BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Republican gubernatorial candidate Stephen Waguespack wants to leverage his experience in the private sector to bring free market solutions to Louisiana's pressing issues, and he released details on Monday outlining his approach. Waguespack, former…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — According to the latest report, Louisiana's tax revenues are higher than last year's for the sixth consecutive month. In June, year-to-date revenues are up by $788 million or 7% over the previous fiscal year,…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – Washington, Colorado and Louisiana will be among the first to participate in the United States Department of Agriculture's $25 million grant for incentivizing fruit and vegetable purchases among participants for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — A report by Louisiana’s legislative auditor found that the state Department of Education didn’t abide by federal guidelines for grants and overpaid several child care providers. The report by Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack’s…
NEW ORLEANS — From the the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans: On Jan. 17, the HBAGNO board of directors approved a “Resilient Roofing” resolution designed to enhance long-term housing resiliency and attract property insurance carriers to coastal Louisiana.…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – Louisiana is among states with the biggest population declines in recent years, according to new U.S. Census data. Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau shows Louisiana ranked fifth among states for numeric decline…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) - Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma will submit a formal application to the Department of Energy for funding of their regional hydrogen hub. The state's governors announced in March they were forming a partnership called the…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — An estimated 1 in 3 American adults own at least one firearm. The most common reasons Americans cite for exercising their Second Amendment rights include personal protection, target shooting, and hunting. But with nearly…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Across the country, hundreds of thousands of companies have established remote work policies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. No longer bound to an office, millions of Americans are now free to relocate…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Louisiana has many of the right characteristics for families to flourish. This includes abundant natural resources and thriving petrochemical, oil and gas, and tourism sectors. In fact, New Orleans was recently ranked as the…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – As the dust settles from Election Day in America, several races are still too close to call but a few key truths are emerging from the electoral faceoff, foremost among them that the Republican…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Over two years have passed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its effects continue to extend far beyond public health. A recent report released by the National Assessment of Educational Progress reveals…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — The Louisiana Legislative Auditor compared the state’s processes for the Department of Children and Family Services’ central registry to 17 other states for a recent report requested by lawmakers. Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — A recently released report by Louisiana Legislative Auditor Michael Waguespack says the state’s nonprofit insurer of last resort is taking on more policies after 11 insurance companies became financially insolvent between July 2021 and…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Analysis of the state’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor reveals parishes with the highest amount of tax exemptions collected higher amounts of property taxes in 2021. Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — A Louisiana Economic Forecast unveiled Tuesday shows all of the state's metro areas are expected to add jobs over the next two years, which will help boost the state's slow recovery from the COVID-19…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Louisiana is moving forward with processing thousands of applications for funds to repair damages from Hurricanes Laura and Delta following federal approval of the state's $600 million grant application. Gov. John Bel Edwards announced…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – The freight railroad industry reached a tentative deal with rail worker unions Thursday morning to avoid a national rail strike that threatened to cripple the nation’s already stressed supply chain. The tentative agreement still…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — The Louisiana State Bond Commission on Thursday voted for the second consecutive month to delay approval of funding for a New Orleans electrical substation over local officials' defiance of the state's abortion ban. Commissioners…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — The Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries' Shrimp Task Force meeting Wednesday featured an update on federal proposals to develop wind energy leases in the Gulf of Mexico. Officials with the federal Bureau of…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — A recent study by Florida Atlantic and Florida International universities shows Louisiana metro areas of Baton Rouge and New Orleans have two of the least-overpriced real estate markets nationally. The monthly study by researchers Ken Johnson…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — A bill that would assess a road usage fee on hybrid and electric vehicles in Louisiana is now on Gov. John Bel Edwards' desk. The House and Senate concurred in the changes made to…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Finding areas of policy agreement is difficult in today’s polarized political climate. Protecting online privacy is an exception, with 80% of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans saying it should be a top priority for Congress.…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Legislation to reform the expungement process in Louisiana gained approval from a Senate Judiciary Committee this week. Committee members approved House Bill 707, sponsored by Rep. