BATON ROUGE – The number of Louisiana residents making new claims for unemployment benefits increased by almost 10,000 last week, the federal government reported Thursday. The U.S. Department of Labor says 31,907 advance claims were made in the state during…
BATON ROUGE – Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed a bill meant to protect schools from lawsuits if a teacher or student contracts COVID-19. Critics said House Bill 59, the last one approved during June’s special session, leaves students and…
BATON ROUGE – Bars, food processing plants and industrial settings are among the settings where contracting COVID-19 is most likely, according to Louisiana Department of Health statistics. As of Wednesday, officials had traced 36 outbreaks and 393 cases to bars,…
BATON ROUGE – Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration plans to hold back about $140 million in borrowing for construction projects legislators have deemed high priority, officials said Tuesday. In explaining the request, Assistant Commissioner of Administration Mark Moses referenced legislators’…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana’s gross domestic product declined 6.6 percent during the first quarter of the year, fifth most of any state, according to a U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis estimate. Nationally, GDP was down an estimated 5 percent. Every…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana legislators passed a $35 billion state budget with two hours to spare on Tuesday, a stark contrast from the frenetic final moments of other recent sessions. It was an unusual ending for an unusual session that…
BATON ROUGE – Workers who were on the “front lines” of the COVID-19 pandemic will receive $250 in one-time “hazard pay” under legislation the Louisiana House of Representatives approved Monday. House Bill 70 passed both the House and state Senate…
BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Senate approved two new tax benefits Sunday for businesses despite concerns the measures would chip away at state funding without offering much of a return for the taxpayers. Like many other tax breaks and incentives…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana House Republicans are attempting an end run around a potential veto to temporarily change how the state handles automobile accident claims. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed a bill passed during this year’s regular session that…
BATON ROUGE – The LSU Board of Supervisors on Friday voted without objection to strip the name of a former school president and segregationist from the main campus library. Troy H. Middleton was a senior Army officer best known for…
BATON ROUGE – Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed into law a proposal to expand access to the state’s medical marijuana program. Present law limits access to patients with one or more of a list of conditions. Act 286 adds…
BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana House of Representatives on Monday approved two bills that would make sweeping changes to how the state’s court system handles automobile accident claims. The measures are much like Senate Bill 418, which legislators approved during the regular…
BATON ROUGE – Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed into law a proposal to use $300 million in federal pandemic relief dollars to help small businesses harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic and response. Edwards previously had expressed concerns about the…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana lawmakers advanced more tax breaks and incentives Monday while raising concerns about whether the costs outweighed the benefits. “Nobody takes lightly having to cut things out of the budget, or takes lightly having to raise taxes,”…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana state senators on Sunday voted unanimously to create a task force to study and make policy recommendations to improve the training, screening and de-escalation skills of law enforcement officers. A House of Representatives committee approved a…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has vetoed legislation that would have drastically changed how the state’s legal system deals with automobile injury claims. Senate Bill 418 by state Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, was one of the…
BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana House of Representatives on Thursday unanimously approved a multiyear state construction budget. The House signed off on Senate amendments approved Wednesday and sent House Bill 2 to the governor’s desk. The bill calls for spending…
BATON ROUGE – After approving more than $100 million in business tax breaks and incentives Tuesday, a Louisiana House committee advanced a couple more Thursday, though they pumped the brakes on one and even advanced a new tax. The discussions…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed into law a bill meant to expand access to alcohol delivery. Lawmakers last year legalized delivering alcohol but said the deliveries had to be made by direct employees of the…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana legislators on Tuesday advanced a long slate of tax cuts and incentives that could be worth well over $100 million. The bills still have a long way to go before reaching the governor’s desk. Authors repeatedly…
BATON ROUGE – An LSU survey found a stark partisan divide among Louisiana residents over whether public health or the economy are more important when it comes to restrictions meant to control the spread of COVID-19. Most Democrats (89 percent)…
BATON ROUGE – Heavy rains and high winds lashed the Gulf Coast Sunday afternoon as Tropical Storm Cristobal neared land. President Donald Trump on Sunday announced he would grant Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards’ request for a federal disaster declaration,…
BATON ROUGE – A business task force assembled by Louisiana legislative leaders recommends tax cuts and incentives, legal protections, and deregulation as part of an effort to stimulate the state’s economy amid the fallout from COVID-19. The policy wish list includes many…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana’s move Friday into the next phase of loosening COVID-19-related restrictions will include reopening the state library and highway welcome centers, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser said Wednesday. Nungesser, who is the state’s top tourism official, also struck…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana’s head of child and family services on Tuesday literally begged a state committee for $2.2 million to hire 50 new workers. Marketa Garner Walters, secretary of the state Department of Children and Family Services, said she…
BATON ROUGE – Though there was no state budget to approve, Louisiana legislators still managed to create some drama during the closing moments of the regular session Monday. When the session expired at 6 p.m., legislators began a special session…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana legislators on Sunday prepared to wrap up one session and start another. The current regular session, suspended for more than a month amid the COVID-19 outbreak, must end by 6 p.m. Monday. A special session lasting up…
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana legislators have approved a change to the law meant to make it easier to have alcohol delivered. Last year, lawmakers legalized alcohol delivery but said the deliveries had to be made by direct employees of the…
BATON ROUGE – A district court judge has ruled for Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration in its lawsuit against Treasurer John Schroder over how to handle unclaimed financial assets. Judge Richard Moore III ordered Schroder to transfer $32.5 million from…
BATON ROUGE – A Louisiana House of Representatives committee on Wednesday revived an effort to take away parishes’ ability to sue oil and gas companies for alleged environmental damage. State officials have intervened in the lawsuits and could move forward…
