Author: manshipxgr

Published: May 15, 2025

By:  Quinn Marceaux (LSU Manship School News Service)

BATON ROUGE–-A sweeping insurance bill advanced through the Senate Insurance Committee on Wednesday, though tensions flared over a controversial part that would expand the authority of Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple.

While most lawmakers and insurance representatives praised the bill’s consumer protections and transparency measures, such as requiring insurers to disclose previous premiums in sending out renewal notices, some warned that granting Temple more power to reject rate hikes could backfire.

But supporters of the bill, House Bill 148, argued that bolder changes are necessary to rein in Louisiana’s sky-high insurance premiums and restore public trust in the system.

Read more at WWNO.

Published: May 12, 2025

By:  Quinn Marceaux — LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE (Manship News Service) — The House Appropriations Committee advanced a $49.4 billion state budget Monday that funds $2,000 teacher stipends for next year, closes a nearly $200 million shortfall and balances the books without raising taxes.

To bridge the budget gap, lawmakers pieced together a solution using a mix of cuts, delayed spending and the discovery of unspent or underutilized funds tucked away in various agencies.

Read more at WBRZ.

Published: May 8, 2025

By:  Quinn Marceaux (LSU Manship School News Service)

BATON ROUGE–The House of Representatives voted 86-13 Wednesday to approve a bill that might further cut the state’s new flat individual income tax rate and create a tax break for seniors starting in 2027.

But the changes could occur only if voters were to pass a constitutional amendment allowing the state to shift hundreds of millions of dollars from reserve funds into the state general fund.

Wednesday’s vote was just the first step in a lengthy process.

Read more at WRKF.

Published: April 30, 2025

By: Anna Puleo, LSU Manship School News Service

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted 4-3 on Wednesday to
advance a health and nutrition bill that would restrict artificial additives in school meals and seek federal approval to block soft drink purchases under the SNAP food-assistance program.

The most debated parts of the bill were the school meal restrictions and proposed limits on SNAP, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Lawmakers amended both, softening language around when and where the rules would apply and creating exceptions for certain types of drinks like water with electrolytes or added vitamins.

Read more at Bossier Press-Tribune.

Published: April 30, 2025

By:  Ella Ray | LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE (Manship News Service) — A bill that would have let parishes vote on whether to have carbon sequestration wells in their areas failed in a 6-10 vote Tuesday in a state House committee.

The meeting of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment was packed as the committee heard several bills on carbon capture sequestration.

Read more at WBRZ.

Published: April 28, 2025

By: Quinn Marceaux (LSU Manship School News Service)

BATON ROUGE–The House of Representatives voted 74-17 to pass a bill that would shift the state’s official public notices from The Advocate newspaper to a government-run website.

House Bill 526 directs the Commissioner of Administration to create and maintain a new website that will serve as the primary platform for posting official information about boards, commissions and state agencies.

Under current law, the state is required to publish advertisements, proclamations and notices in a designated daily newspaper, incurring printing and contract costs.

Read more at WRKF.

Publsihed: April 25, 2025

By: Avery Sams |LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry and Louisiana insurance commissioner Tim Temple are at odds over how to fix the state’s insurance cost crisis–one of the most important issues being debated in the 2025 legislative session.

Tensions have been high as the two men have held competing news conferences and took turns testifying before a House committee, and the fight could hit the House floor as early as Monday. Landry testified before the House Committee on Insurance on April 16 in support of House Bill 576, which would give Temple more power to block excess insurance rates.

Read more at American Press.

Published: April 25, 2025

By: Grace Thompson (LSU Manship School News Service)

BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Senate Health and Welfare Committee advanced legislation this week aimed at closing gaps in child abuse investigations at early learning centers.

The bill moved forward following a heartbreaking testimony from a family whose 3-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted by a classmate at an unlicensed private school.

Senate Bill 41, introduced by Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, aims to clarify who holds responsibility for investigating child-on-child abuse in early education settings and strengthen oversight of unlicensed early learning centers.

Read more at WRKF.

Published: April 17, 2025

By:  Anna Puleo (LSU Manship School News Service)

BATON ROUGE—The House Education Committee on Wednesday advanced a bill to update funding for TOPS college scholarships and create a new award for the highest-scoring students.

It also advanced a proposal to offer TOPs scholarship to Louisiana residents who leave the state for their undergraduate years but return to go to medical or dental school.

TOPS awards for undergraduate students at state schools are now linked to tuition rates from the 2016-2017 academic year. The bill, House Bill 77, would update the amounts to match tuition rates starting in the 2025-2026 school year, with awards ranging from $3,000 to $11,300 based on students’ award level and the type of school they attend.

Read more at WRKF.

Published: March 31, 2025

By: Ella Armstrong and Caroline Burk (LSU Manship School News Service)

New Orleans native Mary Baudouin trekked across Capitol Hill last week to the offices of the top Republicans from Louisiana—House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senators Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy.

She and other Louisiana residents were volunteers for Jesuit Refugee Service, a Catholic group seeking reinstatement of funds for humanitarian aid.

Read more at WWNO.