Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Task Force Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Legislature extends rural health task force to 2026; members told to attend or face removal
Summary
House Concurrent Resolution 55 continues the Health Disparities in Rural Areas Task Force as a subcommittee of the Statewide Health Equity Consortium and requires an annual written report; the group reviewed membership, reporting deadlines and a new attendance removal rule at its organizational meeting.
The Louisiana Legislature continued the Health Disparities in Rural Areas Task Force through House Concurrent Resolution 55, and the group reviewed the resolution's membership, reporting deadlines and new attendance rules at its first meeting of the year. Chair Karen Weibel, who leads the task force, told members the task force must submit a written report to the House and Senate committees on health and welfare and the David R. Poynter Legislative Research Library by Feb. 1, 2026.
Weibel said the resolution continues the task force created by House Concurrent Resolution 44 and keeps the task force as a subcommittee of the Statewide Health Equity Consortium within the Louisiana Department of Health. She emphasized that the task force has been meeting the existing requirement to submit its annual “playbook” by Feb. 1 each year.
The resolution also requires the Statewide Health Equity Consortium to reconvene the task force no later than Aug. 15; the chair noted the task force met that requirement by holding the present meeting. A new attendance provision in HCR 55 was highlighted: members who miss two consecutive meetings may be removed by majority vote. Weibel said she will email members individually to notify them of the enforcement of that attendance rule.
Members reviewed who the resolution requires to receive copies of HCR 55, including officers and executive directors of state professional associations and boards, representatives of the Rural Hospital Coalition and the Managed Medicaid Association, and the state director for AARP Louisiana. Weibel asked members to notify her if any named organization did not receive the resolution.
The chair also reviewed open meetings requirements and the task force’s archival practice: meetings are subject to the state Open Meetings Law and are archived in the House files for public access. She asked members to update contact information and noted the task force may adopt rules of procedure and other policies to facilitate its work.
The meeting did not record any formal votes or motions taken at this session. Members discussed priorities for the year and agreed to circulate a meeting synopsis and proposed subcommittee priorities for feedback and formal prioritization at a later, quorate meeting.
The chair adjourned the meeting at 11:21 a.m.
