By Joby Richard
Sen. Dan Morrish received criticism at Wednesday’s TOPS Task Force meeting over his proposals to reduce awards to lower-performing students and increasing stipends for higher-performing ones.
Read the story in the Daily Advertiser.
Author: manshipxgr
Proposals made to looming state budget shortfall
By Natalie Anderson and Kaylee Poche
House Speaker Taylor Barras on Tuesday proposed new spending caps and other cost-saving measures that the Republicans would like to couple with any revenue-raising measures that Gov. John Bel Edwards seeks to deal with a looming state budget shortfall.
Read the story in the Daily Advertiser.
Felony class system could streamline sentencing
By Paul Braun
Members of a task force convened to streamline Louisiana’s criminal code voted Tuesday to recommend that the Legislature introduce a felony class system that would place more than 660 felonies into eight categories and provide more consistent sentencing.
Read the story in The Town Talk.
State GOP leaders tell governor’s office they will offer some budget solutions this week
Louisiana House Speaker Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, told the governor’s office that Republican lawmakers would offer cost-saving proposals on Tuesday and identify possible areas on Friday for possibly raising state revenue.
Katie Gagliano and Sarah Gamard
Louisiana House Speaker Taylor Barras told Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office Monday that Republican lawmakers would offer several cost-saving proposals on Tuesday and identify areas for possibly raising state revenue on Friday, aides to the governor said Monday.
Read the story in bestofneworleans.com/Gambit.
Words could take guns from Louisiana’s domestic violence offenders
By LSU Manship News Service
Which word should the state use to confiscate guns from people convicted of domestic violence without offending gun users and their powerful lobbyists?
That is a question with which the state Domestic Violence Prevention Commission has been struggling, and it has now made its choice: relinquishment.
The commission has decided to primarily use that word in its upcoming recommendations on how the state could better enforce a 2014 law requiring domestic-violence offenders to give up their guns.
Read the story in NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune.
Study: More students with disabilities heading to college
By Joby Richard
Three-fourths of students with disabilities who finished high school in 2017 earned diplomas through the TOPS University Pathway and qualified to attend four-year universities, a new study by the state Education Department has found.
Read the story in the Daily Advertiser.
Edwards, GOP legislative leaders continue to cross swords over details of Edwards’ budget plan
By Katie Gagliano and Sarah Gamard
As the window for calling a special session tightens, Gov. John Bel Edwards and House Republican leaders still are fencing over the details of his doomsday budget proposal and whether the Republicans will come up with an alternative plan next week.
Read the story in bestofneworleans.com/Gambit.
Task force proposes possible policy changes for LSU Greek life
By Alden Ceasar, LSU Daily Reveille
In an attempt to change university Greek life culture, the LSU Task Force on Greek Life proposed possible policy changes in its first meeting of 2018.
Read the story in the Daily Advertiser.
Bipartisan summit examines state redistricting process
By Natalie Anderson
Increasing concerns about Louisiana’s redistricting process and potential partisan gerrymandering have led groups like Fair Districts Louisiana to call on legislators to change the process before 2021.
Read the story in the Daily Advertiser.
Riverboat casinos gain steam to expand gambling on land
By Joby Richard
The chairman of a gaming task force said Thursday (Jan. 25) it would recommend that the Louisiana Legislature allow riverboats to place slot machines on land up to 1,200 feet from the shore to generate more revenue and compete with casinos in Mississippi.
Read the story in NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune.
LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau 