Bare-knuckled fights over taxes, gambling and what schools should teach have ended with the conclusion of the 80-day legislative session. The circus has left Baton Rouge.
Though the nine-week legislative session that ended Thursday was punctuated by sharp racial divisions and occasional altercations, the 2021 Louisiana Legislature passed a remarkable number of bills on issues that have been put off for years.
A lot of the television and social media coverage last week centered on state Rep. Malinda White being hustled into a side room after losing her temper at a colleague in the center aisle of the Louisiana House chamber. Not as much publicity surrou…
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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed into law a measure that allows some people convicted of felonies in Louisiana to be able to serve on juries for civil and criminal cases.
As Louisiana's first legislative session of 2021 comes to a close, here are a few of the biggest bills that did and did not pass through the house and senate.
Louisiana's State Police are investigating whether a lawmaker's alleged threat of gun violence against a colleague on the House floor earlier this week warrants criminal charges.
The Legislature approved a sweeping bill Thursday that would gradually boost state aid for roads and bridges by about $300 million per year, which would be the biggest investment in Louisiana's troubled transportation system in nearly four decades.
Gov. John Bel Edwards is holding a press conference Thursday evening as the Louisiana Legislature ends its session, which saw the passage of laws on sports betting, marijuana decriminalization and more.
State legislators and Gov. John Bel Edwards are giving up what could amount to tens of millions of dollars over the next 32 years while agreeing to a tax settlement offer from the Harrah’s New Orleans casino.
Louisiana will be moving to elections using paper ballots under legislation finally approved about 90 minutes before the Legislature adjourned Thursday at 6 p.m.
Louisiana is poised to soon stop accepting the federal $300-a-week boost to jobless benefits a month early under a deal passed by lawmakers in the waning hours of the legislative session Thursday, a move that would make the state the latest to end…
A bill that would overhaul the duties of the Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy after a state audit blasted the board won final approval Thursday in the Legislature.
Legislation to increase the amount paid to people who have been wrongfully convicted of crimes in Louisiana cleared the Legislature Thursday.
A proposal to expand Louisiana's definition of domestic abuse to include controlling behaviors like coercion and intimidation was shelved on Thursday ahead of adjournment, spelling the end to legislation that faced unexpected opposition from the s…
Legislation detailing the framework of how Louisiana adults will be able to wager on sporting events – perhaps as early as football season – cleared its final legislative hurdle Thursday and is on its way to the governor.
Are you willing to give up a popular deduction on your state taxes in exchange for being assessed at lower income tax rates?
Gov. John Bel Edwards scoffed at lawmaker's efforts to reign in his spending powers and killed a handful of pet projects in conservative legislators' districts in a dozen vetoes to Louisiana's budget blueprint Wednesday night.
Legislation that would expand Louisiana's definition of domestic abuse to include behaviors like coercion and control was temporarily sidelined Wednesday after an emotional outburst on the House floor between the bill's chief sponsor and an opposi…
After off and on efforts for years, the Louisiana Legislature gave final approval Wednesday to a bill that would make kindergarten mandatory.
Gov. John Bel Edwards can jettison Louisiana’s official state song and replace it with two better-known tunes under legislation that will reach his desk Thursday.
The chairman of the state board that oversees gambling in Louisiana abruptly resigned from his position Wednesday, the same day he was likely to face questions from a legislative committee about actions he took as a State Police commander in 2019 …
A statewide network of walk-in clinics has agreed to pony up $36 million to resolve a contract dispute with the insurance agency covering state employees after officials last year discovered the vendor wasn't providing the return on investment pre…
Legislation to regulate advertisements by lawyers seeking clients with problems with drugs or medical devices won final legislative passage Tuesday.
Off-track betting parlors are eligible to get hundreds of a new type of slot-like machine under legislation that won final passage Tuesday and now goes to the governor for his consideration.
Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, for a second year in a row, vetoed Tuesday legislation by the House Republican majority leader that would have forbidden private contributions from defraying election costs.
Louisiana lawmakers gave final passage Tuesday to a proposal requiring doctors to suggest to women taking the abortion pill that the drug-induced effort to terminate a pregnancy could be stopped midway through the process, a scientifically questio…
A $3.9 billion funding plan for public schools has won final approval in the Legislature.
With the Legislative session entering its final hours, Black lawmakers joined social justice advocates Tuesday to decry what they say is a "double standard" at the State Capitol where wealthy corporate interests win big while everyday citizens get…
Late session legislative action moves things along Monday June 7, 2021, in Baton Rouge, La. as the session comes to a close on Thursday.
The Harrah’s casino in New Orleans would get a major tax break under legislation approved by the state Senate on Monday.
Louisiana senators Monday put the brakes on a bill that would have required motorists to use a handsfree device or speaker mode to talk on a cellphone while driving.
Student athletes at LSU and other schools would be able to profit from their name and likeness under a bill that won final legislative approval Tuesday morning.
An expansive effort to restructure Louisiana's fishing and hunting licenses and increase fees on commercial and recreational license-holders for the first time in more than two decades won easy approval from the Senate Monday.
Off-track betting parlors around Louisiana could get hundreds of slot machine-like devices under legislation approved by the House Monday.
Republican Louisiana lawmakers have taken aim at the coronavirus vaccine, sending Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards two bills that would keep state and local government agencies from mandating the immunization in order to receive certain services.
A House-passed bill that would revamp operations of the Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy after a critical state audit won Senate approval Monday 38-0.
The Legislative Auditor has cited several concerns about the administration of the state's unemployment program during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, including the allocation of federal jobless benefits, state worker overtime and the …
The late-session drive to find new state aid for roads and bridges took a major turn Monday.
Louisiana lawmakers have agreed to eliminate the possibility of jail time for possession of small amounts of marijuana, a sharp change in the state’s historically hard stance against the drug and the latest indication of shifting attitudes surroun…
Twice during the current legislative session, Senate President Page Cortez has taken extraordinary steps to help certain gambling companies that are represented by a former colleague who is close to Cortez.
High school students will be allowed to take African-American history courses to complete their TOPS curriculum requirements if Gov. John Bel Edwards signs legislation that passed both the Louisiana House and Senate with single vote against.
Four decades ago, more than a thousand residents in Tangipahoa Parish flooded – many for the first time – after Louisiana constructed Interstate 12 across a nearby watershed. Hundreds of homes washed away, dozens of small businesses went under and…
A House-passed bill that would gradually free up nearly $400 million per year for roads and bridges won approval Sunday in the Senate Finance Committee.
Spurred by Donald Trump’s fallacious assertions of a stolen election, Republican-dominated statehouses around the country have passed into law an unprecedented number of changes to elections procedures on the grounds of increasing ballot security.
Will Harrell, a criminal justice warrior at the State Capitol, scolded himself last week for thinking he saw a sea change in the traditional tough-on-crime stance that has made Louisiana a world leader for incarcerating its population. What he rea…
Louisiana bettors got a step closer to being able to start wagering on sporting events by fall if the governor approves the second of two bills that is about to clear the Legislature.
Louisiana lawmakers Thursday gave final passage to an effort pushed by Republican House Speaker Clay Schexnayder to begin the centralization of the state's sales tax collections, a long-sought goal of business organizations.
Louisiana rejected extending the end of the Hollywood tax credit for another couple years on Thursday night.
A Senate-passed bill that would make kindergarten mandatory neared final approval Thursday when the Louisiana House approved it 59-31.
Snakes are known for showing up in the State Capitol during the final days of the legislative session. But that’s usually a reference to slimy amendments that slither onto legislation from nowhere.
State Sen. Jay Morris, a Republican from West Monroe, attempted to pass a social media regulation bill through the Louisiana House Commerce Committee Thursday, but his attempt ended before it began.