seeking the Lord.
(01:58):
The night watch worship is similar to fasting, but instead of food, we forgo sleep inorder to ensure that the Lord is blessed and honored even as the rest of the world is
sleeping.
So, you know, when David recovered the Ark of the Covenant, he established a tent, David'stent.
in it for which the priests were to serve the Lord 24-7 with prayers, worship andsacrifice.
(02:24):
And notably, his son Solomon inherited the greatest time of peace and prosperity perhapsin all of human history since the Garden of Eden.
And I'm convinced that there's a direct connection between bringing a sacrifice of praise,truly sacrificial, sacrificing sleep in the night hours and around the clock.
(02:45):
I'm convinced that that is a key to blessing the next generation with peace andprosperity.
Yeah, and while we do all of that, Danielle, it is equally important that we always keepin mind why we're doing it.
know, T.S.
Eliot said that, you know, the last temptation and the greatest treason is to do the rightthing for the wrong reason.
(03:06):
God looks at our motives as well.
So if we're fasting, praying and all of the things that are objectively good, we don'twant to sully or contaminate those actions by having a deluded motive.
We always want to make sure that
we're doing the right things for the right reasons.
uh Because even the exercise of religious diligence can become an exercise in pride andego, and it's very, very subtle.
(03:34):
And so we have to remember to do things in humility and always be purifying our motivesfor why we are doing them, not for ourselves.
We're doing them to glorify and advance the kingdom of God.
And that is where the real blessing comes.
Amen, Chris, that's so true.
I think it's so easy to get caught up in uh kind of that religious spirit where it'seasier to be disciplined and not have to have too much heart into it rather than it is to
(04:04):
actually spend the time and uh unpack why we're doing what we're doing.
I mean, you look at the Pharisees.
mean, the Pharisees did everything so punctiliously.
They followed all the rules.
They did all the fasts.
They did all the rituals.
And yet Jesus called them a brood of vipers.
On the outside, you look good, but inside your heart is corrupt.
(04:26):
So that's because of their motives, their motives and their attitude.
So let's check our motives.
All right.
Check our motives.
Well, that's a good word for us getting into some salty, salty things today.
Why don't we start, Chris?
I'll mention what's going to be this afternoon first, uh which is a House floor debate andSenate floor debate.
(04:48):
The first thing up on my list is House Bill 304 by Representative Robbie Carter.
And this is his bill related to CCS expropriation.
that would put the hearing venue, I believe, in local government's hands rather than atthe whim of whatever other, I don't know, whatever other cause, right?
(05:13):
Even though when it comes to injection wells, that's what we're talking about under hisbill, uh you are uh required under his bill to bring any action to expropriate any piece
of property in the parish where the property, the property owner are located.
And that is, uh I think, a matter of basic fairness.
so it's a good bill.
(05:34):
uh It doesn't address fundamentally the issue of carbon capture sequestration, but it'scertainly
addresses a very important venue question, which is that uh the property owner should notbe inconvenienced when it comes to those type of proceedings, and that's why they should
be held on the property where he's located.
And this better pass.
this better pass, Chris, I listened to some of the debate on this in House NaturalResources last week, I believe, or it may have been the week before.
(06:03):
And one of the objections was that this is already the case.
Now,
Yeah, that's true, but not necessarily.
it is.
uh Venue is proper in the parish where the immovable property is located, but venue undercircumstances can also be proper in the place where either the property owner may live
(06:26):
because the property may not be in the parish where he is living, or it can alsopotentially be in the uh the parish where
the person bringing the expropriation action is domiciled.
So there are multiple venue provisions, but this would mandate that the action be broughtin the parish where the property is located.
(06:51):
Beautiful.
One last question on that.
uh Without this bill, could it also be possible that it could be where the contract issigned?
Like for instance, if the company has its location in Baton Rouge or if the government issigning part of the contract.
That way, I'm just saying, does this force it generally out of Baton Rouge?
(07:15):
Yes, but under normal circumstances, a possible venue certainly would be where thecontract is executed.
Yes, so that's why this bill is important.
Great, we see the extraordinary bent toward corruption outside of this bill.
Yeah, I would say so.
All right.
Also on carbon capture, uh House Bill 601, this is an important one by RepresentativeBrett Gaiman and it uh is about CO2 sequestration's eminent domain rules.
(07:48):
Yes, and this deals with carbon capture sequestration pipelines.
Very good bill that Representative Guymon brought a second time because it failed thefirst time.
We were able to flip three Republican votes the second time we brought it in the HouseNatural Resources Committee.
And this bill outlaws eminent domain for purposes of carbon capture sequestrationpipelines.
(08:11):
And this is probably the most important carbon capture sequestration bill that remains.
and very significant.
