BATON ROUGE — The 70-year-old practice of requiring aspiring Louisiana retail florists to arrange flowers to the satisfaction of their potential competitors will come to an end when Gov. Bobby Jindal signs a bill given final approval Tuesday by the Legislature.
The state had hung on to the law tenaciously despite years of assault from federal lawsuits, public protests, editorial outrage, attacks from a new agriculture commissioner and many fiercely fought challenges in the state Capitol.
Now on its way to the governor's desk, House Bill 1407 by Rep. Franklin Foil, R-Baton Rouge, waives the requirement that applicants for a retail florist license pass a floral arrangement test judged by others in the business. It keeps in place an objective multiple-choice written test covering issues such as plant disease control.
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