By Greg LaRose | Editor-in-Chief
Just like the Louisiana festival calendar, there’s a lot going on at the State Capitol this time of year.
Louisiana House Appropriations chairman Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, helped put together the latest version of the state budget proposal for the 2026-27 fiscal year. (Photo by Greg LaRose/LAI)
By Julie O’Donoghue
The latest version Louisiana’s proposed $51 billion budget for the next fiscal cycle would boost spending for a wide range of criminal justice and law enforcement entities, including prisons, juvenile jails, crime labs, state police and K-12 school security. Yet one of the biggest ticket items in the budget — how much public school teachers and support staff will be paid — remains on hold.
Louisiana’s Medicaid program could expand access to popular weight-loss medications such as Wegovy and Zepbound for obesity treatment starting in January. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
By Julie O’Donoghue
Louisiana’s Medicaid program could expand access to popular weight-loss medications such as Wegovy and Zepbound for obesity treatment starting in January. Loosening the criteria could eventually cost the state more money than initial projections, however. Other states with Medicaid programs that cover obesity drugs have already started scaling back access over concerns about the expense.
Herman Evans, who spent decades in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, embraces a supporter after a Louisiana Senate committee approved a bill April 29, 2025, that would allow persons convicted by a split jury verdict to seek a retrial. The bill eventually failed on the Senate floor, but a similar measure has advanced from a Senate committee again this year. (Delaney Nolan for LAI)
By Veronica Camenzuli, LSU Manship News Service
A bill that would allow a committee to recommend parole to incarcerated people convicted in Louisiana through non-unanimous jury verdicts has advanced from a state legislative committee. Democrats and advocacy groups opposed the bill, saying it does not go far enough to correct the problems.
By Jennifer Shutt
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. testified before Congress that he’s not pleased with how spending cuts to programs that help lower-income Americans afford food will affect his efforts to bolster healthy eating habits.
By Chip Brownlee, The Trace
Red flag laws allow authorities to remove firearms from dangerous people. They once enjoyed support from across the political spectrum, including from President Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association. Now, six states have prohibited enforcing the orders and, in some cases, prescribed fines or criminal charges for officials who try. Three other states are considering similar bans.
D.C. DIGEST
Democrats excoriate proposed Trump cuts for food aid | States Newsroom
With GOP defections, House extends Haitian protections | States Newsroom
NEWS FROM THE STATES
ICE officer charged for threatening people with a gun | MN Reformer
Strict bathroom ban leads husband-wife doctors to leave state | ID Capital Sun
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