LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau

Published: April 15, 2026

By: Izzy Wollfarth, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – Who should carry the burden when children with disabilities are not receiving the services they are entitled to under the law?

Rep. Alonzo L. Knox, D-New Orleans, posed this question on the House floor Tuesday while presenting House Bill 342 that would require local education agencies to present proof of appropriate special education programming in the case of a dispute.

The bill advanced by a vote of 98-3.

The present law requires that the Department of Education, the Special School District and local education agencies comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law ensuring that all children with disabilities are provided with free and appropriate public education that meets each child’s unique needs.

Knox’s bill does not create new standards or eligibility requirements for special programming but instead puts the responsibility on local education agencies rather than the parents of children with disabilities.

Read more at KATC.

Published: April 15, 2026

By: Sheridan White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — A House committee advanced bills Tuesday that would study the return on investment of the TOPS scholarship program and potentially reclaim money from students who drop out or fail.

House Resolution 17, presented by Rep. Christopher Turner, R-Ruston, authorizes a study to determine whether or not TOPS is delivering enough value to justify the state’s $320 million annual price tag.

The study would bring together the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Louisiana Workforce Commission, Louisiana Economic Development and the Kathleen Blanco Public Policy Center. Using decades of data, the review would examine whether TOPS recipients remain in Louisiana, what they earn and whether they enter high-demand industries.

Lawmakers said the lack of a thorough evaluation has left major gaps in understanding the program’s true impact.

The timing is also significant. With Gov. Jeff Landry projecting potential job growth in the state, legislators want to ensure that education funding aligns with workforce needs.

Read more at The Advertiser.

Published: April 13, 2026

By: Sheridan White and Kylah Babin, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — In the first step by the Legislature to transform Gov. Jeff Landry‘s proposed budget into its own, the House Appropriations Committee unanimously advanced House Bill 1 Monday that generally tracks his plan for a standstill state operating budget of $47 billion for the fiscal year starting July 1.

The bill, which pays down longstanding debt and increases workforce initiatives, now goes to the House floor.

“Members, when you take all this into account, the budget is fiscally responsible,” said Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, the committee chair.

The general appropriations bill, House Bill 1, determines how the state will use its funds for general operating expenses in the upcoming fiscal year, which starts on July 1.

Read more at The Advertiser.

Published: April 10, 2026

By: Sheridan White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – A House committee has advanced a proposal to reshape how the state addresses homelessness, blending criminal justice oversight with expanded access to treatment and support services.

House Bill 211, known as the Streets to Success Act, advanced out of the Judiciary Committee 12-4 on Thursday and is on its way to the House floor.

The bill proposes the creation of a new “homelessness court” program designed to be a step between criminal justice and social services. The initiative aims to balance accountability with compassion while emphasizing fiscal responsibility and long-term outcomes for individuals, families and neighborhoods.

Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, a former state prosecutor who chairs a different House committee on criminal justice, described the legislation as a shift in mindset.

Treatment would no longer viewed solely as a social service but as “a core public safety infrastructure.” The bill calls for a coordinated, statewide strategy that integrates criminal justice systems with housing, health care and homelessness-response efforts into a unified continuum of care.

Read more at KATC.

Published: April 10, 2026

By: AnnMarie Bedard, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE–The House Labor Committee voted 7-5 along party lines to kill a bill that would have established a state minimum wage starting at $12 an hour on Jan. 1, 2027.

Republicans voted against the bill, and Democrats supported it. The party split was similar to votes in most years since former Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, began trying to set a wage above the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.

Louisiana is one of five states in the U.S. that does not have a state minimum wage. Instead, employers use the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour that was set in 2009.

The bill, House Bill 353, by Rep. Tammy Phelps, D-Shreveport, would have further raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2029 and included cost of living increases starting in 2031.

Supporters of the bill voiced concerns about the effect of low wages on residents’ ability to deal with increased prices for necessities, like groceries and gas, and on economic development. Some said Louisiana has lost talent to neighboring states that offer higher wages. Arkansas raised its minimum wage to $11 in 2021.

Read more at WWLTV.

Published: April 10, 2026

By: Izzy Wollfarth, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – Wilbert Jones served 46 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, and after he was released, the state compensated him financially. Now, the Legislature seeks to increase financial compensation for people like Jones who were wrongfully imprisoned.

