LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau

Published: May 10, 2023

By: Molly Ryan, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — A bill that would have added exceptions to Louisiana’s abortion ban for cases of rape and incest was rejected Wednesday by the House Criminal Justice Committee.

After hours of emotional testimony on both sides of the issue, lawmakers shot down the measure in a 10-5 vote, marking another blow to Gov. John Bel Edwards’ legislative agenda.

Pro-choice witnesses said that the current abortion ban, one of the strictest in the nation, would force young girls who are victims of rape to carry potentially dangerous pregnancies to term. They emphasized the possible negative mental health effects of being forced to carry a rapists’ child.

Several of the witnesses, including the bill’s author, Rep. Delisha Boyd, D-New Orleans, shared their own experiences with rape. Boyd said her mother became pregnant with her at 15 years old as the result of a rape. She said her mother struggled for years before dying at age 28.

In hindsight, Boyd said she understands the depth of her mother’s struggles and could not imagine forcing a young girl to go through the same thing.

Read more at The Daily Star

Published: May 8, 2023

By: Frank Kidd, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE–The House Agriculture Committee advanced a resolution to create a task
force to study the impact of using farmland for solar energy developments.

House Concurrent Resolution 45, written by Rep. Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, stated that the
Louisiana Solar Siting Task Force would “study the impact of, and alternatives to, locating solar
energy developments on farmland.”

The discussion featured Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, expressing his concern that solar
farms would destroy more jobs than they would create and that the task force would be filled by
members with ties to the solar farming industry.

Rep. Vincent St. Blanc III, R-Franklin, responded that the task force’s job would be to protect
farmers from making costly mistakes. He noted that many farmers’ decisions to lease land for
large installations of solar panels did not pan out.

Read more at Bossier Press-Tribune

Published: May 4, 2023

By: Gabby Jimenez and Claire Sullivan, LSU Manship School News Service

A House committee on Wednesday shot down a bill in a 7-5 vote that would have banned employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The bill would have added to current state law, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin or cultural hairstyle.

Rep. Delisha Boyd, D-New Orleans, told the House Labor and Industrial Relations Committee that her bill would help address a worker shortage in Louisiana.

“Skilled and talented people are in short supply in our state,” Boyd said. “We need to expand our employment pool regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation.”

Melissa Flournoy, a board chair of 10,000 Women Louisiana, a progressive organization, said that with other bills up this session opposed by the LGBTQ community, passing this proposal would send the message that “Louisiana doesn’t hate gay people.”

Read more at WWNO

Published: May 3, 2023

By: Jenna Bridges, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE, La. – The House Education Committee advanced a bill Tuesday requiring high school students to take a financial literacy course starting with the 2026 and 2027 graduating classes.

State Superintendent Cade Brumley and State Treasurer John Schroder joined Rep. Nicholas Muscarello Jr., R-Hammond, to introduce the bill. It would integrate instruction in life skills with instruction in economics, including income and taxes, money management, investment and spending and the importance of personal savings.

“Financial illiteracy is an epidemic in the United States,” Rep. Muscarello said.

While the bill would require 11th and 12th grade students to take one unit of financial literacy, it would not create an additional course required for graduation. Instead, financial literacy would be worked into the pathway, acting as a replacement for a math course or an elective.

Read more at KTBS

Published: May 2, 2023

By: Piper Naudin, LSU Manship School News Service

A House committee on Monday advanced a bill that would make it easier for victims and their families to sue illicit fentanyl distributors and even countries in which the drugs were made.

Lafayette attorney Robert Broussard joined Rep. John Stefanski, R-Crowley, to introduce the House Bill 586, which is intended to help deal with the nationwide increase in fentanyl-related deaths.

Broussard recalled how his daughter, JonTerez “Jaja” Antonia Broussard, was 20 years old when she unintentionally ingested fentanyl-laced drugs and died.

Broussard emphasized that she was the inspiration and motivation behind House Bill 586.

Read more at WWNO

Published: May 2, 2023

By: Oscar Tickle, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE, La. – Business owners: Would you hire a high school intern if you could receive a state tax credit of up to $2,500 in return?

That’s the proposal in House Bill 637, authored by Rep. Buddy Mincey, R-Denham Springs. It is not clear, however, how much that would cost the state, and Mincey agreed Monday to defer consideration of the bill until legislative budget analysts calculate that.

Under his plan, interns would have to go to public schools and would be paid for a minimum number of hours determined by the school. Students aged 16 and older would be eligible.

The internships would include classroom work as well as hands-on involvement in high-demand industries, including those that do not require a college education.

Read more at KTBS

Published: April 28, 2023

By: McKinley Cobb, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE–The House Judiciary Committee voted 7-3 Thursday to advance a bill prohibiting flavored nicotine products used in vaping.

HB 179 was authored by Rep. William Wheat, R-Ponchatoula. Wheat was concerned with the rising use of vapor and tobacco products by younger people. He described it as being “in epidemic proportions.”

Witnesses testified about the dangers of vaping. One witness was the mother of a Baton Rouge boy who died after using vapor and nicotine products.

According to Wheat, 52% of high school students have tried e-cigarettes–three times as many as in a study done in 2015.

Read more at the Daily Advertiser

Published: April 27, 2023

By: Gabby Jimenez, LSU Manship School News Service

State officials are trying to figure out how to remedy a decline in TOPS scholarship participation throughout the state. 

The Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, known as TOPS, is a merit-based scholarship funded by the state. The program offers scholarships to Louisiana residents attending public colleges, universities and vocational schools in the state. 

Kim Hunter Reed, Louisiana’s commissioner on higher education, spoke to the House Committee on Appropriations last week about the declining participation numbers during its meeting to discuss the 2024 fiscal year budget for higher education. 

As the number of high school graduates in the state has declined, so has the number of eligible TOPS recipients, Reed said. Acceptance rates for TOPS scholarships have also seen a decline, she said. 

Read more at The Ouachita Citizen

Published: April 27, 2023

By: Claire Sullivan and Gabby Jimenez, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE, La. – A bill that would ban classroom discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation outside of school curriculum passed the House Committee on Education 7-5 on Wednesday.

The proposal, House Bill 466 by Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton, also would require transgender students to get a permission slip from their parents for teachers to use the pronouns matching their gender identity.

And it enshrines in law that school employees do not have to use those pronouns “if doing so is contrary to the employee’s religious or moral convictions.”

A similar proposal authored by Rep. Raymond J. Crews, R-Bossier City, requiring signed permission from parents for trans students to use a different name and pronouns at school also passed 7-5. Both bills will go next to the House floor.

Read more at KTBS

Published: April 26, 2023

By: Molly Ryan | LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE–The Senate Finance Committee advanced a resolution Wednesday that would increase the state’s spending cap with a two-thirds majority vote of the Legislature.

Senate Resolution 3, brought by Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, would increase the cap for both the current and the next fiscal years to allow the state to spend more money from giant budget surpluses. Cortez argued the state is in a rare position to spend cash on one-time projects and debt.

The action on Cortez’ bill came after two groups of conservatives in the House voiced strong opposition this week to raising the spending cap, adding to the tensions between Republicans in the two chambers. How the fight plays out—and how much of the $1.8 billion in surplus funds are spent–may be the most important issue to watch in the legislative session, which runs through early June.

Read more at LSU Reveille