LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau

Published: March 26, 2026

By: AnnMarie Bedard, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE—Though a voting rights advocate cautioned that technology used for voter checks could pose security risks to residents’ personal identification information, the House Governmental Affairs Committee voted 9-7 Wednesday to move forward with a bill requiring use of the system.

Louisiana election officials have used the technology, called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, to remove 403 noncitizens from the voting rolls. 

The program, run by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is designed to flag potentially ineligible voters. 

The bill, House Bill 691, would require state election officials to check the names of all Louisiana voters in the database each year to ensure that they were citizens.

However, opponents argued that could lead to breaches of sensitive personal data, including Social Security numbers.

Read more at Minden Press-Herald.

Published: March 26, 2026

By: Sheridan White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — A proposal from Rep. Timothy Kerner, R-Lafitte, aims to close the long-standing gap in Louisiana’s seafood labeling laws, building on years of legislative efforts to protect one of the state’s signature industries.

House Bill 857, which advanced without opposition in the Committee on Natural Resources and Environment, addresses the issue of commingling, the mixing of domestic and imported seafood products in a way that makes it difficult to verify the food’s origin.

The bill would introduce penalties for such practices, which regulators say have been difficult to police under current law.

According to Commissioner of Agriculture Mike Strain, the challenge lies in jurisdiction.

“If it were a state product, we could go in and inspect it,” Strain said at a hearing Wednesday. “If it were an imported product, we are somewhat prohibited under federal law.”

Read more at Daily Advertiser.

Published: March 26, 2026

By: Sheridan White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, introduced two pieces of legislation focused on tightening Louisiana’s bail laws for individuals convicted of certain crimes against children.

Both measures advanced without opposition in the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee, reflecting broad concern among lawmakers about gaps in the current system.

The bills were prompted by a recent highly controversial case in which an individual convicted of aggravated rape of an 8-year-old was granted post-conviction bail so that he could take care of his mother at home.

Lawmakers were particularly alarmed because the individual was living near the victim, raising serious concerns about public safety and the protection of vulnerable children.

“I think that is so offensive, so I thank you for correcting the problem, protecting our most vulnerable,” said Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton.

Read more at Daily Advertiser.

Published: March 26, 2026

By: Sheridan White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE–Louisiana lawmakers are advancing a new effort to crack down on hazing on college campuses.

The House Education Committee pushed forward a bill Wednesday by Rep. Vanessa LaFleur, D-Baton Rouge, to strengthen accountability for campus organizations involved in dangerous practices.

The proposal, House Bill 636, comes with the backing of New Orleans City Councilman Jason Hughes, a former legislator and current chairman of the Caleb Wilson Hazing Prevention Task Force.

The bill is in direct response to the death of Southern University student Caleb Wilson, whose parents, Urania and Corey Wilson, attended the committee meeting in support of the measure.

Read more at KATC.

Published: March 25, 2026

By: Sheridan White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – A proposal by Rep. Kyle Green, D-Marrero, is sparking debate over how, and when, Louisiana’s Legislature should conduct its work.

House Bill 752, advanced by a House committee on Tuesday, aims to significantly reshape the state’s legislative calendar and the constitutional framework that governs it.

At the heart of the bill is a proposed constitutional amendment to shift the start date of Louisiana’s legislative session.

Currently, the session begins in March or April each year and lasts into June.

HB 752 would move the start date to the second Monday in January, and the last day would be no later than May 1 st unless two-thirds of the lawmakers voted to extend the session.

While that change alone is notable, the broader intent of the bill is to grant lawmakers, who serve part-time, more control over their own schedule by transferring certain constitutional mandates into joint legislative rules.

Read more at WBRZ.

Published: March 25, 2026

By: Dakota Laszlo, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — New Medicaid rules requiring recipients to work and reverify coverage every six months will disproportionately affect the 85% of Native Americans living in Louisiana, tribal leaders and Indigenous experts say.

While the 4,000 Native Americans belonging to four tribes officially recognized by the federal government under longstanding covenants are not affected by the new Medicaid rules, roughly 24,000 members of 11 state-recognized tribes will be subject to the new regulations.

“Instead of investing the time and the energy to think of more efficient and impactful ways to create the infrastructure around the problem, the common decision has just been to run away from the problem,” said Devon Parfait, chief of the state-recognized Grand Caillou Dulac tribe.

Read more at Daily Advertiser.

Published: March 25, 2026

By: Veronica Camenzuli, Izzy Wollfarth and Addi Loftis LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — A bill asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment giving legislators a say in removing judges advanced through a Senate Judiciary committee Tuesday.

Other bills advancing through judiciary committees would provide for an increase in infrastructure protections from foreign adversaries, and a ban on those who threaten student athletes from involvement in sports and mobile wagering.

Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, said Senate Bill 123 would ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment to give legislators with a way to “hold judges accountable” beyond the current judicial commission.

He mentioned five cases where two juvenile court judges in Orleans Parish, Judge Candice Bates-Anderson and Judge Ranord J. Darensburg, released minors who faced charges for multiple crimes. After release, police arrested them on additional charges escalating in severity and violence.

Read more at KATC.

Published: March 25, 2026

By: Avery White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – Bills creating an annual recreational alligator season from October through December have begun advancing through the state Legislature this week.

Following the passage of Senate Bill 244 on Monday to establish a recreational alligator hunting season, Rep. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, presented a tandem bill creating the licensing and fees associated with the potential hunting season to the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee. The bill passed favorably with amendments, but its sister bill in the Senate is expected to face opposition when it reaches the House committee.

The bills, if passed, would create a recreational alligator hunting season from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, which would dovetail with the booming commercial industry in the state.

The legislation is a response to a resurgence of the alligator population, which has had a large rebound in recent decades after the species was placed on the endangered list and hunting was banned in the 1960s. Since then, the population has made a full recovery, with more than 2 million wild alligators in the state, according to the LSU AgCenter.

Read more at KATC.

Published: March 24, 2026

By: Kylah Babin, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — Local journalists are making final preparations to perform this year’s Gridiron Show, a satirical performance poking fun at Louisiana politics, sports and news.

The show debuted in 1952 and remains Louisiana’s longest-running political satire show. This will be its 74th run filled with songs and skits.

This year, the show features a variety of memorable moments, from Lane Kiffin’s enormous contract to the mud-slinging U.S. Senate race.

“We got multiple skits on that,” said Louisiana Capital Correspondents Association President Charles Lussier, referring to the Senate race. “We’re doing a thing with Bill Cassidy and Julia Letlow and their sudden interaction. They got a song together.”

Read more at Daily Advertiser.

Published: March 23, 2026

By: Gracie Thomas and Kylah Babin, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – Department of Children and Family Services officials are working to improve Louisiana’s foster care system by advocating for a 50% increase in largely unchanged living-expense rates to help foster families cover basic necessities, DCFS Secretary Rebecca Harris said in a Senate committee meeting Monday.

The agency is hoping to increase the foster parent board rates, which have been adjusted for inflation only once in 19 years, to encourage families to foster. Currently, foster parents receive $19.47 per day, a total of about $600 per month. The goal is to raise that rate to $900 per month. 

“Increasing board rates helps solve an imbalance,” DCFS Undersecretary Christopher Bahm said during the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 16. “Competitive, sustainable foster care board rates help us retain foster families and signal that Louisiana values the families who open up their homes for our children in need.”

National board rates vary from state to state, ranging from $450 to $1,200 per month per child. 

Read more at WBRZ.