Sound Off Louisiana

At the March 2, 2026 meeting of the Baton Rouge Press Club (BRPC), Louisiana House Speaker Phillip DeVillier smiles as he prepares to respond to a question posed by Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns on the 2026 push to free hair braiders to be able to practice without the need for 500 hours of classroom instruction (600 if the Cosmetology Board gets its way this session).  Senate President Cameron Henry looks toward DeVillier in anticipation of him being the one to respond to Burns’ question.

On March 2, 2026, the BRPC had dual guests in preparation for the 2026 Legislative Session:  Louisiana Senate President Cameron Henry and Louisiana House Speaker Phillip DeVillier.

DeVillier focused much of his opening remarks on outmigration, thus opening the door for Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns to pose a question about Rep. Mike Bayham’s HB-266, which is essentially a replica of last year’s bill designed to free up hair braiders.

Here’s Burns’ question and DeVillier’s response:

3/2/26:  DeVillier responds to Burns’ question on Bayham’s bill.

Even as DeVillier publicly endorses Bayham’s bill on March 2, the Pelican Institute lambasted the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology (LSBC) only two days later on March 4, 2026.  From the Institute’s release:

Today, 37 states no longer require a permit to braid hair, freeing entrepreneurs to earn a living using a skill that is often passed down through generations of women. Unfortunately, Louisiana loves to buck a trend. If the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology (LSBC) gets its way, it will soon become more difficult and more expensive to become a licensed hair braider. 

At its March 2026 board meeting, the LSBC discussed legislation to increase the number of hours required for an alternative hair design permit from 500 hours to 600 hours. Their justification for the increase is to align the required number of hours for a permit with federal student loan lending requirements. The majority of LSBC board members own or are affiliated with a cosmetology school; there are no consumer members on this board.

Eight states that still license hair braiders require 50 hours or fewer of training. None of our neighboring states require a license to braid natural hair. 

We already covered the LSBC’s intention to pursue full blown licensure in this January 25, 2026 feature.  From that feature:

LSBC Chairman Jennifer Cobb Reed introduced yet another non-agenda item (she’s making a habit of that practice just as she deployed the same inappropriate mechanism for the hiring of Erin Marceaux not long back) which would call for requiring 600 hours for what would be a future license for hair braiding rather than the existing 500 hours for an “alternative hair permit.”  The discussion makes it crystal clear that the purpose of the planned change is to facilitate Federal funding for hair braiding instruction:

The Board is pursuing increasing the hours requirement via Rep. Candace Newell’s HB-912.  Let us present the LSBC’s discussion of its initiative at its March 2, 2026 meeting (mere hours before Burns posed his question of DeVillier above):

3/2/26:  LSBC discusses push to increase classroom hours to practice hair braiding in Louisiana and convert the existing “alternative hair permit” to a full-blown license.

DeVillier often references Texas as one state to which Louisiana citizens outmigrate.

Not only has Texas lowered the number of hours for obtaining a cosmetology license from 1,500 to 1,000 (whereas Louisiana’s efforts to do the same were thwarted by DeVillier, Rep. Mike Johnson, and Governor Jeff Landry), but here’s the deal in Texas regarding hair braiding:

Regulations governing hair braiding are administered by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) under the broader framework of barbering and cosmetology laws (Texas Occupations Code, Chapters 1601–1603).

Natural hair braiding—defined as twisting, wrapping, weaving, extending, locking, or braiding hair without the use of chemicals, dyes, bleaches, or adhesives—is not regulated and does not require a license.

This deregulation took effect on June 8, 2015, following the enactment of House Bill 2717, which removed natural hair braiding from the scope of licensed cosmetology and barbering practices.

The change addressed concerns that prior requirements imposed undue burdens on practitioners, particularly given the cultural significance of the practice and the absence of significant public health or safety risks associated with it.

In Texas:

• No licensing or certification is required for performing or teaching natural hair braiding services.
• Practitioners may offer these services without completing formal training hours, examinations, or obtaining any specialty certificate from TDLR.
• Related unregulated activities encompass basic non-chemical hair styling and similar services.

It’s time leaders at the Louisiana Legislature along with Gov. Landry practice what they preach and pass Bayham’s hair braiding deregulation bill; furthermore, the next time a bill is presented to reduce the number of hours for a cosmetology license, the Legislature needs to pass it and the Governor of Louisiana needs to sign it into law.  Otherwise, all the cries of continued outmigration to states like Texas and Mississippi are nothing more than empty words with no actions whatsoever to remedy the matter!

Fifth Congressional District Republican candidate Austin Magee who, at the Ronald Reagan newsmaker luncheon on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, slammed U. S. Senate Republican candidate Julia Letlow as, “part of the swamp in supporting the Socialist scam of carbon capture.”

