Latest Louisiana state government News
Congressman and Louisiana House member Buddy Leach dies
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Anthony Claude “Buddy” Leach Jr., who spent a term in the U.S. House and ran the budget committee in the Louisiana House before leading the state Democratic party, has died. He was 88. Leach died Saturday, according to a statement by Louisiana Gov. John...
Louisiana school district bans corporal punishment
OPELOUSAS, La. (AP) — A Louisiana school system is banning paddling students, saying the time to use corporal punishment in the classroom is long past. The St. Landry Parish School Board voted unanimously Thursday to specifically prohibit corporal punishment in the district's...
Abortion ruling prompts variety of reactions from states
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that had provided a constitutional right to abortion. The ruling was expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states, although the timing of those laws taking effect varies. Some Republican-led...
Editorial Roundup: Louisiana
The Advocate. August 1, 2022. Editorial: Baby steps won’t get Louisiana’s needy children into life’s fast lanes With a state budget flush with new revenues signed into law, advocates for improved child care — a bipartisan coalition of conservatives and...
Louisiana abortion providers file appeal, hope to block ban
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Abortion-rights advocates hope Louisiana’s near-total ban of the procedure will soon be blocked again, after plaintiffs in an ongoing legal challenge filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court Thursday. Access to abortion in Louisiana has been back-and-forth...
Some improvement in Louisiana standardized test scores
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A return to in-person learning is a factor in a small rebound in standardized test scores for Louisiana students, the state Education Department said Wednesday. The percentage of students in grades 3 through 8 who achieved levels of mastery or proficient on...
Louisiana abortion ban reinstated, clinics halt procedures
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Staff at Louisiana’s abortion clinics spent Monday calling patients to cancel procedures and direct them to resources in other states as Louisiana’s near total abortion ban is once-again in effect. For weeks, access to abortion in Louisiana has been...
Changes to marijuana laws among legislation taking effect
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Police in Louisiana can't use the smell of marijuana as a reason for warrantless searches of homes under a law taking effect Monday. It's one of numerous laws with an effective date of Aug. 1 approved during the 2022 regular legislative session. ...
State's Old Governor's Mansion's wallpaper a piece of art
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — People were socializing. Someone may have been giving a speech, but Elise Grenier couldn’t tell you what was said. She was too distracted by the hand-painted wallpaper, its romanticized scenes by an artist who possibly had never traveled to the United...
Beating victim cleared as Louisiana trooper awaits trial
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana has dropped its case against a Black man whose severe beating before his arrest in 2019 led to criminal charges and lawsuits against a state trooper. A traffic violation and charges of resisting an officer had been hanging over Aaron Bowman for two...
