State

Confederate military monument legiislation defeated

XFollowing nearly six hours of testimony and six minutes of vote discussion, the Senate Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs Wednesday killed on identical 4-2 votes, a pair of bills Wednesday that would have made it more difficult to remove Confederate military monuments in Louisiana.

Governor calls special session

Gov. John Bel Edwards Wednesday served legal notice he intends to call a special session of the Legislature 30 minutes after the regular session finally adjourns at its official deadline, 6 p.m. June 8, if the lawmakers have not completed their work on three funding instruments.

Tax reform appears DOA

One of the last major tax reform packages of the session, one that overhauls the state’s tax code, likely is dead in the House after a core piece of Baton Rouge Republican Barry Ivey’s legislation was shot down Tuesday evening.

Minimum wage increase fails

The Senate Finance Committee, buttressed by challenged warnings that any mandated increase would cost jobs, killed, 7-3, a bill that would have raised the state’s minimum wage from the federal minimum of $7.25 to $8 in 2018, and to $8.50 in 2019. Washington, D.C.

Legislative wrapup

TOPS funding bill deferred By Katie Gagliano Manship School News Service BATON ROUGE — A measure to ensure consistent funding for the TOPS scholarship program was voluntarily deferred in a House Appropriations Committee Tuesday over concerns about diverting monies from the state’s general fund,...

House decides schools rule on corporal punishment

Louisiana lawmakers in the House determined Monday that local schools, not the state, should decide whether to spank or subject students to other forms of physical punishment. They rejected Monday 34-61 House Bill 497 by Rep.

Stripper age minimum stays 18

Sen. Ronnie Johns, R-Lake Charles, moved his Senate Bill 144, through the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday aims to protect young women from human trafficking by prohibiting strippers under the age of 18, three years younger than what he wanted. The tweaks, authored by Sen. J.P.

Demonstrators arrive to support monument bills

Demonstrators waved Confederate flags outside the Louisiana State Capitol Thursday in protest of New Orleans’ contentious decision to replace four monuments in his city representing Confederate leaders and in support of three bills before the Legislature that aim to protect those monuments.

House passes GOP budget funding TOPS, cutting money for health

House passes GOP budget funding TOPS, cutting money for health By William Taylor Potter and Matt Houston Manship School News Service BATON ROUGE – The GOP budget – that called for full TOPS funding and a $235 million cut from the Department of Health’s funding – passed the House relatively...

Bill to protect campus free speech advances

A House Education Committee recommended to the full House on Tuesday a bill that would protect free expression on college campuses by requiring the establishment of an official university policy affirming free expression and quashing barriers to free speech. House Bill 269 by Rep.