By Matt Houston
The Senate passed a pair of measures that provide dating partners, including those same sex relationships, the same protection in domestic abuse cases as spouses are afforded.
Read the story in The Town Talk
Traffic stop behavior bill up for final debate
By Tryfon Boukouvidis
The House Committee on Transportation and Highways Tuesday favorably sent to the full House for final debate a bill that would add to driver education training the appropriate behavior when the driver is stopped by a law enforcement officer.
Read the story in USA Today
Legislature reins in movie tax credit
By Caitie Burkes
The Louisiana Senate approved a bill, 33-3, last week that would end the Motion Picture Production Tax Credit program after eight years unless the Legislature votes to renew it and reined in the generous tax break for movie companies using the state as shoot locations.
Read the story in The Ouachita Citizen
Close, but no Israel in legislature
By Katie Gagliano
Rep. Valarie Hodges’ efforts to prevent the Louisiana Deferred Compensation Plan from investing in companies boycotting Israel were squelched in the House following more than an hour of heated debate when an amendment by Slidell Republican Kevin Pearson stripped mention of Israel and boycotting from the bill, all but gutting it.
Read the story in The Monroe News Star
Suicide prevention training may be mandatory for schools
By Caitie Burkes
The Louisiana Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a bill that would require all charter and nonpublic schoolteachers, counselors, principals and other administrators to undergo two hours of in-service training in suicide prevention.
Read the story in The Shreveport Times
Bill makes pregnancy prevention part of freshman orientation
By Katie Gagliano
A bill requiring public colleges and universities to offer pregnancy prevention information at freshman orientation easily passed through the Senate chamber.
Read the story in The Shreveport Times
Bill to give equal domestic abuse protection to same-sex couples fails in Senate
By Katie Gagliano
The state’s domestic abuse laws will continue to exclude same-sex couples after a bill to extend the law’s protections failed in a 17-14 Senate vote. But the measure may not be dead.
Read the story in The Daily Advertiser
Minimum wage bill killed in state Senate Finance Committee
By Matt Houston
The state Senate Finance Committee, buttressed by warnings that any mandated increase in the state minimum wage could cost jobs, today killed a bill that would have raised the state’s minimum wage from the federal minimum of $7.25 to $8 in 2018, and to $8.50 in 2019. The vote was 7-3.
Read the story in bestofneworleans.com/Gambit
Bill could lead to life in prison for some juveniles
By Caitie Burkes
A proposed change to Louisiana law that would allow district attorneys to seek juvenile life without parole for first-degree murder, but not murder in the second-degree, passed the Louisiana House Tuesday, 82-3.
Read the story in The Daily Advertiser
Roadwork, drainage, playgrounds: See latest changes to Louisiana construction budget
By Caitie Burkes
With efficient swiftness, the Louisiana House Ways and Means Committee has amended the capital outlay plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1. It’s contained in House Bill 2, arguably the current legislative session‘s second most important bill, after the operating budget in House Bill 1, because it authorizes spending on brick and mortar projects throughout the state.
Read the story in NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune
LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau 