LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau

Published: June 01, 2023

By: Allison Allsop, LSU Manship School News Service

The Senate Education Committee unanimously advanced two bills Thursday that would relax vaccine requirements for K-12 students.

Rep. Kathy Edmonston, R-Gonzales, wrote both bills. Colleges and universities are no longer included in the bills after amendments by the committee.

House Bill 182 would prohibit Covid-19 vaccinations as a condition of enrollment or continued enrollment in any public or private K-12 schools.

House Bill 399 would require schools to provide exemption information for any type of vaccine.

Read more at the Shreveport Times

Published: June 01, 2023

By: Eliza Stanley, LSU Manship School News Service

Seventy-seven percent of Louisiana residents say a woman should be able to obtain a legal abortion if she became pregnant after being raped, according to an LSU survey released Thursday.

That finding is at odds with Louisiana’s near-total ban on abortions. Earlier this month, a state House committee rejected a bill that would have added exceptions for cases of rape and incest to Louisiana’s abortion ban, one of the strictest in the country. Lawmakers shot down the bill in a 10-5 vote.

The final installment of the Louisiana Survey, conducted by LSU’s Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs, shows a continuing shift in Louisiana residents’ attitudes toward abortion in recent years.

Fifty-two percent of the people interviewed lean toward abortion being legalized. Eighty-five percent say that a woman should be able to obtain an abortion if her life is seriously threatened due to pregnancy, and two-thirds say abortion should be legal if there is a strong chance of the child having a lethal birth defect.

Read more at Louisiana Illuminator

Published: June 01, 2023

By: Claire Sullivan, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE, La. (LSU Manship School News Service) — He paced the Tiger Stadium sidelines, gave rousing locker room speeches and traveled with the football team. But this unofficial coach could not leave Louisiana without temporarily giving up his gubernatorial powers.

In a new book, “Kingfish U: Huey Long and LSU,” LSU professor Robert “Bob” Mann documents the intense relationship between former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Huey P. Long and the university he helped build into its modern form.

An unofficial football coach, Long also acted as the university’s de facto co-president and a member of the LSU Board of Supervisors. Though he never attended LSU, and was once its opponent, Long set the university on a new path to national recognition.

Long helped expand the campus and bolster enrollment, increasing state funding for the university and opening its doors to students from more economic backgrounds. (Though, at the time, still only those who were white.)

Read more at KLFY

Published: June 01, 2023

By: Claire Sullivan, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE, La. —The House Education Committee rejected a resolution Wednesday that would have asked public schools, including universities, to provide information on programs and activities related to critical race theory, diversity, equity and inclusion, and social-emotional learning.

The resolution was deferred on a 6-5 vote. Two Republicans—Reps. Vincent “Vinney” St. Blanc III, of Franklin, and Barbara Reich Freiberg, of Baton Rouge—joined four Democrats in rejecting the proposal.

A major contention point, highlighted by public education officials at all levels, was the resolution’s lack of definitions for the various subjects. The vote also represented a relatively rare instance in which Louisiana Republicans blocked a push on a cultural issue targeted by national party activists.

Rep. Ken Brass, D-Vacherie, asked the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, to define critical race theory. She dodged the question, saying, “different people interpret it different ways.”

Read more at KATC

Published: May 31, 2023

By: Allison Allsop, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE—A House committee passed a bill Tuesday that would require printing the number for a crisis hotline on the back of driver’s licenses.

Senate Bill 34, authored by Sen. Louie Bernard, R-Natchitoches, passed its first hurdle in the House without any objection. This bill would require that “Crisis Lifeline dial 988” be printed on all state-issued driver’s licenses as well as personal identification cards.

Bernard said a few college students had approached him about their friends committing suicide. They wanted to print the crisis number on student ID cards. From the conversation, it was seemed like it would be useful on all licenses, according to Bernard.

“When you’re in a moment of emotional crisis, there should be a place where you automatically know that number I need is on there,” Bernard said.

