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1 week ago | 
businessreport.com | Jeremy Alford |DAVID JACOBS |Holly Duchmann
LaPolitics: What is your take on the main spending bills? Invest in Louisiana Executive Director Jan Moller: The House Appropriations Committee did its best with the revenue it had available, which isn’t enough to meet the needs of the state and its people. It’s been described as a standstill budget, but in fact it represents a small cut from current levels. Teachers will not be getting the raise they deserve, but at least they won’t be getting a pay cut, and there are other holes here and there.
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2 weeks ago | 
businessreport.com | Jeremy Alford |DAVID JACOBS |Holly Duchmann
LaPolitics: Gov. Jeff Landry says he is taking a “balanced approach” to insurance reform. What is your take on how that’s working out? House Insurance Chair Gabe Firment: I would rather talk about the House’s package. I think the House’s package represents a balanced approach as well. I think you’ve got a good balance of legal reform, and then you’ve also got several bills that are clearly consumer friendly, like my House Bill 438, the insurer advertising bill. You’ve got the bill by Rep.
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2 weeks ago | 
businessreport.com | Jeremy Alford |DAVID JACOBS |Holly Duchmann
A sweeping rewrite of Louisiana’s Campaign Finance Disclosure Act backed by Gov. Jeff Landry advanced to the House floor last week. Though one prominent government watchdog isn’t sure what problem the bill is trying to solve, the author argues it addresses concerns that have cropped up “since campaign finance disclosure was created back in the (Bobby) Jindal days,” referring to the former governor.
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4 weeks ago | 
businessreport.com | Jeremy Alford |DAVID JACOBS |Holly Duchmann
House leaders plan to pay off a dozen judgments against the state this year. “If a bill was filed with a judgment, it is my goal to pay those judgments,” Appropriations Chair Jack McFarland says. “Some of these [judgments] have been on the books for years.” The Legislature doesn’t pay for judgments every year, but this year, the price tag appears to be well within its means.
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1 month ago | 
businessreport.com | Jeremy Alford |DAVID JACOBS |Dillon Lowe
Attorney General Liz Murrill and Secretary of State Nancy Landry, Louisiana’s highest-ranking women in elected office, are both pushing aggressive legislative agendas in the ongoing regular session. Murrill, whose national profile is growing alongside her hold over the statewide scene, is doubling down on her tough-on-crime approach and asking lawmakers to give district courts jurisdiction over felony cases involving juveniles at least 15 years of age.
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1 month ago | 
businessreport.com | Jeremy Alford |DAVID JACOBS |Dillon Lowe
Attorney General Liz Murrill and Secretary of State Nancy Landry, Louisiana’s highest-ranking women in elected office, are both pushing aggressive legislative agendas in the ongoing regular session. Murrill, whose national profile is growing alongside her hold over the statewide scene, is doubling down on her tough-on-crime approach and asking lawmakers to give district courts jurisdiction over felony cases involving juveniles at least 15 years of age.
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1 month ago | 
businessreport.com | Jeremy Alford |DAVID JACOBS |Holly Duchmann
State Rep. Phillip Tarver already had concerns about how much money the Legislature directs to nongovernmental organizations. But news out of Washington, D.C., about the questionable federal grant spending being highlighted by the Trump administration’s Department of Governmental Efficiency, or DOGE, really caught his attention, and that of his constituents.
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1 month ago | 
businessreport.com | Jeremy Alford |DAVID JACOBS |Holly Duchmann
When the regular session convenes Monday, one of the touchiest issues for the Legislature’s agriculture committees, and the two chambers, will be carbon capture. The issue pits the state’s economic development hopes against landowner concerns, and House Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development Chair Troy Romero finds himself in the middle. “We’re getting tremendous pushback from my constituents in the farming community,” he says.
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2 months ago | 
businessreport.com | Jeremy Alford |DAVID JACOBS |Holly Duchmann
Louisiana has gained praise for its quick rollout of federal grants to expand access to broadband internet. But grant recipients are in some cases drilling right into vital infrastructure, House Commerce Chair Daryl Deshotel says. “I’m getting calls daily from mayors that say, ‘I can’t afford to fix all these water lines that are being broken,’ and that’s a serious problem,” he says. “The governor’s aware of it.
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Jan 31, 2025 | 
businessreport.com | DAVID JACOBS |Jeremy Alford |Holly Duchmann
Three standing state Senate committees have already either hired or are on the hunt for senior attorneys, creating a new set of dynamics and personalities for the folks who make a living off of making the law. In some respects, committee attorneys are the unsung heroes of Capitoland. That much is evident from the highly qualified applicants drawn to the positions. “You get to write the songs that make the whole world sing, right?” Liz Mangham, managing partner with SSG, says with a laugh.
