Photo by Chucky Chiang from Pexels

Louisiana is well known for its Mardi Gras festivities. While in college, many of my friends that were out of state shared that they were especially excited to celebrate Mardi Gras in Louisiana. It has been something they have probably heard about and seen online, but now they get the opportunity to experience it themselves in person. The Mardi Gras culture, with its parades and all, is unique and Louisianians take a lot of pride in it. 

While we tend to focus on the positive aspects of Mardi Gras, no good thing can exist without a few negative aspects. With Mardi Gras, everything is so fast paced that injuries are bound to occur especially involving floats. In 2020, two people were involved in accidents involving parade floats that tragically took their lives. Measures were put in place to stop any future accidents. Now, measures are being taken to manage insurance costs for parade organizers and Mardi Gras krewes. This comes in the form of House Bill 923. With this bill, the goal is to limit people’s abilities to sue those involved with the parades if an injury were to occur unless it was deliberate or obviously negligent. 

This bill was passed in the hopes of preserving Louisiana’s rich Mardi Gras parade culture. They hope to be able to control insurance costs as recently there have been less insurance companies that are willing to cover parades at an affordable price. If left unchecked, Louisianians can be looking at a drastically different parade scene. To keep up to date on the latest legislation and how House Bill 923 pans out, keep an eye on the news and visit the Louisiana State Legislature website here!