BATON ROUGE – Louisiana will receive $234.6 million of Deepwater Horizon settlement money for wetlands restoration projects in Plaquemines, Terrebonne and St. Bernard parishes, officials said Monday. The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group has approved plans totaling more than $900 million…
BATON ROUGE – A broader and simpler tax structure would be fairer to taxpayers, provide a more predictable revenue stream for government, and make Louisiana’s economy more competitive with the rest of the nation, according to the Resilient Louisiana commission.…
BATON ROUGE – State government has an extra $7.4 million in federal COVID-19 relief dollars to spend, though it won’t be nearly enough to satisfy everyone who says they need help, officials said Friday. With the federal CARES Act, Congress…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana shoppers won’t have to pay state sales taxes on most purchases Friday and Saturday. The one-time tax holiday is meant to help residents suffering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple hurricanes, though some…
BATON ROUGE – The worst is likely over for Louisiana’s struggling oil-and-gas sector, though employment is unlikely to rebound to levels seen before the 2015 crash or even to pre-COVID-19 levels, according to a new report. The LSU Center for…
BATON ROUGE – A study group the Louisiana Legislature created has agreed that the state’s complex sales tax collection system should be centralized, though the details still must be hammered out. “I do believe that we’ve made a pretty healthy…
BATON ROUGE - Average residents of Louisiana will spend $943,258 during their retirement years, in a state where the cost of living is 10.9 percent less than the national average, according to a new study from the website 24/7 Wall…
BATON ROUGE – Gov. John Bel Edwards has vetoed three bills meant to provide financial relief to small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and response. He has also rejected a tax break for the oil industry, citing the cost…
BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Legislative Auditor has raised questions about almost $31 million in spending and financial management by state entities during the first quarter of the fiscal year that began July 1. The auditor’s office is required by…
BATON ROUGE - Louisiana voters on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment meant to limit government spending growth, but the proposal’s author plans to try again next year. “We got bucked off the horse,” said Rep. Beau Beaullieu, a New Iberia…
NEW ORLEANS – Fewer Louisiana residents made new state unemployment claims last week than the week before, though well over 100,000 people still are receiving benefits. For the week ending Oct. 31, 8,419 people made initial unemployment claims, compared to…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana’s attorney general and House of Representatives speaker on Thursday filed a counterclaim against Gov. John Bel Edwards, as the legal battle over the governor’s COVID-19 restrictions began in earnest. Edwards on Monday took legal action against…
BATON ROUGE – Though Election Day is next Tuesday, almost a million Louisiana voters have already cast their ballots. Following Tuesday night, which marked the end of the in-person early voting period, 964,181 state residents had voted. That total includes…
BATON ROUGE - Residents of St. Tammany Parish need to make $3,353 every month to maintain a modest standard of living, making it the most expensive place in Louisiana to live, according to an analysis from 24/7 Wall St. The…
BATON ROUGE – Unscrupulous seed dealers, lack of experience with the new crop and regulatory hurdles contributed to a rough first year for Louisiana’s industrial hemp program, state officials said Monday. “This is a growing pain for us,” said Angela…
CHICAGO - Louisiana would need $21.6 billion to pay all of its bills, including public employers’ pension benefits, according to a new ranking of the states’ fiscal health based on pre-pandemic data. Louisiana ranked 40th among the 50 states on fiscal…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana lawmakers advanced two new tax breaks for individuals on Monday while punting on a corporate tax incentive proposal tied to a pending constitutional amendment. House Bill 78 by Rep. Beau Beaullieu called for allowing local political…
BATON ROUGE - Bring in at least $423,138 in yearly income, and you’ll be among the top 1 percent of earners in Louisiana, according to a 24/7 Wall St. analysis of the ultra wealthy in every state. The $423,138 threshold…
BATON ROUGE – A Louisiana Senate committee on Wednesday trimmed a House-passed tax break for the oil-and-gas industry, hoping to balance economic benefit with state government needs. In its original form, House Bill 29 by Rep. Phillip DeVillier, a Eunice…
BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana House of Representatives on Wednesday night put off voting on a $100 million-plus spending bill after members balked at committing money to local projects at the expense of public defense and the state’s unemployment trust…
METAIRIE - Ochsner Medical Center was rated the best hospital in Louisiana, according to a U.S. News & World Report analysis that ranked the top medical facilities in states and metro areas. The New Orleans hospital is nationally ranked in one…
BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to spend more taxpayer money on this fall’s elections while banning local officials from taking private money to fund election expenses. Though there was little discussion by the full…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana’s House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a tax break for the oil and gas industry that could be worth $157 million, though supporters said the estimate is exaggerated. House Bill 29 by Rep. Phillip DeVillier, a…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana legislators are looking to carve out money from a $275 million federally funded small-business relief fund, though the state treasurer says the money already has been claimed. Lawmakers created the Louisiana Main Street Recovery Grant Program…
BATON ROUGE – A Louisiana Senate committee on Tuesday began the process of suspending laws that call for raising taxes and cutting benefits when the state’s unemployment trust fund balance runs low. Taken together, the bills and resolutions essentially freeze…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana legislative leaders this summer ousted John Carpenter, head of the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Office, and replaced him Christopher Keaton, a veteran Fiscal Office analyst. Senate President Page Cortez, a Lafayette Republican, expects the change in leadership…
BATON ROUGE – The $48 million Louisiana lawmakers recently appropriated for public defense is appreciated but not enough to ensure defendants get fair trials, officials said Monday. The $45 dollar “conviction fee” public defenders rely on for much of their…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana officials on Friday temporarily avoided triggering the business tax increases and worker benefit cuts that could be needed to replenish the state’s shrinking unemployment insurance trust fund, though no one has yet proposed a permanent solution.…
BATON ROUGE – State Treasurer John Schroder said he is about to stop taking applications for the $275 million Main Street Recovery Grant Program because of the high demand. The Louisiana Legislature create the program to reimburse small businesses for…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana’s fiscal health before the coronavirus hit was dismal, and the state is likely to come out of the current financial crisis even worse, a new report says. Louisiana’s elected officials have made repeated financial decisions that…
