Clay Schexnayder | |
|---|---|
| Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives | |
| In office January 13, 2020 – January 8, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Taylor Barras |
| Succeeded by | Phillip DeVillier |
| Member of theLouisiana House of Representatives from the 81st district | |
| In office January 9, 2012 – January 8, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | John LaBruzzo |
| Succeeded by | Jeffrey Wiley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Clay John Schexnayder (1969-02-25)February 25, 1969 (age 56) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Signature |  |
Clay John Schexnayder (/ʃeɪksˈniːdər/; born February 25, 1969) is an American businessman and politician fromAscension Parish, Louisiana. ARepublican, he has served as a member of theLouisiana House of Representatives from 2012 to 2024, and asspeaker of the House from 2020 to 2024.
Schexnayder is the son of Perry P. Schexnayder and the former Dorothy Ann Demars (1937–2009).[1] His grandfather Harold "Pocahontas" Schexnayder was a longtimeLouisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheriesgame warden,[2] and he spent much of his childhood in theMaurepas Swamp area.[3]
In 1989, Schexnayder graduated fromFrench Settlement High School.[4] Two years later, he graduated from the Allen Institute inAtlanta, Georgia, where he trained as anautomotive mechanic.[4]
In 1998, Schexnayder opened Car Craft and Rubber Company Automotive, inSorrento, a town in Ascension Parish, and has operated the business since that time.[4] On the side, he was aracecar driver, participating in races from 1997 to 2013 on the competition circuit in Louisiana,Mississippi, andArkansas.[4]
Schexnayder was first elected to theLouisiana House of Representatives in 2011 from District 81,[5] which encompasses parts of fourparishes:Livingston, Ascension,St. James, andSt. John the Baptist.[6]
In 2016, Schexnayder sponsored legislation to repeal Louisiana'smotorcycle helmet law, making it legal for motorcyclists ages 21 and up to ride motorcycles without head protection; the bill failed to pass on a 48–32 vote, falling short of the 53 votes required for the bill to advance.[7]
In 2016, Schexnayder was named to the Executive Committee of the Louisiana Legislative Rural Caucus for the 2016–2017 term.[8]
As chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Schexnayder opposed a bill in 2018 to allowflorists to work without passing a 40-question licensing exam. Louisiana is the only state that requiresoccupational licensing for florists. The bill, introduced by RepresentativeJulie Emerson, was supported by GovernorJohn Bel Edwards, and was supported by various organizations favoring occupational-licensing reform, such asInstitute for Justice andAmericans for Prosperity.[9][10] Schexnayder defended the florist-licensure requirement, framing it as a consumer-protection measure.[9] Despite Schexnayder's opposition, the bill passed the House committee on an 8–6 vote.[9] However, it failed in thestate Senate.[10]
In 2019, Schexnayder sponsored legislation to permit and regulateindustrial hemp cultivation in the state, and to authorize licensed retailers to sellhemp-derived products, includingcannabidiol (CBD oil); The bill passed the legislature and was signed into law by Governor Edwards.[11][12]
In January 2020, Schexnayder won the post of speaker of the House after some Democrats supported him, while most of the Republican representatives supported a different candidate for the post, Livingston RepublicanSherman Mack.[13] In the House floor vote, Schexnayder defeated Mack, 60–45, thus surpassing the 53 votes needed to win the speakership.[13] Schexnayder won by winning the votes of all 35 House Democrats; 23 of the House Republicans; and two representatives withno party affiliation.[14][15] The other 45 Republicans voted for Mack.[15]
The vote occurred after days of intense negotiations between Mack and Schexnayder, which eventually broke down.[14] Mack was officially endorsed by the House Republican caucus in a December 2019 vote,[16] and the most powerful Louisiana Republicans (such as U.S. SenatorJohn Kennedy, state Attorney GeneralJeff Landry and megadonor Lane Grigsby), including the members most hostile to Democratic GovernorJohn Bel Edwards, supported Mack's candidacy[14][13] Edwards urged Democratic representatives to support Schexnayder,[15] and the Republicans who backed Schexnayder generally came from a more moderate wing of the party.[13] Thus, although Republicans were in a strong position in theLouisiana Legislature (holding a two-thirdssupermajority in the state Senate and being two votes shy of a supermajority in the state House), the split in the Republican Party allowed Democrats to retain a measure of influence within the legislature.[13] In exchange for their support, Schexnayder allocated some committee chairmanships to Democrats,[17] although Republicans retained decisive majorities on all committees.[15]
In May 2021, Schexnayder supported a police reform bill, which passed the House on a 53-42 vote. The bill, backed by the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, proposed new limits onqualified immunity, a doctrine that bars some victims from obtaining relief in court for police misconduct; it was the outcome of a compromise reached by a task force convened to address police misconduct.[18] However, the bill failed to advance in the Senate.[19][20]
House Republicans have 68 seats in the state House, short of the 70 votes needed tooverride a veto.[17] In 2021, after Governor Edwards vetoed 28 bills from the previous legislative session, Schexnayder called a veto session, the first such session sinceLouisiana's current constitution was adopted in 1974.[21][22] During the session, Republicans sought to override two of Edwards' vetoes: a veto of a bill toban transgender girls from participating in school sports, and a veto of a bill allowing the carrying ofconcealed handguns without a permit, safety training, or background check.[22] Both attempts failed: almost all House Democrats voted to sustain the vetoes, and without Democratic or independent support, Republicans failed to obtain sufficient votes to override the vetoes[23][24] Schexnayder retaliated by ousting two different Democrats from committee chairmanships (Chad Brown was removed from the chairmanship of the House Insurance Committee andVincent Pierre from the chairmanship of the Transportation Committee) and replacing them with Republicans.[24] The move left Republicans holding the chairmanship of 13 regular subject-matter committees, and Democrats holding the chairmanship of 3 committees.[24] Schexnayder also oustedRoy Daryl Adams, ano party affiliation member, from a seat on the House Appropriations Committee, and ousted DemocratC. Travis Johnson from his seat on the Transportation Committee.[24] Democrats opposed Schexnayder's decision, but continued to support him as speaker.[25]
In 2021, Schexnayder ousted RepresentativeRay Garofalo from his chairmanship of the House Education Committee as part of an intra-party Republican feud over Garofalo's support for a bill that would ban public schools or colleges from teaching that the U.S. or the State of Louisiana is "systematically racist or sexist" and ban the provision of information that "promotes divisive concepts."[26] This bill was similar to bills pushed by Republicans in other states.[26] Schexnayder asked Garofalo not to move the bill forward, but Garofalo did so anyway.[26] RepublicanMark Wright the vice chairman of the committee, became chair in Garofalo's place.[26]
Schexnayder pushed legislation to extendLouisiana's movie production incentives for an additional eight years; the bill passed in 2023.[27]
In 2023, Schexnayder publicly considered a potential run for governor.[28] In April 2023, afterLouisiana Secretary of StateKyle Ardoin announced he would not seek reelection, Schexnayder announced he would run for the position, and said he had raised $900,000 for his campaign.[29] He finished fourth in the jungle primary, with 14.69% of the vote.[30]
Schexnayder and his wife, Phoebe (née Keller),[6] have four children and several grandchildren.[4]
| Louisiana House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theLouisiana House of Representatives from the 81st district 2012–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives 2020–2024 | Succeeded by |