BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The House voted 96-0 Friday to make secret the security surveillance video from the Louisiana Capitol complex, supporting a measure that would exempt the video from the public records law.
Lawmakers didn’t debate or ask any questions about the proposal (Senate Bill 446) by Sen. Sherri Smith Buffington, R-Keithville, before agreeing to it.
Buffington has said she doesn’t want people to be able to use surveillance footage from the Capitol to spot vulnerabilities in the building’s security.
The measure goes back to the Senate for consideration of a heavy rewrite by the House that narrowed its scope.
As passed by the Senate, the bill would have exempted all state building security footage from Louisiana’s public records law. That would have swept in state parks, public college buildings and hundreds of facilities around the state.
The House limited the measure to the Capitol and its immediate buildings, grounds and parking areas.
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Lawmakers have agreed to study the creation of a statewide elevator and escalator inspection system for Louisiana.
The House approved the bill (Senate Bill 684) by Sen. Ben Nevers, D-Bogalusa, that would ask the state fire marshal’s office to look at how such a system would work. The 96-0 vote Friday moves the proposal one step from the governor’s desk. The Senate must approve a technical change before the study proposal receives final passage.
Louisiana doesn’t require regular safety inspections of elevators. Some municipalities have set their own regulations, but most parishes are without rules for annual checkups to make sure elevators and escalators are operating properly.
Lawmakers wanted more information on what a statewide system could cost and how to pay for it. The fire marshal will report his findings and recommendations to several legislative committees by Feb. 1.
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In other legislative action:
-Lawmakers have agreed to prohibit smoking within 200 feet of the entrances, exits and outdoor areas of any public or private elementary and secondary school in Louisiana. The bill (Senate Bill 514) by Sen. David Heitmeier, D-New Orleans, was sent to the governor with a 94-0 vote of the House Friday. Violators would be fined $25 on a first offense, $50 for a second offense and $100 for additional offenses.
-The Senate unanimously voted to move up Louisiana’s 2016 presidential primary by two weeks, sending the idea to the House for consideration with a few days to go before the legislative session must end. Sen. Jody Amedee, R-Gonzales, added the language to an elections bill (House Bill 431) sponsored by Rep. Tim Burns, R-Mandeville. Amedee said the change would help the state get more attention from the presidential candidates. Burns’ bill heads back to the House for debate.
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Online:
Louisiana Legislature: www.legis.la.gov
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