BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — The Louisiana Senate has approved legislation to recognize occupational licenses and work experience from other states. "This bill simply stipulates that certain licensing boards shall recognize licenses from other states as long as both…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — A recent audit of college and university foundations in Louisiana shows several dozen across the state’s four higher education systems held more than $4 billion in assets in 2020. Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – The Louisiana House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations voted down legislation on Thursday to ban employment discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Representatives voted 7-2 to defer House Bill 439, sponsored…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — The House and Governmental Affairs Committee approved legislation to require state agencies to annually report progress on eliminating fraud, waste and abuse to the Legislature. The committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve Senate…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — A bill to create a Reading Education Savings Account Program for struggling students cleared the Louisiana Senate. Lawmakers approved Senate Bill 203, sponsored by Rep. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, with a vote of 24-13 to…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — The Louisiana Revenue Estimating Conference on Monday increased the state’s income projections for the current and next fiscal years, boosting figures for the state general fund by $350 million for FY 22 and $104…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Legislation to wean the state off of a temporary 0.45% sales tax ahead of its expiration in 2025 cleared the House Committee on Ways and Means this week. Committee members unanimously approved House Bill…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — A bill to impose annual road usage fees for electric and hybrid vehicles gained approval from the House Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee. Committee members voted 9-3 to approve House Bill 1031 to…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — The U.S. Department of Energy recently approved additional natural gas exports from facilities based in Texas and Louisiana. The Energy Department issued orders allowing the Magnolia Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal in Lake Charles to…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — A bill to shift authority over medical marijuana and expand cultivation in Louisiana has gained approval from the House Committee on Health and Welfare. Committee members voted unanimously to approve House Bill 566, sponsored…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — A constitutional amendment to spell out how Louisiana spends future federal alternative energy revenues from the Outer Continental Shelf was approved by the House. Members voted 94-3 to approve House Bill 636, sponsored by…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — The House Commerce Committee approved occupational licensing reforms designed to help previously incarcerated individuals and improve the licensing process. Committee members unanimously approved House bills 597 and 639 to change aspects of the state’s…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is suing UnitedHealth Group Inc., the state’s Medicaid administrator, over an alleged scheme to inflate prescription drug costs by billions of dollars. Landry filed the lawsuit against United and…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Louisiana lawmakers are considering legislation to create a special "tandem load" permit for trucks hauling shipping containers from the state’s ports in an effort to relieve issues with the supply chain. The Senate Transportation,…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Legislation that could help alleviate a critical teacher shortage in Louisiana by allowing retirees to return to work without losing benefits passed the Senate. Senators approved Senate Bill 434, sponsored by Sen. Cleo Fields,…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon is pursuing more than three-quarters of a million dollars in fines against five insurance companies over alleged violations of the state’s insurance code during recent hurricanes. The Louisiana Department…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — Legislation to make permanent tweaks to Louisiana’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP) that Gov. John Bel Edwards implemented through executive order in 2016 has cleared the Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee. The committee…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched an investigation into allegations the Louisiana departments of Environmental Quality and Health discriminated against black residents in assessing permits for large industrial plants. The move stems from…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is partnering with his colleagues in Montana, Iowa and South Dakota on legislation to funnel funds from duties on Chinese crawfish imports to domestic producers in Louisiana and…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – Civil rights groups and voting activists filed lawsuits challenging Louisiana’s new congressional redistricting map hours after lawmakers voted to override Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto of the maps. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – The Louisiana Senate has unanimously approved legislation to require schools to develop a plan to install cameras in self-contained classrooms by the end of the year. The Senate voted 38-0 to approve Senate Bill…
BATON ROUGE – Members of the Senate Finance Committee questioned the head of the Department of State Civil Service over recent reports of substantial raises for the agency’s top employees, including himself. Civil Service Director Byron Decoteau struggled to explain…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – A bill to exempt booking photos from public records has gained approval from lawmakers on the Louisiana House and Governmental Affairs Committee and now moves to the full House. Committee members voted 11-1…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – Officials with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Louisiana officials announced Tuesday nearly $3 billion in funding for disaster relief. HUD is allocating $450 million to Louisiana for recovery from…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – The Louisiana Department of Education has distributed more than $17 million in grants to child care providers across the state in a second round of stipends. The Department of Education’s (DOE) second round of…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – Louisiana collected more than $2.2 million in taxes for the first full month of mobile sports betting in February, more than a half-million dollars higher than retail sports betting through four months. Data from…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – Officials with the Louisiana departments of Children & Family Services and Health provided insight on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee. Marketa Garner Walters, secretary of the…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – Gov. John Bel Edwards addressed Louisiana lawmakers Monday on the first day of the new legislative session, delivering a state of the state speech focused on his budget, redistricting, storm recovery and legislative priorities.…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – Commentary from the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana broke down Gov. John Bel Edwards’ proposed budget for 2022-23, describing it as a “smart start” for deliberations in the Legislature. The Public Affairs Research…
BATON ROUGE (The Center Square) – The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has canceled oyster leases for dozens of owners for failing to pay rent. “As per Louisiana Revised Statute 56:429, any lessee who pays their rent on or…
