Current Legislation
Louisiana's 2024 Legislative Session |
Now that the Louisiana legislative session is coming to an end, here is a detailed recap of all the work LOTA’s Governmental Affairs team accomplished. The purpose of this letter is not only to inform LOTA members of changes that have been made, but also to show transparency to the work that is done behind the scenes. LOTA Educates LOTA held a virtual, state-wide meeting with our lobbyist team at Adams and Reese. Members were educated on the legislative process associated with laws that protect our profession. We had such a great turnout, and each participant received 2 CEUs (for free, if they were LOTA members!) LOTA Advocates The 2024 Louisiana Legislative Session convened March 11 - June 3, but your Governmental Affairs team was already hard at work. Again, LOTA was invited to present at the Louisiana Department of Education where we got the opportunity to advocate for our organization and connect with key school-system practitioners from across the state. This year the presentation was led by our president Jennifer Hluchy, as well as our new Children and Youth Community of Practice leader, Renee Lashley. 2024 LOTA Legislative Day LOTA’s Legislative Day took place on March 27th. This is one of the most crucial events that LOTA organizes. This event symbolizes to lawmakers, other health professions, and the entire Louisiana community that occupational therapists are a force to be reckoned with! We had an amazing turn out with students and practitioners from all over the state. This year, we hosted a friendly competition between senators and representatives. The OT students practiced their assessment skills by offering free grip strength tests, while also educating on the role of occupational therapy. |
The BIG News We have an amazing lobbying firm as well as multiple volunteers who work diligently to make our Governmental Affairs Committee very successful. Our LOTA volunteers held special meetings to review 118 bills and to make important decisions as to support, oppose, or monitor those bills. Our lobbyists helped LOTA members set up meetings with legislators to create amendments and edit the language of bills. And now, after all those meetings, hearings, and collaborations, THIS is what we were able to accomplish:
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LOTA Thanks you
Thank you to our amazing volunteers who helped play an active role, especially Debbie Bueche, Amanda Colvin, Paul Fontana, Jennifer Hluchy, Danielle Keyser, Judd Patterson, and Jennifer Perodeau.
And of course, without YOUR membership, this organization wouldn’t have been able to accomplish these amazing feats this year. Our hope is that you feel confident that your occupation and your identity is recognized and protected. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for maintaining your membership. We are looking forward to another successful year!
Sam Francioni, MS, LOTR
Amy Caffery MS, LOTR
And as always, we are always looking for more volunteers :)