Latest Louisiana state government News
High mercury levels in some Lake Maurepas fish bring meal restrictions, state officials say
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana residents are being urged to limit their consumption of fish from Lake Maurepas in Livingston and St. John the Baptist parishes where high levels of mercury have been detected. According to a fish consumption advisory issued by the state...
Supreme Court rejects appeal from Black Lives Matter activist over Louisiana protest lawsuit
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed a lawsuit to go forward against a Black Lives Matter activist who led a protest in Louisiana in which a police officer was injured. Civil rights groups and free speech advocates have warned that the suit threatens the right to protest. ...
Louisiana proposes bill similar to Texas’ migrant arrest law
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's Republican-controlled Senate advanced a bill Monday that would empower state and local law enforcement to arrest and jail people in the state who entered the U.S. illegally, similar to embattled legislation in Texas. Amid national fights between...
Louisiana Legislature opened window for sex abuse survivors to sue, but state's high court shut it
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Advocates for adult victims of childhood sexual abuse say they will ask Louisiana's Supreme Court to reconsider a ruling that wiped out 2021 legislation giving them a renewed opportunity to file civil damage lawsuits over their molestation. The ruling bucked a...
$15,000 reward offered for information about person who killed a whooping crane in Louisiana
MAMOU, La. (AP) — A $15,000 reward is now being offered to find out who killed a whooping crane in south Louisiana in January, officials said. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in a news release, announced last week that $5,000 is available for information regarding the...
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signs tough-on-crime legislation
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Eight recently passed bills, including legislation that will treat all 17-year-olds who commit crimes as adults and harsher penalties for carjackings, were signed by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry on Wednesday. Spurred by violent crime in Louisiana cities and a...
Baby pig that was tossed like a football is adopted and pardoned at Louisiana Capitol
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A baby pig that was rescued after being tossed like a football near a Mardi Gras event in New Orleans was “pardoned” Wednesday and has found a permanent home with a Louisiana lawmaker. The weeks-old little pink critter — dubbed Earl “Piglet” Long,...
Louisiana lawmaker proposes adding nitrogen gas and electrocution to the state's execution methods
BATON ROGUE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's infamous electric chair — dubbed by death row inmates as “Gruesome Gertie” — was last used for an execution in 1991, when the state moved to lethal injections as the sole method to carry out capital punishment. However, like other...
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry calls for special session, focused on tough-on-crime policies
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry on Thursday officially called for a highly anticipated crime-focused special legislative session that could overhaul the state's current criminal justice system, reversing hard-fought and historic reforms that happened under Landry's Democratic...
Louisiana's GOP governor plans to deploy 150 National Guard members to US-Mexico border
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Following the extraordinary collapse of a border security dea l in Congress, Gov. Jeff Landry said Thursday that he will deploy Louisiana National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas. Landry announced the plan at a news conference at Louisiana's...