On Tuesday, March 10, 2026, the monthly Ronald Regan Newsmaker Luncheon was held with Republican candidates for the Fifth Congressional District invited to attend.  Only three (3) candidates opted to do so, and perhaps the most interesting one of the three was Austin Magee, whose campaign slogan is, “I can’t do any worse than the rest of ‘em!”  The other two candidates who opted to attend were State Sen. Rick Edmonds and State Rep. Michael Echols, who has deep and strong ties with and to Gov. Landry.

Incumbent Fifth District Congresswoman Julia Letlow, who is running for U. S. Senate after quite literally being dragged into the race by President Trump (after months-long urging by Gov. Jeff Landry directly to Trump for him to do so), certainly wasn’t spared a lambasting by Magee!  That opportunity arose (and he took full advantage of it) when Phillip “Bert” Callais, who recently appeared as a Sound Off Louisiana guest on the topic of “election integrity,” asked a question on carbon capture and sequestration:

3/10/26:  Magee responds to question on carbon capture, after which Echols does the same (Edmonds had to return to the Capitol for a committee meeting).

Arguably even more intriguing at the forum was the first question posed, which was by host and former State Representative Woody Jenkins.  The question posed of Echols and Magee by Jenkins centered on what Jenkins asserts are efforts by Gov. Landry to block the widening of Airline Highway from the Old Bridge to I-12.  Further, Jenkins asserts that widening initiative is “paid for” by the Move EBR plan passed by EBRP voters.  Jenkins also contends that Landry is backing instead a toll road covering that same stretch of Airline Highway:

3/10/26:  Echols and Magee respond to Jenkins’ question regarding Gov. Landry allegedly blocking the widening of Airline Hwy from the Old Bridge to I-12 paid for by Move EBR funds in favor of a toll road covering the same stretch of Highway.

CLICK HERE for the luncheon in its entirety.

One Louisiana State Police (LSP) Trooper’s reaction upon reading a WAFB Facebook Page summation of the Matthew Clair court hearing of Thursday, February 26, 2026.  The Trooper added:  “That’s BS!  They (LSP) train on defensive tactics every year, without fail.”

Today’s Sound Off Louisiana feature focuses on a court hearing which transpired on Thursday, February 26, 2026 in 19th JDC Judge William Jorden’s courtroom regarding WAFB’s lawsuit against LSP on which we reported on December 16, 2025:.

3/1/26:  Overview of Gray Media (WAFB) v. LSP court hearing of February 26, 2026.

In the above video, Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns makes it clear that his focus is on the specificity of the court hearing and that, if anyone wants background on the Clair matter, to go to this feature.  Accordingly, let’s provide that background:

The Clair incident occurred in April of 2022 at the Avoyelles Parish Detention Center in Louisiana. It pertains to an interaction during the booking process of an arrestee who had been arrested for DWI.

The event was captured on surveillance video from a camera inside the detention center (operated by the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office), as Trooper Clair did not activate his body-worn camera during the encounter. According to accounts from state police representatives and testimony presented to the Louisiana State Police Commission (LSPC), the handcuffed inmate (restrained in front) charged at Trooper Clair, prompting the trooper to employ physical restraint measures, which included striking or hitting the individual to control the situation.

Trooper Clair maintained that the force was necessary to stop the charging inmate and prevent escalation. The inmate later pled guilty to assaulting the trooper. The Avoyelles Parish DA declined to file criminal charges against Clair.

An internal review by a five-member LSP Use of Force Board in 2022 was divided: three members deemed the force justified, while two found it excessive. Under then-Colonel Lamar Davis, the actions were classified as excessive, resulting in a 40-hour suspension without pay for Clair.

Clair opted to appeal the discipline on procedural grounds (alleging the investigation did not commence within the required 14-day window). Following a leadership change—Colonel Robert Hodges assumed command in January 2024—the discipline was reduced to a non-disciplinary “letter of counseling,” effectively nullifying the suspension and rendering related records less accessible to the public under agency policy.

The surveillance video has not been publicly released. WAFB-TV’s I-Team, led by Chief Investigator Chris Nakamoto, pursued multiple public records requests starting in early 2025 (approximately April onward) to obtain it, citing public interest in transparency regarding alleged excessive force. LSP initially provided conflicting responses (e.g., claiming ignorance of the request or non-existence of records), then confirmed possession of a copy of the video but denied WAFB’s request for release, invoking the trooper’s privacy rights. The Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office reported providing a copy to LSP but deleting their original footage.

We encourage the watching of the above video to obtain a pretty detailed account of the courtroom dialogue of this past Thursday, February 26, 2026 and, on that video, we have strategically inserted a few short excerpts which, we assert, provide incredible reinforcement compliments of former Ascension Parish Sheriff Captain C. J. Matthews.

As stated on the video, we look forward to attending the March 18, 2026 hearing at which Judge Jorden makes public his decision and, we believe, soon thereafter watching a feature on WAFB to see just what all is on this video because we think it’s likely going to be quite revealing, especially given some of the commentary made by LSP attorneys referenced on the video above!