“People approach us when they know his story, and they make comments like, ‘Oh, you spent half of your life in prison,’” said Mary Jones, his wife, and “I have to correct them and say, ‘No, he has to be 92 years old before he’s even spent half of his life in prison.’” Current state law, passed in 2005, allows petitioners to be awarded up to $40,000 a year for up to 10 years following proof of factual innocence before a judge.

Petitioners are also awarded a one-time lump sum of $80,000 for loss of life opportunities, covering expenses for job skills, housing and education. Funds are provided by the Innocence Compensation Fund, a state fund created under the statute. Senate Bill 125 by Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette, would maintain the eligibility requirements and compensation amounts but extend the compensation cap from 10 years to 15 years.

The bill was reported favorably in the Senate Judiciary C Committee on Monday and is pending consideration by the Senate Finance Committee.

Read more at KATC.

Published: April 9, 2026

By: Avery White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — A bill that would have placed a cap on general damages in civil lawsuits was blocked 5-4 by a House committee on Tuesday after vigorous debate.

House Bill 526, authored by Rep. Kellee Hennessy Dickerson, R-Denham Springs, sought to place a $500,000 cap on civil damages, which did not include property damage, lost wages, tangible losses or medical bills. The proposed bill also would not have applied in cases of severe, permanent injury.

The bill aimed at lowering auto insurance rates by lowering the frequency of what Dickerson called “nuclear verdicts” that can produce millions of dollars in damage awards. If insurance companies no longer had to make huge damage awards, Dickerson said, those reduced costs would lower insurance premiums.

“In Louisiana, the same case can produce very different results, depending on where it is tried,” Dickerson said. “That unpredictability drives up settlements, increases litigation cost and forces insurers to price for worst-case scenarios. And, folks, guess what? Those costs fall on families, small businesses, on everyday policyholders.”

Read more at The Advertiser.

Published: April 9, 2026

By: Gracie Thomas and Izzy Wollfarth, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE –The Senate Commerce Committee advanced a bill Tuesday that would extend protections for high school and college student-athletes engaging in Name, Image and Likeness contracts.

NIL programs allow student-athletes to receive compensation from third-party companies for the use of their personal brand. This includes use of their name, photos, videos and voice in social media posts or promotional content.

J.T. Curtis, head football coach of John Curtis Christian School in River Ridge, told the committee that NIL deals, once exclusively a college issue, have extended into the high-school ranks.

Curtis, who holds the record for most career victories by a prep football coach in the U.S., told committee members that student athletes as early as the eighth grade are being taken advantage of by agents who are “selling the kids to universities.”

“They’re being directed; they’re being lied to,” Curtis said. “They’ve been told the grandeur of what is available without any expertise and understanding of law, with understanding contracts, with no limitation on the amount of compensation.”

Read more at WBRZ.

Published: April 9, 2026

By: Veronica Camenzuli, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — An amendment that would allow parishes to increase the homestead exemption failed 9-5 in a House committee hearing Tuesday while a Senate committee heard but deferred two similar homestead-exemption amendments.

The House Ways and Means Committee did not advance House Bill 440, which would have allowed parishes to increase the exemption up to an additional $5,000 of the assessed value, or a maximum of $125,000 off the market value.

“At a time when we have rising insurance premiums and a rising cost of living, this provides an immediate, tangible financial relief to Louisiana families,” said Rep. Candace Newell, D-New Orleans, who wrote the bill.

The current exemption is $7,500, which has not been increased since 1980.

Read more at Houma Today.

Published: April 9, 2026

By: Kylah Babin, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — The Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 3-4 Wednesday against advancing a Democratic bill that would establish a “Louisiana Voting Rights Act.”

The bill’s author, Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, and two other Democratic senators voted to move the bill out of committee. Four Republican senators voted against the bill, Senate Bill 365, which would have prohibited state and local government entities from imposing or enforcing any election practice that could suppress minority voting.

Well over 100 people submitted green cards in support of the bill, along with more than 70 emails sent to promote it passage, according to the committee’s chairman, Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen.

“We just ask for a fair opportunity, because we know when we get that opportunity, we can succeed and we can perform,” Sen. Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge, said during his testimony for the bill.

None of the Republicans who voted against the bill made any comments at the hearing about why they opposed it. 

Read more at Shreveport Times.