Category Archives: Politics & Government
"Constitutional Carry" bill goes before House Criminal Justice Committee today. Will it pass this year?
At the Capitol, the House Criminal Justice Committee is scheduled to take up a bill to allow citizens to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, if they choose. Bill sponsor and Oil City Representa...
May 15, 2023 photo courtesy the Louisiana Illuminator (https://lailluminator.com/)
House Committee rejects bill to increase state legislators annual salary
The House Appropriations Committee has stopped an effort to increase the annual salaries of state lawmakers from $16,800 to around 39-thousand dollars. The panel rejected the proposal on a 16-5 vote. ...
May 15, 2023 Jeffrey Schwartz / CC
Louisiana Hospital Association CEO: Inflation caused layoffs at Ochsner, more hospital systems could do the same
Ochsner Health's announcement that it's laying off 770 employees across its 42 hospitals and 200 urgent care and health centers in Louisiana and Mississippi sent a signal the healthcare industry is st...
May 15, 2023
Teacher pay raises up in the air after House alters budget
The state budget which had monies earmarked for teacher salary increases of $2,000, has been altered by House Republicans to pay off teacher's retirement debt instead. Representative Jack McFarland sa...
May 13, 2023
Governor Edwards on anti-LGBTQ legislation
Bills targeting the LGBTQ community are advancing in the Louisiana Legislature. Governor John Bel Edwards was asked about the legislation, and he said it worries him because of the increased likelihoo...
May 12, 2023 Nikolas Gannon / Unsplash
House-approved bill to extend film tax credits clears Senate committee; amended to end in 2030.
A House bill to extend Louisiana's often-debated film & TV tax incentives is approved by the Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs, but not without some changes. The bill originally sough...
May 11, 2023
Gov Edwards says failure to add exceptions to abortion ban is disappointing
Governor John Bel Edwards expressed his disappointment that lawmakers failed to advance legislation to add exceptions for rape and incest to the state's abortion ban. Edwards said it's extremely unfor...
May 11, 2023 Gayatri Malhotra / Unsplash
A bill that raises the minimum wage gets out of a Senate committee
Legislation that would raise Louisiana's minimum wage to $10 per hour next year and up to $14 per hour in 2028 was approved by Senate Labor Committee in a 3-2 vote. Louisiana is one of 21 states that ...
May 11, 2023 Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
"Cody's bill" : Legislation to require offenders in vehicular homicide to pay restitution to the victim's child advances to the House floor
A bill requiring a person found guilty in fatal DUI cases to pay restitution to the surviving children of the victims until they reach 18 was approved by the House Criminal Justice Committee. Supporti...
May 10, 2023 Jeffrey Schwartz / CC
Bill to add exceptions to state's abortion ban fails in committee
A bill to add the exceptions of rape and incest to the state's abortion ban failed in the House Criminal Justice Committee this morning. Bill author New Orleans Representative Delisha Boyd told commit...
May 10, 2023 Stuart Seeger / CC
