By Tryfon Boukouvidis and Drew White
Another day, another standstill in the Louisiana Legislature as a potential compromise on tax issues between Democrats and Republicans dissolved in the House Ways and Means Committee Wednesday morning, leading to the deferral of more than half of the proposed bills.
Read the story in The Minden Press-Herald.
Katie Gagliano and Matt Houston
There are 12 Republicans and only seven Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee.
But the Republicans are too divided to pass any revenue-raising bills without help from the Democrats, and that has given the Legislative Black Caucus significant leverage in the negotiations over how to resolve a projected $1 billion budget shortfall.
Read the story in The Daily Advertiser.
By Devon Sanders
The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved creating a new website to make state spending more transparent despite concerns by the Edwards administration over the more than $700,000 cost. The bill will move to the House for a vote.
Read the story on WRKF.
By Ryan Noonan and Kaylee Poche
Discussion heated up at Tuesday’s House Ways and Means Committee hearing, as legislators expressed frustration over the inability of their colleagues to reach an agreement on how to deal with the state’s projected $1 billion budget shortfall.
Read the story in The Daily Advertiser.
By Natalie Anderson
A proposal to seek a constitutional amendment to make the state spending cap more restrictive by changing the way it is calculated was approved Tuesday by the House Appropriations Committee.
Read the story in The Shreveport Times.
By Tryfon Boukouvidis and Drew White
Do you want the state to take a small part of your federal tax cut savings to help solve its budget problems?
Right now, that will happen automatically for many Louisiana residents as the federal tax cuts lower the value of the deductions they can take on their state returns. And as the Legislature heads into a special fiscal session on Monday, it is one of the only possible aids to closing a $1 billion budget gap that both Democrats and Republicans seem happy to accept.
Read the story in WWL-TV.
By Joby Richard
The Gaming Control Board announced Thursday that it would ask three riverboat casinos in Northwest Louisiana to explain their consistent failures to meet voluntary minority procurement goals.
Read the story in The Shreveport Times.
By Katie Gagliano
Raising Cane’s is entering two of its newest markets aboard Panda Express.
Asian food-dining mogul Andrew Cherng, Panda’s co-founder and co-CEO, has inked a deal with the Baton Rouge-based company to franchise the chicken finger restaurant in Hawaii and Alaska, with plans to open locations there by year’s end.
Read the story in The Advocate.
By Kaylee Poche and Ryan Noonan
Gov. John Bel Edwards will have to put his personal popularity on the line to rally support for his proposals to close a $1 billion state budget gap if he continues to face resistance from Republican lawmakers, political strategists say.
Read the story in The Advertiser.
By Joby Richard
The state’s Gold Star Families Honoring Committee on Thursday approved the design for a monument near the Capitol honoring the families of fallen soldiers.
Read the story in The Daily Advertiser.
LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau 