BATON ROUGE – An advisory panel to the governor recommended Wednesday that the Legislature approve the latest draft of Louisiana’s master plan aimed at protecting coastal communities from inundation by the Gulf of Mexico.
Senate committee disappointed in FEMA flood aid
By Sarah Gamard
BATON ROUGE- Opposing views notwithstanding, there was consensus on one issue Senate Select Committee on Homeland Security meeting last week: federal aid to Louisiana since the August 2016 flood has been a disappointment.
Read the story in The Shreveport Times
Edwards makes case to fix $304M mid-year budget shortfall
By Sam Karlin
Gov. John Bel Edwards made his case Jan. 27 for combining the state’s “rainy day fund” and spending cuts to fix a $304 million mid-year budget shortfall, warning lawmakers that funding reductions will be “deep” and “painful” no matter what.
Edwards Calls for Special Session; Dardenne Argues Rainy Day Fund Use
By Matt Houston
Tax Commission Debates Implications of 2017 Emergency Rule
By Matt Houston
Tax Commission, Assessors wrangle over authority
By William Taylor Potter and Christian Boutwell
BATON ROUGE — Baton Rouge Attorney Brian Eddington and State Tax Commission chairman Lawrence Chehardy entered a heated discussion Wednesday during the Tax Commission’s meeting Wednesday whether local assessors or the commission has the more authentic authority to assess values for property tax purposes.
Neither was persuaded otherwise.
Continue reading “Tax Commission, Assessors wrangle over authority”
Some residents left out of flood aid package
By Matt Houston
The Restore Louisiana Task Force voted Friday to approve a distribution budget for the $1.2 billion allocated by the federal government for flood relief, but not all affected residents will receive full assistance.
Louisiana will never be able to restore 85 years of coastal loss, official says
By William Taylor Potter
BATON ROUGE — Bren Haase, chief of planning and research, painted a bleak future for Louisiana’s coast during the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority board meeting Wednesday (Jan. 18) should no counter-actions be taken by the legislative and executive branches. He presented a draft of the 2017 coastal master plan that calls for $50 billion worth of projects aimed at flood risk reduction and minimizing land loss.
Louisiana is Already Breaking Records before Election Day
By Laryssa Bonacquisti
Voter fraud issues in La. ‘ridiculously minuscule’
By Nicholas Chrastil
Louisiana’s chief election officer, Secretary of State Tom Schedler, says voters don’t have to worry about a “rigged election,” and charges his party’s presidential standard bearer, Donald Trump, with “overplaying the fraud card.”
LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau 