By Greg LaRose | Editor-in-Chief
Let’s get you up to speed on what’s happening at the legislature, starting with a proposal that’s going nowhere.
No chance Louisiana nixes its income tax this year, lawmakers say
by Wesley Muller
Gov. Jeff Landry’s proposal to eliminate the state income tax is struggling to gain traction as Louisiana lawmakers face difficult decisions to prevent a projected budget shortfall next year. Doing away with the tax has been a goal of some state Republican leaders for years and has emerged as one of Landry’s objectives since he […]
Lawmakers urge DCFS secretary to ask for more child welfare employees
by Greg LaRose
State lawmakers continue to call for improvement and accountability from Louisiana’s child welfare agency on how it responds to reports of abuse and neglect — most notably in cases involving child deaths when officials were made aware of previous problems but failed to take action. One legislator, Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, has submitted a […]
Louisiana universities could shield leadership search, donor records under advancing bill
by Piper Hutchinson
A Louisiana Senate committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would allow state universities to withhold records related to donors and leadership job applicants from public records requests. Senate Bill 289 by Sen. Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles, would create exemptions in the state’s public records law for the names of donors to public colleges and universities […]
Abortion opponents miffed at Trump’s attempts to dismiss another abortion pill case
by Sofia Resnick
The U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal court in Missouri to either pause or dismiss a lawsuit over the Food and Drug Administration’s decision last year to approve a new generic brand of mifepristone.
‘Medical conscience’ bills would let providers refuse more health care
by Anna Claire Vollers
Legislation in at least eight states would expand the rights of doctors, nurses, hospitals and even insurance companies to refuse to provide or pay for care — from contraception and fertility services to medical marijuana and childhood vaccines — that conflicts with their religious or moral beliefs. For years, most states have had so-called medical […]
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