So we're going to be following this very, very closely and urging every Republican toenthusiastically support this bill.
Yes, and I would like to think Chris that the first failure of this bill was a shot acrossthe bow made in-house natural resources.
(08:40):
Maybe the shot heard around the house, Chris, that people would understand that they needto get in line and follow the will of the people instead of the will of the special
interest big industry that's been pressuring them.
Yeah, and it's worth noting that on the second vote on HB 601, DeWitt, Kerner, and JacobLandry switched their votes from no to yes, which enabled that bill to pass through
(09:04):
committee.
So I wanted to acknowledge them for that.
Absolutely.
Thank you for hearing and responding.
And we know that not all of our representatives did so.
No, but that was because of a lot of pressure on that bill, 601, that they switched theirvotes.
Yeah.
Okay.
Next up House Bill 615 also set to be debated on the House floor today.
(09:25):
Another one by Representative Gaiman.
This is his one that would regulate the solar industry in Louisiana.
Yeah, and it would confer significant authority on local jurisdictions to establish theparameters, Danielle, and regulate the development of solar energy, solar generation
facilities.
I don't believe in that enterprise to begin with, but this bill will allow localjurisdictions to have a lot of authority over its development and whether or not it is
(09:56):
developed.
ah And it protects private property.
in those jurisdictions.
It's a good local autonomy bill as far as solar facility generation.
So it's a good bill.
Yep.
Okay.
Now moving to the Senate, Chris, for floor debate today is Senate Bill 226 by SenatorValerie Hodges.
(10:16):
This is the bill that had a lot of uh difficulty faced strong headwinds in committee,which is really antithetical to the Constitution.
It's antithetical to state sovereignty.
It's antithetical to everything that caused President Trump to be elected, protecting
(10:36):
are protecting the people of the state of Louisiana, protecting the property of Louisianafrom being sold to foreign adversaries, inhabited by foreign adversaries, or manipulated
by foreign adversaries in the case of our voting systems.
I believe, Chris, and you should know more about this than I do, that Senator Hodges islooking to get some of this salvaged.
(11:01):
In some ways, I wonder if she may put it back, recalendar it today so that it could gether a different day after, I don't know, maybe she spent the weekend working on it, but
they decimated it in committee.
They decimated it in committee.
They took out the codification of President Trump's executive order that would make surethat our foreign adversaries have no influence over our election system at all.
(11:27):
And that's a very broad statement because it does a lot of things within that rubric.
But that was gutted in Gregory Miller's Senate Judiciary A and also gutted in SenateJudiciary A was the provision in the bill that would allow
expropriation of any property currently owned by a foreign adversary or someone connectedto a foreign adversary if the property is located within 50 miles of a critical
(11:56):
infrastructure facility, a military base or something along those lines.
That was also gutted.
quite uh shocking.
And perhaps it shouldn't be that a Republican dominated committee, Senate Judiciary A,
led by Greg Miller would gut those provisions in that bill.
It's extraordinary.
And uh Nancy Landry made a couple of what we believe are flagrant misrepresentations inthat hearing in order to get that bill killed specifically with regard to elections.
(12:27):
So the bill is limping into the Senate in current posture.
But as you said, Danielle, Senator Hodges is trying to do something to resuscitate it, andthere can be.
amendments put on there to put those provisions back in the bill.
Hopefully there is the will to do it.
I know there's been a lot of fallout from the actions that occurred in Senate Jude A andhopefully the legislators are hearing it and hopefully there are some smart senators who
(12:53):
understand how important this is.
Yeah, well, you and I and Katie and a number of other people who are very strong care verydeeply about this issue of our elections not being manipulated and frankly, our property
not being purchased by foreign adversaries.
All of this should be common sense.
(13:15):
And it leads to the question who owns these senators?
And I guess we know that Nancy Landry owns them because she proved that they voted theyvoted that way.
ah So we'll see, we'll see if the voice of the people is able to triumph in this case aswell.
I pray that it is.
We certainly are not going to be letting up the pressure.
(13:36):
Chris, is there still a call to action on this?
How else can we hammer these people?
ah I would call your state senator.
Call your state senator because this will be going on the House floor.
when is this going for?
Senate floor.
It's scheduled for today.
Okay, scheduled for today.
So this morning, this morning, you can call 225-342-2040, 225-342-2040 and demand thatyour state senator promote amending the bill to allow protection of our election system
(14:04):
and to allow expropriation of property.
that is owned by a foreign adversary in Louisiana within 50 miles of a military base.
Just tell them you want the original, say, we want the original SB-226 on the floor, theoriginal, before it was gutted in the committee.
(14:35):
And please take to social media as well.
uh Facebook and Twitter follow.
uh You can go and amplify the work that LACAG is putting out there.
You can amplify the work that the state of freedom is putting out there.
There are a number of others who are very, very energized on this issue.
So make your voice heard on social media so that your neighbors and friends and relativesalso know that.
(14:58):
you know, our state senate is up to some shenanigans and it needs to be rectified.
Okay, next up is Senate Bill 8, Chris.
This is by Senator Jay Morris and this relates to making it easier to hire and fire in thestate.
Yeah, a lot of current employees in Louisiana, Danielle, are what's called classifiedcivil servants, which makes them virtually untouchable, very, very difficult to fire, very
(15:26):
difficult to uh demote or discipline because they're protected.
our elected officials behave that way, Chris.
Some of our elected officials behave that way exactly.
And so this bill would simply allow the state to reclassify a number of these employeesfrom classified status to non-classified so that there is more accountability among these
(15:50):
employees.
And that's what we need because quite frankly, if there's no fear of ever being able tolose your job or be significantly disciplined.
chances are you're not going to perform on the level that you would if you did have thepossibility of discipline or firing.
And so that's what Senator Morris is trying to do here.
Yeah.
(16:10):
All right.
by the way, it's a constitutional amendment.
So if it passes, it will just go on the statewide ballot.
And we're going to support that amendment when it gets there.
Definitely.
Okay, now Chris, what's up for today?
There's only a couple things on the docket for today that we care about, perhaps even onlyone.
In Senate Judiciary A, which is getting a reputation for itself right now, ah today at 930in the Hankel Room, will be Senator Jay Morris's SB 39 will be uh heard and we are
(16:44):
strongly, strongly against this bill.
Do you want to talk about it a little bit?
Yeah, I mean, we have a serious over detention problem in Louisiana, Danielle.
The Fifth Circuit has said so.
The Department of Justice has said so.
That the Department of Corrections is routinely holding inmates weeks and months andmonths after they have served their time.
(17:11):
You can't do that in a constitutional republic.
You can't do that.
in a free society.
And the Department of Corrections is responsible for properly calculating those out datesand making sure that when people's sentences are served and their dues are paid, that they
are released.
Well, in original form, Senator Morris's bill, uh SB 39, would have basically said, evenif these inmates are held over uh false imprisonment, that there's no responsibility on
(17:43):
the state.
the state is basically immunized from liability unless you go through all of these oneroushurdles in order to be able to get some kind of relief.
So it really is a bad bill because it shields the state from accountability for a problemthat they have created.
(18:04):
So the suggestion I'm gonna make when I testify this morning,
is that uh instead of making it harder for people who have been aggrieved, legitimatelyaggrieved, to seek recourse for that, oh why don't you just address the problem?
Why don't you calculate the dates properly?
DOC is responsible for this, the public safety and corrections.
(18:27):
They have a $1.2 billion annual budget or something along those lines.
Certainly you can calculate the dates properly and make sure that these prisoners arereleased when they're supposed to be released instead of immunizing the people responsible
for it from liability.
Now, I will say this, Danielle, because of concerns that we've and others have raised, thebill has been substantially amended, but it is still not good enough.
(18:54):
And we're going to go in and testify against it and express the very concerns.
that I just expressed to you, because we are not about a Republican or a Democrat orpartisan politics.
We are about, as we've been from the very beginning, we are about the Constitution, we areabout citizens, and we are about basic due process, and that's what we do.
(19:15):
And so, even though Senator Morris is a good Senator, this is a bad bill, and we're gonnacontinue to oppose it.
Chris, a couple of points on that.
Number one, we have had success in getting nasty, ugly, uh wrong-headed bills transformedinto exactly what they should have been in the first place, which is a solution to the
(19:37):
problem.
We did that with Senator Kirk Talbot's uh on firearms last year, if I recall.
So I am hopeful that we are able to pull that off for this one as well and maybe get some,get a.
DOC to do what it needs to do.
Secondly, I'd just like to point out that since we've been following this super majorityRepublican, uh, conservative legislature, uh, since this new legislature came in and that
(20:06):
in 20, when did they come in Chris?
24, 20, 20, 24.
Yeah.
January, 2024.
Right.
So since they've come in, they have proven to us that their version of tough on crimeincludes no, no,
accounting for recidivism, no ability for rehabilitation.
So I think one point you could reasonably make to Senator Morris is the direction of thisRepublican legislature is just life sentences for any crime committed.
(20:35):
Yeah, and it's all punitive and no rehabilitation is what it comes down to.
Everything is punitive because you know what?
Punitive sells and rehabilitation very often does not, unfortunately.
But if you explain to people that the vast majority of people who are released from prisondo repeat, they are recidivists.
(21:03):
Maybe we need to have a renewed focus on rehabilitation, ah not only because it's good forsociety, because it makes us safer, but it also reduced the fiscal burden on the state and
on the taxpayer.
The longer an inmate is in prison, the more money we have to pay to keep them there.
So everybody benefits from investing in true rehabilitation.
(21:27):
And if they want true economic development, if you want to drive more people to come backto this state, we should also at the same time with the same breath, be focusing on the
people who live here.
And that should include making their community safer, not necessarily by locking everybodyup forever, but by making sure that the people who do get locked up because they committed
(21:49):
some crime and they're there, you know, rightfully, that when they come out, they're readyto be productive members of society.
no question about it or else they're going right back in and what have we accomplished?
Exactly, All right.
uh I'll move us along because I know you got to get going here, Chris.
But House Health and Welfare tomorrow at nine o'clock.
(22:12):
Like I said, nine o'clock is the witching hour for these folks.
House Bill 400 will uh be, m it's Emily Chennevere's uh parental rights bill uh restoringfor the first time since I don't know when.
parental rights for a minor's consent to any kind of medical procedure.
(22:34):
Yeah, and it's unfortunate that currently in Louisiana, a minor can receive all manner ofmedical procedures and services without the consent or knowledge of their parents or their
guardians.
And this is a bill that absolutely has to pass because that statutory authority has toreturn to the parents in situations like this.
(22:57):
mean, how do you exclude a guardian or a parent from
participation in a decision like that.
It's just extraordinary that it wouldn't be.
So it's a good bill by Emily Schenneveer.
The reason why it was deferred originally last week, Danielle, is so that they could tweakthe bill a bit and make sure that there are exceptions in situations where a child would
(23:22):
be put in even greater danger if he disclosed or she disclosed to their guardian orparent.
oh
what it is they intend to do because there are times, unfortunately, when the parents orthe guardians are the ones who have caused the harm or the ones who are doing the abuse.
And it makes the situation even worse and endangers the child even more if they have toreport to them in that situation.
(23:42):
So I think that's why it was deferred.
I think that's been cleaned up.
yeah, we're going to be going forward and probably testifying on HB 400.
It's important bill.
It is an important bill and you only say probably because there's I don't know fivecommittees that are meeting at nine o'clock tomorrow.
uh House natural resources and environment also nine o'clock tomorrow.
(24:05):
That one will be, or it's scheduled to be in room four.
And this one is the first bill that we've got on our list here, Chris is house bill sixeight by representative Kim coats and, uh, and co-sponsored by Senator Valerie Hodges.
This is her atmospheric protection act, which
uh would prohibit geoengineering and weather modification in the state.
(24:26):
It's kind of like Senator Facy's bill, but you think this one may have some stronger teethto it.
Yes, it sort of, mean, Florida has passed and it's now been signed by the governor, Ibelieve, a geoengineering bill that would prohibit all this poison being poured out of
these airplanes into our atmosphere, which is very, very harmful to us.
(24:48):
And so hopefully Representative Coats bill will get through.
Senator Facey, as you said, has a bill SB 46 as well.
And we worked with him over the weekend and with people who actually drafted the Floridalegislation to make his bill even stronger.
But one of those two bills certainly needs to go through and be signed by the governor.
(25:10):
This is a huge issue, Danielle, not just in Louisiana, but nationally.
And people are starting to understand and they're starting to understand that thenarrative that, this is just uh contrails.
This is just natural exhaust.
coming out of the back of the airplanes, nothing to worry about is total garbage and totalnonsense.
And people know what is going on with this.
(25:32):
And that's why it's so important not only to prohibit this activity in Louisiana, but tomake sure that there are strong penalties associated with the violation of the law.
And I'm so thankful we have RFK Jr.
over at HHS.
I feel like he is one of the people that's in the highest ranks of understanding this.
(25:54):
And hopefully we'll see the gaslighting around this stop as well.
People saying, like you said, this doesn't exist because it's clear that it does exist.
It's clear that it does exist, but the prevailing legacy media narrative is that this isjust all a big lie and it's a conspiracy theory.
So, but it's not.
It's not.
(26:15):
All right.
In-house education tomorrow, which is Wednesday, 930 a.m.
in room one, Senator Miguez's SB 117, this would be getting the ultra-processed foods outof our public schools.
Yeah, we strongly support this bill and it is similar to Senator McMath's bill as well.
(26:37):
But yeah, just getting out all the garbage, all of the dyes out of our food that our kidseat.
I we have an obesity epidemic.
The chronic disease epidemic in Louisiana is extraordinary.
We're at the very top of the list.
And a lot of that comes down to what our kids are eating on a daily basis.
You get the junk out of their diet and watch how quickly things improve.
(27:01):
Yeah, 100%.
All right.
I said Wednesday was a big day.
Wednesday, 930, room two, House governmental relations.
There's a lot going on there tomorrow.
First is House Bill 160 by Representative Kelly Dickerson.
And this is her ethics complaints bill.
Very good bill, Danielle.
(27:21):
We've been in communication with Representative Dickerson.
uh This is a bill that would require anybody who files a complaint against another personwith the state ethics board for violating some state ethics law or some campaign law to
disclose their identity.
We think it's very, very important as a matter of fundamental fairness and due processthat if someone's going to file a complaint that they have to disclose who they are.
(27:49):
That seems very, very basic.
The concern that we have that is now being addressed in HB 160 is to make sure that thereis protection in the bill against retaliation against someone who files a meritorious
complaint.
You have a situation where a citizen knows something that's going on or an employee andthey file a complaint against a powerful public official and they suffer reprisal and
(28:16):
retaliation.
and that sort of thing.
And it happens and it very well will happen uh unless there is a whistleblower protectionin the bill, a prohibition of retaliation.
And that's what uh Senator Dickerson is doing with the bill now.
And so hopefully that will be in place going forward.
(28:38):
And hopefully we have a good bill that protects both the uh accused and the complainantwhen it comes to ethics complaints.
Yeah, and we'll be watching this one closely, Chris, because I believe RepresentativeDanny McCormick brought something similar to this last year that got killed in that
committee.
And I don't have any space in my life right now to tolerate legislators that want uh lesstransparency and that gaslight us into saying that we need less transparency.
(29:09):
Yeah, and it was Chuck Owens' bill and it failed.
Yeah, it's okay.
And it failed in committee, uh Republican committee, but I think it's got good momentumthis year and hopefully it will pass.
Yeah, hopefully it'll pass.
Maybe that shot heard around the house from House Natural Resources last week has theseguys on full alert.
(29:32):
I certainly hope so and I plan to testify on HB160.
Chris, you need five of yourself for tomorrow alone.
I wish I had what Padre Pio had, which is the gift of bilocation, but I haven't gottenthat one yet.
No, you haven't.
So if you are listening to this and you are able to get to Baton Rouge tomorrow, if any ofthese issues are important to you, even if you're not comfortable testifying, please get
(29:58):
there and put in a red card, a green card.
Your body being in that room staring at those legislators makes a huge, huge difference.
All right, Chris.
Yeah.
House Bill 405, this is by Democratic Representative Matthew Willard.
We are strong supporters of this bill.
It would require the Secretary of State to prepare and publish information about how she'simplementing the changes that the legislature sends her to with regards to election law.
(30:30):
Tell us what's going on, Nancy.
That's the bottom line.
Tell us what's going on.
Make sure we know every step of the process.
If you can post broadly on X and all your social media platforms the date when a judicialvacancy is going to be filled and when an election is going to be held, then you can be
equally transparent about the processes whereby you are attempting to procure a new votingsystem for the state of Louisiana so that we all have an opportunity to weigh in.
(30:59):
and express our opinions going forward.
That is critically important, and Willard's bill will require her to make sure that she'stransparent in these important processes.
And Chris, I can already hear her objection now.
Well, we don't need this bill because I'm already the most transparent secretary of statein the history of the world.
And we don't need any more oversight because I know what I'm doing and we are sotransparent already.
(31:29):
Yes, help me protect you from knowing anything about what I'm doing.
Yeah, all right.
Yeah.
I really applaud Representative Willard for bringing this bill.
is sorely needed in this uh atmosphere.
And Representative Willard, by the way, is a Democrat, which emphasizes even more that weare looking at what's in the best interest of citizens and not the party affiliation of
(31:57):
who's bringing a bill.
That's right.
Okay, next up, Chris, is House Bill 471 by Representative Edmonston.
This one is a bill that she was bringing in response to the overwhelming outcry and angerand disdain for the four constitutional amendments, especially proposed constitutional
(32:20):
amendment two on March 29th.
I know you were going to reach out to her and see if she was still planning to bring this,Chris.
I don't know if you were able to get in touch with her this morning.
Yeah, I reached out to her and she said that uh because every constitutional amendmentthat's being brought now, including the really the functional equivalent of constitutional
(32:41):
amendment two, which representative Emerson is bringing again, is dividing up object byobject uh each amendment.
so
Representative Edmonston is not going to bring the bill, is not going to have the billheard because she has, because of what she's seen in the changes in the way these
amendments are currently being brought forward.
(33:02):
She did say that if the time arises in the future when she needs to bring this forward,then she will do it.
But that's just a decision that she made.
uh My own personal view is that it nonetheless needs to be in law, even though they areabiding by it right now.
that probably should be codified.
(33:24):
But Representative Edmonston has decided to wait and see.
We are keeping a very close eye on this.
