Mike "Pete" Huval

Michael Paul Huval, known as Mike "Pete" Huval (born February 1956), is an insurance agent from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 47 in St. Martin Parish.

A native of St. Martin Parish, Huval attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He and his family are active in the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Parks in St. Martin Parish. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus Catholic men's organization. He is a former president of both the Breaux Bridge Chamber of Commerce and the local Kiwanis International.^[1] Huval and his wife, the former Vickie Collette, reside in the Grand Bois community of St. Martin Parish. He is the father of one grown daughter, Brooke Lynn Huval.^[1]

Huval won his House seat on April 2, 2011, in a special election to fill the vacancy created by the election of Representative Fred Mills to the Louisiana State Senate. Huval defeated fellow Republican Craig G. Prosper (born 1967), a city council member from the parish seat of St. Martinville, 4,338 (58 percent) to 3,144 votes (42 percent).^[2]

A former Democrat who switched parties to make the state House race, Huval previously served for nearly sixteen years from District 4 on the St. Martin Parish governing council. He won his first race for the council, then known as the police jury, in the fall of 1995, with 51 percent of the vote in a three-candidate all Democratic race.^[3] In that capacity, he was active in the Louisiana Police Jury Association. In 2003, he launched Mike Huval Agency based in Breaux Bridge and Opelousas in St. Landry Parish.^[1]

Opposition to Marriage and Conscience Act

On May 19, 2015, Huval was one of four Republicans on the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee -- the others were Nancy Landry of Lafayette, Gregory A. Miller of Norco, and Clay Schexnayder of Gonzales -- who voted to table on a 10-2 vote the proposed Marriage and Conscience Act, authored by Republican Representative Mike Johnson of Bossier Parish and strongly supported by the conservative Louisiana Family Forum. Only fellow Republican Ray Garofalo of Chalmette stood with Johnson. Governor Bobby Jindal, who supported the legislation, then issued an executive order to implement the measure. Johnson said that he will in 2016, if he is reelected, re-introduce the measure because he prefers a statutory law to address the issue. Johnson explained that the measure is designed to block the state government from pulling licenses or tax benefits from a company because of the owner's counter view of same-sex marriage. Among Democrats who opposed the measure were committee chairman Neil Abramson and Joseph Bouie, Jr., both of New Orleans, Patrick O. Jefferson of Arcadia, and Alfred C. Williams of Baton Rouge.^[4]

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