By D.B. Narveson
BATON ROUGE, LA. — The Senate Committee on Education, wrangling with a half dozen bills April 7 designed to transform the TOPS scholarship program, landed on one that unhooks the scholarships from tuition costs.
This Week at the Statehouse
By D.B. Narveson
FRUSTRATION OVER TOPS SURFACES AT HEARING
By Samuel Carter Karlin
BATON ROUGE, LA. — As the House Education Committee plowed through eight TOPS-related bills Wednesday, frustration with the tuition-paying program spilled over into a pointed exchange between Rep. Chris Broadwater, R-Hammond, and a representative from the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation which created the framework for the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students.
WELSH SEEKS TITLE AS CAJUN DICTIONARY HOME
By Nick Chrastil
WELSH, LA. — The town of Welsh, some 25 miles east of Lake Charles, has become a point of interest in the halls of power at the Louisiana State Capitol.
Among contentious legislative debates over funding cuts, revising the constitutional limitations and eliminating tax breaks, is a resolution that would allow this quaint town with a population that maybe touches 3,000 to call itself “The Official Home of the Cajun Dictionary.”
COASTAL PROTECTION AND RESTORATION AUTHORITY PLAN APPROVED
By Michael Tarver
BATON ROUGE, LA. — Louisiana legislators focused on coastal restoration and resources Wednesday, approving the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority plan for the fiscal year 2016-2017 detailing how to combat growing issue of land loss across the state’s Gulf Coast.
DO WANT TO BE BURIED WITH YOUR PET?
By Jack Richards
BATON ROUGE, LA. — The Senate Judiciary A Committee Tuesday killed a bill that would have allowed pets to be buried with their owners. The measure’s sponsor, Sen. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, said current law is silent on whether cemeteries are permitted to bury pet remains with human remains.
SENATE OKS VISITS TO PHYSICIAL THERAPISTS WITHOUT PHYSICIAN REFERRAL
By D.B. Narveson
BATON ROUGE, LA. — Patients seeking physical therapy for aches and pains would be able to visit a physical therapist without a prescription from a physician if a bill that passed Louisiana Senate’s 31-7 Tuesday gets approval in the House.
The bill is vehemently opposed by the state orthopedic surgeons.
REAL ID LICENSE BILL ADVANCES
By D.B. Narveson
BATON ROUGE — The House Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee moved forward with a bill that would give Louisiana drivers the option of obtaining a Real ID compliant driver’s license.
SENATE OKS VISITS TO PHYSICIAL THERAPISTS WITHOUT PHYSICIAN REFERRAL
By D.B. Narveson
BATON ROUGE, LA. —
Patients seeking physical therapy for aches and pains would be able to visit a physical therapist without a prescription from a physician if a bill that passed Louisiana Senate’s 31-7 Tuesday gets approval in the House.
The bill is vehemently opposed by the state orthopedic surgeons.
Lafayette, NOLA students rally for bill that ends trying 17-year-olds as adults
By Nick Chrastil
BATON ROUGE — Students from Lafayette and New Orleans joined lawmakers and activists on the steps of the Louisiana Capitol Wednesday for Youth Justice Day, a rally to petition legislators to raise the age of juvenile offenders from 17 to 18.
Louisiana is one of nine states in which 17-year-olds are tried as adults.
LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau 