Louisiana House of Representatives and Senate will convene on Tuesday 3/31/2020 at 11:00 AM, having recessed the regularly-scheduled session in light of the COVID-19 threat.

March 22, 2020

On Sunday, March, 22, 2020, Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a Stay at Home Order for non-essential workers and businesses beginning Monday, March 23, 2020 at 5 p.m. Read the official order here.

March 20, 2020

The Louisiana Supreme Court issued two additional orders. The first essentially extends the most litigation deadlines by an additional two weeks, through April 14, 2020. The second is a companion order that decrees that any filings that otherwise would have been due between March 12 and April 13, 2020 will be considered timely if filed by April 14, 2020. These orders are available here and here.

March 18, 2020

Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards sent a letter to President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence requesting temporary changes to several federal programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here to read the governor’s letter.

The governor’s requests include:

• An expansion of the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service hot food waiver to allow the purchase of hot food in Louisiana restaurants through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
• Statutory change through congressional action in addition to relaxing some administrative constraints on Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) for Disaster Recovery.
• Eliminating some restrictions in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s CBDG-State’s program.
• Recommendations for FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program and Public Assistance program.

March 16, 2020

The Louisiana Supreme Court has moved to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 by issuing an order that continues most litigation and litigation deadlines throughout Louisiana’s civil and criminal court system. A copy of the order is available here.

March 16, 2020

Gov. John Bel Edwards significantly expanded his recent proclamation aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19 across Louisiana. The updated proclamation calls for a limit to gatherings of no more than 50 as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and all bars, movie theaters and fitness centers and casinos will close. Restaurants will not be allowed to have patrons eat on-site, rather they will be limited to drive-thru, pick-up and delivery orders only. These are among several changes to the proclamation that will become effective at midnight tonight.

Additionally, the order addresses emergency procurement measures and the use of video or teleconferencing for public meetings. It also suspends various prescriptive periods and legal deadlines and allows for the chief law enforcement officer of a parish to set a curfew, among other things.

Read updated proclamation here.

March 13, 2020

Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an executive order postponing Louisiana’s upcoming election including the presidential primary in response to COVID-19, commonly called the coronavirus. The elections scheduled for April and May will take place in June and July. Click here for the executive order.

March 12, 2020

Following a meeting of the Unified Command Group today, Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a Public Health emergency in Louisiana related to COVID-19. Additionally, the declaration addresses efforts to prevent price gouging should that become necessary as well as limits international travel for state employees to Level 2 and Level 3 countries as designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC. Click here for the public health emergency declaration.