And we're going to make the very same objections that we made before if they bring anothermonstrosity like Constitutional Amendment 2 and the way that it was brought.
Yeah, well, Representative Edmonston, I thank her for drafting this bill.
(33:44):
And I would also say, you know, I don't want her to be intimidated by the fact thatthey're saying the same garbage they say all the time.
What's the favorite line, Chris, that you love to repeat of the legislators?
You are, you are, this is a solution in search of a problem.
(34:05):
right.
We just did that the one time.
We promised never to do it again.
Of course, there's no problem in Louisiana, as if they've never heard of something calledpreemptive legislation.
We see the train coming down the track.
We see what's happening in other places.
So by God, God forbid we would pass something that would preemptively prohibit somethingthat may become a real threat tomorrow.
(34:29):
I'm not sure our legislators understand that concept.
Yeah, much less when it has already happened to us.
less when there's already precedent for it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I might give representative Edmonds to call and encourage her to keep it on the docketanyway.
Maybe others should do the same because I appreciate that she wants to take, you know,give people credit for what, for changing their, their MO, but it doesn't mean that they
(35:01):
won't do it again.
def, it definitely does not mean that they won't do it again.
So, okay, Chris here.
Up next is, this is also House Governmental Affairs on Wednesday morning, Senate Bill 80.
This is the one that I hate the absolute most.
I even hate it more than the cockroach, if that's even fathomable by our audience.
(35:23):
This is Senator Gregory Miller's exit polling bill, which amounts to a censorship bill.
It is a censorship bill because it preemptively prohibits ordinary law abiding Louisianacitizens from conducting lawful exit polls.
And it restricts that activity to quote, bonafide news organizations.
(35:47):
You know, the ones that we've all come to know and trust so much, Danielle, the CNNs ofthe world.
So if you don't work for CNN or some other legacy media organization,
You can't conduct an exit poll at a voting precinct.
Where in, unless Nancy approves it, where in the Constitution is that distinction made?
(36:09):
Nowhere in the Constitution.
You know how you solve the problem, assuming there is someone who's not doing it the rightway or someone who's causing a disruption?
You call law enforcement, you handle it there, but this is an unconstitutional priorrestraint on speech and on freedom of association.
flagrantly illegal.
You can't do it.
(36:30):
The Constitution makes no distinction and our legislature should not be making adistinction about who gets to exercise free speech and who doesn't.
And that's why this is such an obnoxious and horrible bill.
And we have a call to action up on this.
uh The House Governmental Affairs Committee has received a lot of communications alreadyand I encourage everyone to go lacag.org.
(36:57):
and do the call to action on SB 80.
Some people say, Danielle, well, this is not really that big of a deal.
You know why it's a big deal?
It's a big deal because of the precedent that it sets.
It sets a precedent whereby the government is able to determine who gets to exercise theircore constitutional rights and who doesn't.
(37:18):
And we don't seek the permission of the government for our constitutional rights.
They exist to secure those rights.
not make arbitrary distinction about who gets to exercise those rights.
That's why SB 80 is an obnoxious piece of legislation.
So well said, Chris.
(37:39):
And I'd just like to know, and maybe this is something people could put in their commentsto the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, why is Senator slash Chairman Greg Miller
carrying Nancy Landry's water?
Because we have seen it now.
We saw it with the way that they destroyed Senator Hodges' bill on Thursday.
(38:00):
Is it Thursday?
Tuesday, Wednesday, last Wednesday.
And now this, I just, I don't appreciate it.
And both of these bills, this one is so negative and as you said, unconstitutional.
And Senator Hodges bill on the other hand is patently a protection for the people.
(38:23):
Yeah, have to show the government has to show a compelling state interest in order to beable to abridge fundamental constitutional rights.
They've shown no compelling state interest.
You know what she said at the hearing?
She said that there was a disrupt, some disruption up in, you know, in North Louisianawhere these 65 and 70 year old ladies were conducting a very polite exit poll.
(38:52):
not disrupting anything.
You know what the problem was with Nancy?
She didn't like what they were asking them about.
It's not the nature of the activity, it's the nature of the subject matter that sheobjected to.
And that is not a compelling state interest.
Just because a secretary of state does not like what someone's speech or what someone issaying or who they're maybe associating with, that's not a constitutional ground.
(39:20):
to restrict that speech.
And our legislators have got to understand that.
And it's got to be done this session, and this bill has to be killed.
And I'll remind our listeners one more time, but I'm not promising it will be the lasttime that the biggest censorship organ of our entire state, our entire government is the
(39:44):
secretary of state's office.
They have time and time again, censored the voice of the people with regard to any numberof issues, namely the election, but also the vaccines.
And I will not stand for it.
I absolutely will not stand for it.
So please go to lacag.org and do the call to action on this so that we can make a verystrong statement.
