Latest Louisiana state government News
Louisiana's tough-on-crime governor-elect announces new leaders of state police, national guard
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Throughout his election campaign, Republican Gov.-elect Jeff Landry promised to prioritize fighting crime in Louisiana, a state that in recent years has had one of the highest homicide rates in the country. On Wednesday, he took steps that he said would...
Louisiana governor-elect names former Trump appointee to lead environmental quality agency
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov.-elect Jeff Landry appointed on Wednesday a former wildlife official from Donald Trump’s administration to lead the state agency tasked with safeguarding Louisiana's environment. Aurelia Skipwith Giacometto, who previously served as the director of...
4 more birds added to Louisiana's whooping crane population
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Four new whooping cranes are now a part of Louisiana's experimental population in Vermilion Parish, state wildlife regulators said. Whooping cranes are an endangered species and officials for more than a decade have been working to establish a...
Louisiana governor announces access to paid parental leave for state employees
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — With just two months left in office, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Thursday that nearly 70,000 employees will have access to paid parental leave following a birth, adoption or foster child placement. Currently, state workers use sick days or...
House Speaker Mike Johnson was once the dean of a Christian law school. It never opened its doors
WASHINGTON (AP) — Before House Speaker Mike Johnson was elected to public office, he was the dean of a small Baptist law school that didn't exist. The establishment of the Judge Paul Pressler School of Law was supposed to be a capstone achievement for Louisiana College, which...
Editorial Roundup: Louisiana
The Advocate. October 23, 2023. Editorial: Audit lifts voices of special education parents Not one line of the Louisiana Legislative auditor’s recent report on the Department of Education’s special education complaint system is shocking to parents of special needs...
Deal that led to Black representation on Louisiana's highest court upheld by federal appeals panel
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A 1992 federal court agreement that led to a Black justice being elected to Louisiana’s once all-white Supreme Court will remain in effect under a ruling Wednesday from a divided federal appeals court panel. The 2-1 ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of...
The Supreme Court refuses to speed the drawing of a new congressional map in Louisiana
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an emergency appeal from Black voters in Louisiana to speed the process of drawing new congressional districts in the state. The justices declined to overrule a federal appeals court, which last month blocked a district...
Editorial Roundup: Louisiana
The Advocate. October 18, 2023. Editorial: The Jeff Landry era begins Louisiana awoke Sunday morning to a new political era, after Attorney General Jeff Landry won a clear majority of the votes cast in Saturday’s gubernatorial primary and was elected without the need...
Appeals court blocks hearings on drawing a second majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge’s plan to hold hearings next week to draw up congressional boundary lines giving Louisiana a second majority-Black district was blocked Thursday by a divided appeals court panel. Supporters of establishing a second such district had hoped a...
