BATON ROUGE (AP) — A bid to legalize recreational marijuana in Louisiana is over this legislative session after failing to gain enough support from lawmakers.
The House on Tuesday rejected Republican Rep. Richard Nelson’s bill to tax the sale of marijuana — a bellwether vote that indicated Nelson’s separate bill to create a legal framework to sell and possess recreational marijuana also couldn’t pass.
Forty-seven lawmakers in the House backed the tax bill, while 48 voted against it. After that marijuana bill failed, Nelson said he was ending his effort this session to legalize the drug for recreational use.
Here's how the legislators in Acadiana voted, by parish. Some are listed twice because their district spans more than one parish. To see the full list of how every legislator voted, click here.
ACADIA PARISH
YEA Phillip R. DeVillier, Dist. 41, Republican
NAY John M. Stefanski, Dist. 42, Republican
EVANGELINE PARISH
NAY Rhonda Gaye Butler, Dist. 38, Republican
YEA Phillip R. DeVillier, Dist. 41, Republican
IBERIA PARISH
NAY Gerald "Beau" Beaullieu, IV , Dist. 48 Republican
YEA Marcus Anthony Bryant Dist. 96 Democrat
NAY Mike Huval Dist. 46 Republican
ABSENT Blake Miguez Dist. 49 Republican
JEFF DAVIS
NAY Troy D. Romero Dist. 37 Republican
LAFAYETTE PARISH
NAY: Gerald "Beau" Beaullieu, IV Dist. 48 Republican
NAY: Stuart J. Bishop Dist. 43 Republican
YEA: Marcus Anthony Bryant Dist. 96 Democrat
YEA: Jean-Paul P. Coussan Dist. 45 Republican
NAY: Julie Emerson Dist. 39 Republican
NAY: Jonathan Goudeau, I Dist. 31 Republican
YEA: Vincent J. Pierre Dist. 44 Democrat
NAY: John M. Stefanski Dist. 42 Republican
ST. LANDRY PARISH
NAY: Rhonda Gaye Butler Dist. 38 Republican
YEA: Phillip R. DeVillier Dist. 41 Republican
NAY: Julie Emerson Dist. 39 Republican
NAY: Mike Huval Dist. 46 Republican
YEA: Dustin Miller Dist. 40 Democrat
ST. MARTIN PARISH
NAY: Gerald "Beau" Beaullieu, IV Dist. 48 Republican
YEA: Marcus Anthony Bryant Dist. 96 Democrat
NAY: Mike Huval Dist. 46 Republican
NAY: Vincent "Vinney" J. St. Blanc III Dist. 50 Republican
ST. MARY PARISH
NAY: Beryl A. Amedée Dist. 51 Republican
NAY: Vincent "Vinney" J. St. Blanc III Dist. 50 Republican
VERMILION
YEA: Ryan Bourriaque Dist. 47 Republican
NAY: Jonathan Goudeau, I Dist. 31 Republican
ABSENT: Blake Miguez Dist. 49 Republican
The Advocate reports the Louisiana Sheriffs Association helped kill the proposal. The organization sent a note to lawmakers calling the bill “rushed and irresponsible.”
“We must understand the pitfalls experienced by other states who have legalized marijuana rather than just a quick rush to judgment,” wrote Mike Ranatza, the executive director of the association.
Despite the failed effort, the debate revealed shifting attitudes about legalization among Republicans. The sheriffs’ association has committed to study the idea ahead of next year’s legislative session, and several opponents conceded eventual legalization is likely inevitable.
“People in general support it, regardless of where the politicians are,” Nelson told the newspaper.
The 34-year-old Mandeville Republican, who said he has never smoked marijuana, became the unlikely face of the effort to make Louisiana the 18th state to legalize the drug. His proposal gained bipartisan support and became the first legalization instrument to reach the full House for debate.
While the legalization effort is dead, the House did agree overwhelmingly to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. That proposal is awaiting debate in the Senate.
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