By Greg LaRose | Editor-in-Chief
We’ve arrived at Wednesday with a wealth of news from the world of state politics.
State Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, presides over a Senate committee hearing in 2023 with pictures of Mitchell Robinson III and Ezekiel Harry placed in front of her. The toddlers died days apart from one another in 2022, despite the state Department of Children and Family Services being alerted beforehand about both boys being in danger. (Greg LaRose/LAI)
By Greg LaRose
A state lawmaker’s proposal to close Louisiana’s child welfare agency has been put on hold while she and the head of that agency work on a compromise that will address the department’s chronic issues. Before agreeing to those next steps, the secretary of Children and Family Services heard a bevy of bipartisan complaints from members of a legislative committee.
Military decorations on a U.S. Army Airborne uniform. (Wesley Muller/LAI)
By Wes Muller
Lying about having served in the military could soon carry a serious prison sentence in Louisiana. A bill to criminalize stolen valor in state law would encompass false claims of military service, stolen veterans benefits and armed services members taking credit for medals or ribbons they did not receive.
A plaque commemorating those who protected the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection is displayed on March 17, 2026. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)
By Shauneen Miranda
The plaque to memorialize those who defended the U.S. Capitol from the Jan 6, 2021, attack, was quietly installed earlier this month in an area of the Capitol not usually visited by tourists. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson delayed installation of the memorial, which is at the center of a lawsuit by two police officers who defended the Capitol that day.
By Greg LaRose
If certain criminal defendants in Louisiana want to waive their right to a trial by jury, they will need a prosecutor’s approval under a proposal that has taken its first step toward the ballot. Opponents of the change say it would put too much power in the hands of district attorneys.
By LSU Manship News Service
Demand has been so strong that a program to help Louisiana residents obtain two-year associate degrees for in-demand fields exhausted its funding for the current fiscal year within the first six months. As they consider a request for an additional $119 million to help some of the state’s struggling four-year universities, some lawmakers are skeptical about providing the money while noting the success of its two-year programs.
D.C. DIGEST
Elections officials decry costs for states in SAVE Act | States Newsroom
Senate Republicans launch debate on photo IDs for voting | States Newsroom
How Thom Tillis became what passes for a GOP rebel | States Newsroom
NEWS FROM THE STATES
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