By: Sam Karlin

Mandie Landry’s recent effort to pass a bill addressing gun violence got off to a rocky start.

One day in January, Landry, a progressive New Orleans Democrat, found herself at the center of a vitriolic online debate. In response to a tweet about the failure of another gun measure she had proposed, she argued for a law holding people who leave guns in cars liable for violence that ensues after their guns are stolen.

By: Melissa Flournoy

Do you want to know why young people are leaving Louisiana and moving to more progressive cities? They want to plan for the future, not cling to the past; they want rights to health care, education and respect for all people and races.

They want good-paying jobs and a high quality of life. They want to embrace the future.

By: Piper Hutchinson

A Louisiana Senate Committee advanced a controversial bill Tuesday that would allow adults over the age of 21 to carry a concealed firearm without a license or training. 

The Senate Judiciary B Committee signed off on House Bill 131 by Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, on a 4-1 vote, with committee Chair Sen. Gary Smith, D-Norco, being the sole vote opposed. Sen. Gregory Tarver, D-Shreveport, joined Republicans in supporting the bill. 

By: Jeff Palermo

By: Nicole Potter

The Louisiana House of Representatives recently passed a bill to improve the state’s expungement program for cannabis possession convictions. Rep. Delisha Boyd sponsored the bill, which passed with a 69-30 vote. “House Bill 286 is a request for a reduction in expungement fees in first offense marijuana. I’ve worked closely with the DA association, sheriffs, and the clerks, to put this bill in its proper posture,” Boyd said at the hearing on May 23.

The Louisiana House Democratic Caucus recently posted on social media about the bill’s passing as well. “This bill passed the House today and will make it easier for people to get the post-conviction relief and justice they need and deserve. #LaLege #LaGov.”

By: Shannon Heckt

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – A bill that looked to add protections in the workplace for LGBTQ people failed in a House committee Wednesday. Advocates believe it is critical to codify protections into state law, others said it opens up businesses to lawsuits.

The legislature has advanced bills that would limit discussion around gender identity and sexual orientation in schools and also prevent some kids from getting books about the LGBTQ community.

By: Wesley Muller

Republican lawmakers on a state House panel killed a measure that would have established a $10 per hour minimum wage in Louisiana and increased to $14 by 2028.

House Bill 374, sponsored by Rep. Ed Larvadain, D-Alexandria, failed to pass the House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations in a 5-9 vote along party lines Wednesday.

By: Greg Larose

An attempt to unlink a long-running anti-drug effort for students from a legally questionable funding source failed Thursday in the Louisiana House Judiciary Committee.

More than 40 Louisiana sheriffs staff Drug Abuse Resistance Education programs, or DARE for short, with about 160 deputies, according to the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association. One of DARE’s funding streams comes from a $100 fee placed on defendants found guilty of certain drug offenses in their parishes.

By: Eric Grossman

Whether you’re walking down Bourbon Street or chilling in one of the parks along the Mississippi River, chances are you’re going to encounter cannabis in the Big Easy. After all, New Orleans is a global mecca for having a good time.

But despite the city’s feel-good status, Louisiana weed laws don’t follow that same chilled-out vibe. So before you go lighting up a joint or passing around edibles, be sure to take a moment to learn about the city’s weed laws. It’s a little complicated, so we tapped a handful of experts and wrote up a guide to help you out—here’s everything you need to know about legal weed in New Orleans and Louisiana before your next visit.

By: Tyler Bridges

Louisiana Progress and other progressive groups are facing an uphill battle trying to push an anti-poverty agenda through the Republican-controlled Legislature this year.

The groups note that Louisiana had the second-highest poverty rate in the U.S. in 2021 when the Census Bureau last measured the issue.

By: Wesley Muller

Louisiana Republicans will try for the third year in a row to enact new election laws, including two that Gov. John Bel Edwards previously blocked.

Republican Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin previewed his legislative package for the 2023 regular session, which begins Monday. The bills would provide “election integrity” for Louisiana, according to Ardoin.

By: Kaylee Poche

When Colorado and Washington first passed legislation legalizing recreational cannabis in 2012, they were anomalies in a country that at the federal level puts the plant in the same category as heroin.

At the time, conventional wisdom held that legal recreational cannabis would never spread much beyond a handful of states. But with Rhode Island, Maryland and Missouri becoming the most recent of 21 states to legalize recreational cannabis, nearly half of Americans now live in a state where it’s legal.

By: Wesley Muller

A state panel has three weeks left to wrap up work on draft legislation to protect workers who use medical marijuana. Before then, members hope to get feedback from a very influential business lobbying group, without which approval of the proposals is unlikely.

Louisiana’s Employment and Medical Marijuana Task Force met Tuesday with a Dec. 21 deadline looming to submit its recommendations to state lawmakers. Kevin Caldwell, who represents the Marijuana Policy Project, said he and other members hope to convene twice more before that deadline.

By: Victor Skinner

A Louisiana legislative task force held multiple meetings on Tuesday to explore and craft recommendations to resolve employment issues concerning medical marijuana.

Three subcommittees of the Employment and Medical Marijuana Task Force convened to discuss a variety of employment issues involving medical marijuana, from employment protections in other states to current testing options, to specific concerns for “safety sensitive” jobs like firefighters and first responders.

By: Victor Skinner

A Louisiana legislative task force held multiple meetings on Tuesday to explore and craft recommendations to resolve employment issues concerning medical marijuana.

Three subcommittees of the Employment and Medical Marijuana Task Force convened on Tuesday to discuss a variety of employment issues involving medical marijuana, from employment protections in other states to current testing options, to specific concerns for "safety sensitive" jobs like firefighters and first responders.

By: Wesley Muller

Despite the relaxation of marijuana laws in Louisiana over the past five years, registered nurses still face serious career risks if they use the drug for recreational or, in some cases, medicinal purposes.

Louisiana’s Employment and Medical Marijuana Task Force heard testimony Tuesday from Shonda Broom, a former nurse who recounted how her off-duty use of cannabis and a single pre-employment drug screen effectively destroyed her 12-year career and permanently labeled her as a criminal.

By: Wesley Muller

With medical marijuana now available to Louisiana’s workforce, employees have raised concerns that they could be fired or face other job-related repercussions for testing positive for a legal drug taken on the advice of a physician. A new state panel is searching for solutions to this potential problem that will protect workers and employers.

Three subcommittees of the Employment and Medical Marijuana Task Force met Tuesday to discuss different aspects of the issue and all arrived at the same question: How strictly can the state regulate the private sector with regards to medical marijuana?

By: Chris Rosato

Now that President Biden has pardoned all marijuana possession charges at the federal level, what will that mean for those sitting with charges by the state of Louisiana?

The much-anticipated move from the White House comes just weeks before the midterm elections. People in Louisiana with those state-level offenses will still need to wait for the state to figure out what the next move will be, according to officials.

By: April Siese

Late Monday afternoon, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held a public comment hearing for the government’s proposed five-year offshore oil and gas lease program. The plan calls for 11 additional lease sales: 10 in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Alaska’s Cook Inlet. Though the session was expected to initially last three hours, dozens of participants pushed BOEM officials to extend the comment hearing well past midnight.

The sentiment was nearly unanimous, with countless speakers calling for no new leases, citing climate concerns. Many speakers called on President Joe Biden to uphold his own campaign promise that, had the Interior Department been serious about it, wouldn’t have seen these leases proposed in the first place. Some, like Stone Crab Alliance Founder John Dwyer, even called for the shuttering of existing oil infrastructure. “It is important for our human survival,” Dwyer said.