Pelican Statement: Governor Vetoes Key Legal Reform

Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed a critical piece of legal reform legislation. Louisiana’s judiciary has adopted a practice to ignore legal liability limits and other protections, instead allowing aggressive plaintiffs to sue entrepreneurs of all sizes. This impacts everyone from small mom and pop shops to large oil and gas companies. HB 313 by Representative Thomas Pressly would have addressed this problem and added much-needed reform to our state’s broken legal system.

The following is a statement from Daniel Erspamer, chief executive officer of the Pelican Institute, regarding Gov. Edwards’ veto of HB 313.

“Representative Thomas Pressly’s bill would have clarified long-standing principles, protected Louisiana’s entrepreneurs from unpredictable abuse of our legal system and rejected judicial activism. It is disappointing to see Governor Edwards turn down this great opportunity to reform our broken legal system. The demands of entrenched special interests should never trump the well-being of Louisiana’s working families. If we want to encourage the return of jobs and opportunity to our state, we must foster a fairer, more predictable Louisiana legal system.”