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, to automate the expungement…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — A constitutional amendment to devote a quarter of all nonrecurring state revenues to the unfunded liabilities of state retirement systems has cleared the House. Members of the lower chamber voted 70-21 last week to…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — The Louisiana Public Service Commission is drafting an order to require Entergy and other investor-owned utilities to pay 20% of storm repairs, instead of putting the entire bill on ratepayers. PSC Commissioner Foster Campbell…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – The small business network Alignable released its small business inflation poll Monday, which found small businesses are very worried about rising inflation and its effect on the economy. According to the survey, 51% of…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — During the COVID-19 pandemic, many parents with children under the age of 18 left the workforce. With schools across the country shifting to remote learning, it made more financial sense for many parents to…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — U.S. home sales skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic - hitting a 15-year high of 6.1 million in 2021. The spike in demand, coupled with declining inventory, have put upward pressure on housing prices. Renters…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Legislation to exclude wind and solar farms from a Louisiana tax exemption program drew pushback from lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee this week, forcing the bill’s author to voluntarily defer the…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Gas prices are hovering near all-time highs in the United States. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline stood at $4.24 as of March 23 - up 70 cents from a month…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — The economic fallout that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic put millions of Americans out of work. Without a steady source of income, many were unable to pay for basic necessities, like shelter. To address…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – Louisiana House Speaker Pro Tempore Tanner Magee is calling for a limited constitutional convention to amend language regarding tax structure, dedicated revenues and fiscal restraints on local governments. Magee, R-Houma, filed House Bill 259…
BATON ROUGE — Small businesses are an economic pillar in the United States. Businesses with fewer than 500 employees account for two-thirds of net new jobs in the U.S. and generate 44% of economic activity nationwide, according to the U.S.…
BATON ROUGE — The consumer price index surged by 7% in December of 2021, the fastest rate in four decades. Surging inflation is a troubling development for the millions of American retirees relying on fixed incomes and those whose savings…
BATON ROUGE — The COVID-19 pandemic sent the U.S. unemployment rate up to a post Great Depression high of 14.7% in April 2020. Though the jobless rate has since fallen back below 4%, the U.S. job market is far from…
BATON ROUGE — From the Center Square: The COVID-19 pandemic sent the U.S. unemployment rate up to a post Great Depression high of 14.7% in April 2020. Though the jobless rate has since fallen back below 4%, the U.S. job…
BATON ROUGE — From the Center Square: Homelessness is on the rise in the United States. According to a study published by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the number of Americans experiencing homelessness has grown each year since 2015.…
BATON ROUGE — With many Americans working from home now, far fewer commuters get behind the wheel every day compared to before the pandemic. Still, travel has picked up considerably over the last year. And gas prices have followed suit.…
BATON ROUGE — There are over 170 different fields of study tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau in which undergraduate students can earn a degree. Despite the wide range of academic subjects offered at colleges and universities, over half of…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana lawmakers are expected to have about $1.6 billion more in revenue to spend in upcoming budget cycles than previously projected, according to predictions from economists at a Revenue Estimating Conference. Ben Vincent, chief economist at the…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana has launched a new $146 million program designed to help homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Fund will provide up to $25,000…
BATON ROUGE — A 2019 report from the Federal Reserve found that nearly one in every four American adults have no retirement savings. During the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, that share has likely grown. Despite stimulus…
BATON ROUGE — At the height of COVID-19 pandemic, the nation's unemployment rate soared to 15%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. The fallout on American workers was immediate as many lost their paychecks or saw their wages plummet overnight.…
BATON ROUGE — Louisiana has long been a leading state in energy production. Our state is blessed with the energy resources that power portions of the United States and the rest of the world. While the oil and gas industry…
HAMMOND — The U.S. population growth rate hit its lowest level since the Great Depression, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. Over the past decade, the Great Recession and COVID-19 pandemic slowed immigration as well as caused many Americans to…
BATON ROUGE – Louisianans could enshrine an income tax cut in the state constitution Saturday, as voters in all 64 parishes will consider four ballot amendments dealing with tax and budget issues. A proposal known as Amendment 2 offers to…
BATON ROUGE – Ascension Parish Public Schools Superintendent David Alexander believes an 80% property tax abatement for CF Industries’ proposed “green ammonia” nitrogen complex in Donaldsonville would lead to economic growth. CF Industries produces fertilizer and said it is decarbonizing…
BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry is spearheading an effort to reform Louisiana’s judicial system, saying it lacks transparency and operates under costly, outdated rules. LABI represents more than 2,000 Louisiana employers and serves as the…
BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Department of Health announced Wednesday all COVID-19 vaccine providers for children can begin administering the Pfizer pediatric vaccine immediately. The announcement followed a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel’s final recommendation Tuesday. The…
