Latest Louisiana state government News

Advocates ask Supreme Court to back Louisiana's new, mostly Black House district

May. 08, 2024 16:40 PM EDT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Voting rights advocates filed an emergency motion Wednesday asking the Supreme Court to keep a new Louisiana congressional map in place for this year's elections that gives the state a second majority Black district. A divided panel of federal judges in western...

Judges say they'll draw new Louisiana election map if lawmakers don't by June 3

May. 07, 2024 18:18 PM EDT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A panel of federal judges who recently threw out a congressional election map giving Louisiana a second mostly Black district said Tuesday the state Legislature must pass a new map by June 3 or face having the panel impose one on the state. However, voting...

Advocates say Supreme Court must preserve new, mostly Black US House district for 2024 elections

May. 01, 2024 19:08 PM EDT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Voting rights advocates said Wednesday they will go to the Supreme Court in hopes of preserving a new majority Black congressional district in Louisiana for the fall elections, the latest step in a complicated legal fight that could determine the fate of political careers and...

Louisiana Supreme Court rules for new City of St. George

Apr. 29, 2024 19:56 PM EDT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana is steps closer to getting a new city. The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Friday in favor of the proposed City of St. George, saying organizers followed the proper process for incorporation, overturning rulings by lower courts. The state’s...

Conservative states challenge federal rule on treatment of transgender students

Apr. 29, 2024 17:10 PM EDT

Several Republican state attorneys general are challenging a federal regulation that seeks to protect the rights of transgender students in the nation's schools by banning blanket policies that bar transgender students from school bathrooms aligning with their gender, among other provisions. ...

High mercury levels in some Lake Maurepas fish bring meal restrictions, state officials say

Apr. 18, 2024 18:12 PM EDT

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

Apr. 15, 2024 10:01 AM EDT

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

Apr. 08, 2024 22:41 PM EDT

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

Mar. 26, 2024 17:07 PM EDT

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

Mar. 11, 2024 19:21 PM EDT

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...