(40:09):
Yes, and Danielle, I am in possession of an email and there probably are others, but I'min possession of an email and I know that a number of people who are in uh the business of
doing election security and are concerned about free speech protections have it as well.
And it's an email from the Louisiana Secretary of State uh when Kyle Ardwin was SecretaryState and uh
(40:39):
Nancy Landry was his first in command, first assistant, and it's an email uh reportingspeech to the Center for uh CISA, Center for Infrastructure Security Administration or
whatever.
(40:59):
It's a federal agency uh that set up uh a speech censorship portal so that they could
crush online speech about elections that they disagreed with.
And our Secretary of State participated in that, made reports to CISA, which then wasreported to the Department of Homeland Security uh and other federal agencies in order to
(41:25):
crush that speech.
if these people, if Kyle Ardwin and Nancy Landry were really for the people, they wouldhave told the federal government to pound sand.
And they did not.
They said, here's all the people you can come after in our state.
You want any more?
Do we get bonus points for more?
Yeah, the fact that a government agency, in this case, the Secretary of State, would beengaged uh in a collusive effort to censor and suppress speech is obnoxious.
(41:54):
It's a core violation.
Not only do they not, the government again is supposed to be in the business of protectingspeech and especially the speech that you don't agree with.
That's what it's all about, not censoring the speech that you simply disagree with.
because it's disinformation or misinformation in your view.
(42:15):
That is so dangerous.
Would that be a violation of their oaths of office, Chris?
Yeah.
The government is constitutionally prohibited from getting in the business.
It's called the First Amendment.
The government shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.
(42:36):
They cannot do that.
And if they're doing that, then it's flagrantly illegal and it's very, very serious.
And this was the Secretary of State, or she was working.
in the administration of Calard when this occurred during the 2020 election cycle.
So you're right, you know, I'm not convinced at all that she has an appreciation for thisfundamental constitutional right that citizens have.
(43:03):
And SB 80 certainly reflects that she does not.
Yeah.
All right.
I'm going to move us here along so you can get to the Capitol.
House Administration of Criminal Justice also tomorrow morning, Wednesday at 10 in roomsix.
House Bill 426 is going to be heard then.
That's by Democratic Representative Wilford Carter.
(43:26):
And this one is related to uh bail and bail modifications.
Yes, and this bill simply codifies uh the uh constitutional uh Sixth Amendmentprotections, the presumption of innocence, and uh makes sure that the judge considers the
(43:47):
presumption of innocence when someone is accused of a crime and they're being held on bailor on bond, that he's not been convicted of any crime just because he's been accused.
And this would codify the fundamental requirement that the judge understand that andremember that in a way that when he sets bail, the purpose of bail is simply two things.
(44:09):
The amount of bail is calculated based on two criteria, whether or not the accused is acurrent threat to an immediate threat to anybody and B, oh whether or not he's a flight
risk.
And if those things don't exist or only exist only minimally, then the judge simply has toset bail in an amount that will assure his appearance in court.
(44:36):
It can't be punitive and he certainly can't uh proceed from the false assumption that he'sbeen convicted of something, which he hasn't.
It's an accusation, it's not a conviction.
So I like this bill because it codifies certain core protections.
that anybody who's accused of a crime by the government should enjoy when it comes to thesetting of bond.
(45:02):
Yep, absolutely.
And next up is a bill brought also by another Democratic representative, uh RepresentativeDenise Marcel.
It's House Bill 457.
This is one I like a whole lot.
It's related to solitary confinement.
And we like this one, Chris, because we've seen so many people wrongfully imprisoned, butalso people who are there that get thrown into solitary confinement because of the whims
(45:28):
of the guards, not necessarily.
always because they've done something wrong.
And even if it is that they've done something wrong, Representative Denise Marcel believesthat they should be able to at least in that circumstance while they're sitting in a cell
by themselves with no contact with any other human being should be able to readeducational materials.
(45:48):
We've also asked her if she would include faith materials in this bill so that peoplecould have access to a Bible, to the scriptures when they are in solitary confinement.
What better way to
rehabilitate people than giving the opportunity for them to pour over the scriptures in adark time.
yeah, a pour over the scriptures.
uh know, a lot of people are in the process of pursuing GEDs, uh trade certificates,bettering themselves.
(46:18):
They make a mistake.
They go into solitary confinement.
There's no reason to abort that entire process just because they're in solitaryconfinement.
The ultimate goal, again, is to get them to a place where
they can be productive members of society.
And while solitary confinement is appropriate under certain circumstances, we fully agreewith it, there should be an opportunity for them to try to maintain to some degree uh what
(46:47):
it is they're pursuing uh in the jail.
And certainly they should have uh access to religious materials and to the scripture.
Yeah, and that kind of time puts people in severe psychological distress.
So having reading materials that are productive would help, I think, a great deal.
Yeah, and and Rep.
(47:08):
Marcel is a Democrat.
We agree with the bill and we support it.
Yeah.
Okay.
Last bill on the docket for tomorrow in uh Senate transportation, 1 PM, room E.
Senator Valerie Hodges is bringing an important bill, SB 216, which would, uh it's aroundthe bidding processes at DOTD or related to DOTD.
(47:32):
And the bidding process would discourage delays and incentivize early completion of roadprojects.
I think the entirety of the state could stand up and cheer at this one.
We thought the entirety of the state would stand up and cheer at her foreign adversariesbill, so I guess we could stand to be wrong.
Danielle, the entire state did stand up and cheer.
(47:53):
The only people who were not standing up and cheering were Republicans on Senate JudiciaryA who couldn't bring themselves to do the will of the vast majority of citizens of
Louisiana and protect our elections and protect our infrastructure from foreignadversaries.
the state, believe me, the state was behind that bill and the state
(48:15):
will be behind this bill as well, uh SB 216, which will create real incentives for thetimely uh and efficient completion of state road projects and create disincentives when
there are unnecessary delays.
And I know that, Danielle, this has to be one of your favorite bills of the session.
(48:38):
It is, it is because the Bourg Bridge is still not completed.
If someone from DOTD is listening to that, I'd appreciate a phone call.
I've heard that the Bourg Bridge is now delayed until July.
I don't know if that rumor is true.
I have seen that the signal package, which they were allegedly waiting on, has been up.
There is now blinking red lights.
So what is the stinking delay?
(49:00):
What is the delay?
This is a community bridge.
It's been ongoing for four years.
We suffered through Hurricane Ida.
with no ability to cross that bridge.
It's absolute disgrace.
And I hope that DOTD has put some serious fire underneath the rear ends of the contractor.
And I did talk to Senator Valerie Hodge's staff yesterday, about this bill.
(49:25):
I mentioned that to you.
Asking that debarment be included in this.
And for those who don't know, because Chris educated me on debarment a couple weeks ago,it's the idea that if you screw up so bad,
that it's just unbelievable, you cannot get, you don't get the opportunity to bid again.
What Senator Valerie Hodges staff told me was that they did discuss that with Joe Donahue,the Secretary of Transportation.
(49:52):
He said that that kind of provision already exists in statute.
So I guess we need that statute to be dusted off and used because I think probably if Ihad to guess, Chris, and maybe this is just me,
Either DOTD staff has relatives that are contracting on some of these projects.
(50:17):
I can't come up with a reasonable reason for debarment to not be in active use.
And maybe we need some billboards about debarment just to remind the contractors whilethey're on their way to project.
If you screw this up, you can never ever bid again.
Absolutely.
And as far as the bird bridge goes, Danielle, if I were in DOTD, I'd want to finish thatjust because I would not want We the People Bayou community all over me on this.
(50:48):
I really wouldn't.
I don't want them on my bad side.
That's correct.
That's absolutely correct.
Well, Chris.
Yeah, 100%.
So Chris, thank you so much.
I know you have to get to the Capitol.
That rounds out our what we're following through Wednesday.
We will pick this conversation up Thursday morning at 8 a.m.
(51:08):
bright and early.
I mean, hopefully the majority of things get uh it seems like everything's jammed intoWednesday, but maybe maybe Thursday will be a day that they.
do some serious debate on the floor since they're jamming so much into the committeestomorrow.
But that will remain to be seen.
ah
that everybody uh shares and subscribes and shares the state of freedom.
(51:34):
We're spreading the voice of liberty.
have two loyalties, the Constitution and Louisiana Citizens, and we are that voice.
You're going to get the unvarnished, uncensored truth about what's going on in ourgovernment.
We are loyal to you 100%.
And that's it.
And we don't make any apologies about that.
And the broader
the reach of the state of freedom, the more informed, the more effective we're going to beand ultimately the better government we're going to have.
(52:03):
So that's what's at stake here.
So make sure you share and subscribe the state of freedom and also uh share LACAG,Louisiana Citizen Advocacy Group, go on, become a monthly member so that we can continue
to level the playing field against a big powerful special interest.
We're in the situation that we're in now, Danielle, because of corrupt.
special interest lobbyists and politicians who have fallen in bed with them.
(52:28):
They have to be exposed, they have to be defeated, and we have to return our government tothe people and we are in the process of doing that.
And it's such a privilege to be able to do it.
And it's certainly a privilege to be able to have such a good wing lady like you,Danielle.
Right back at you Chris.
Well you have a great day.
Keep in touch.
All right.
Love y'all.
(52:48):
Bye.
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