Sunday Brunch

By Greg LaRose | Editor-in-Chief

On this day in history in 1990, the USSR’s Congress of People’s Deputies elected Mikhail Gorbachev president of the Soviet Union.

By Piper Hutchinson

 Gov. Jeff Landry used his annual State of the State speech on the first day of the regular legislative session to pitch his agenda. He is calling for the legislature to double funding for his private school voucher program and take action to hold “incompetent” judges accountable. Also in his sights this year are more state dollars for workforce development programs, eliminating the state income tax and creating a new, cheaper vehicle inspection sticker.

By Julie O’Donoghue

Gov. Jeff Landry initially pushed to include far more elected offices in the closed party primary system, including governor and all legislative seats. But state lawmakers, particularly in the Senate, were uncomfortable with that proposal. The compromise between the governor and legislators involved placing a few offices into the closed party primary initially.

By Piper Hutchinson

A Louisiana Senate committee has advanced two bills that seek to criminalize disruptive protests in and near churches, but free speech advocates believe they are unconstitutional. A separate House bill goes further by exempting clergy and church-goers from being sued for physically removing someone trespassing at a house of worship. 

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. 

Doing away with the state income tax has been a goal of some state Republican leaders for years and has emerged as one of Gov. Jeff Landry’s objectives since he took office in January 2024. But key legislators say the idea is still out of reach, even with a supermajority of GOP members in the statehouse. 

Members of the Louisiana Legislature are sinking their teeth into a proposal to open up a new recreational alligator hunting season in the state. Sport hunters can currently pursue alligators in Louisiana’s public waters and wildlife management areas only if they have access to tags from a state-licensed hunter or helper

The Democratic National Committee has filed a lawsuit in federal court aiming to force the Trump administration to admit if it plans to send armed federal law enforcement or U.S. troops to polling locations in the upcoming midterm elections. 

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.

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia now reject at least some federal vaccine guidance as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to de-emphasize the importance of childhood vaccinations under U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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