Karen Stubbs from the Louisiana Department of Health said that the 988 hotline is confidential, toll-free and open 24/7. It is a national number with connections to more than 200 crisis centers. The lifeline routes calls by the caller’s area code to the nearest crisis center.

Read more at The Houma Times

Published: May 31, 2023

By: Eliza Stanley, LSU Manship School News Service

Seventeen percent of Louisiana residents say insurance companies canceled their homeowner’s policies last year, according to an LSUsurvey released Tuesday.

And a majority of residents polled say insurance rates are on the rise and are higher than in other states.

In the second of three installments of the Louisiana Survey, conducted by LSU’s Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs, 63% of homeowner’s insurance policyholders and 54% of flood insurance ones said the cost of coverage has increased in the past year.

Of automobile insurance policyholders, 43% said they pay more compared to the previous year, while only 10% said they pay less.

A majority of participants also said insurance rates are higher in Louisiana than in other states. Sixty-nine percent of the people interviewed said homeowner’s insurance costs more here, 71% said flood insurance costs more and 67% said automobile insurance costs more in Louisiana.

Read more at NOLA.com

Published: May 30, 2023

By: Claire Sullivan, LSU Manship School News Service

Under a bill that cleared another legislative hurdle Tuesday, it would be a misdemeanor crime to be within 25 feet of a police officer on the job who gives orders to stay back.

The bill, authored by State Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Pineville, made it through the Louisiana Senate Judiciary C Committee on a 4-2 vote after passing through the House earlier this month.

Sens. Gary Carter, D-New Orleans, and Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, cast the opposing votes.

If it passes into law, the bill would impose a fine of up to $500, imprisonment up to 60 days or both for those found in violation of police orders to stay away.

Johnson said his bill is a safety measure for officers. Critics raised concerns about its constitutionality, the potential for abuse and the limitations on the public’s ability to film officers. They also noted that Louisiana law already prohibits people from interfering with police duties.

Read more at Louisiana Illuminator

Published: May 30, 2023

By: Piper Naudin, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE–A Senate committee advanced a bill, 5-1, giving voters a chance to amend language in the Louisiana Constitution to say that involuntary servitude and slavery “are forever prohibited.”

Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge, presented House Bill 211 to the Senate Judiciary A Committee. The committee approved amendments clarifying that the bill would not affect labor programs within the criminal justice system.

Committee Chairman Sen. Barrow Peacock, R-Bossier City, questioned the purpose of the bill if it would not provide any real change. Jordan stated that HB 211 and its amendments were just language clean-up measures.

“This bill has a symbolic meaning,” Jordan said. “It is impactful and meaningful to all of the black men, women, and children in Louisiana.”

Read more at Bossier Press-Tribune

Published: May 30, 2023

By: Jenna Bridges, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — A Senate committee advanced a bill, 4-1, that would allow permitless
concealed carry for residents over 21.

Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, presented House Bill 131 to the Senate Judiciary B
committee Tuesday.

The committee amended the bill to change the age requirement for carrying concealed firearms without obtaining a permit or training to 21 from 18.

Three Republicans and Sen. Gregory W. Tarver Sr., a Democrat from Shreveport, supported the bill. Sen. Joseph Bouie Jr., D-New Orleans voted in opposition to it.

Read more at WBRZ

Published: May 26, 2023

By: Claire Sullivan, LSU Manship School News Service

The Louisiana Legislature has unanimously approved a $50 billion plan to protect and restore the state’s diminishing coast over the next 50 years.

“We’re not just throwing money at the problem,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said Friday in a press conference lauding the plan that is updated by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority every six years. “We’re doing it in a way that really makes sense, that follows the science.”

Edwards called the plan the most robust coastal effort in the country and maybe the world.

The Legislature also unanimously approved the authority’s budget for the next fiscal year, which totaled an unprecedented $1.6 billion for coastal restoration and hurricane protection projects.

In a session marked by battles over the budget and cultural issues, the hefty coastal plan received no dissent from lawmakers.

Read more at Louisiana Illuminator