By: Jeff Singer

Louisiana will become the first state in the nation to let voters weigh in on a proposal to ban private funding for elections this fall, an effort that comes after years of conservative conspiracy theories about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's role in the 2020 presidential election. No one has released any polls of the Oct. 14 contest over Amendment 1, which will take place the same day that the Pelican State holds its all-party primary for governor, but a prominent local voting rights advocate tells Bolts' Alex Burness he's pessimistic about opponents' chances.

By: Alex Burness

Louisiana’s Ascension Parish stores its voting machines in a warehouse without climate control, says Bridget Hanna, the parish’s elected clerk of court and top elections official. This worries her on days like these, when temperatures routinely hit 100 degrees, compounded by extreme humidity.

Louisiana’s voting machines are from 2006—old enough that when they falter, Hanna says, it’s often impossible to locate replacement parts. That’s a common frustration: aging voting equipment poses a projected multi-billion-dollar concern in the United States, amid a general national crisis of underfunding for local election administration.

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: 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.

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Former Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) Secretary Shawn Wilson has announced he plans to run for governor of Louisiana.

Wilson officially announced his candidacy along with the launch of his campaign website on Monday, March 6.

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: Lauren Cheramie

Since its inception in Baton Rouge in 1968, the YWCA has been dedicated to the same mission: eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. The organization has grown to offer programs like early childcare education, domestic violence services, homelessness assistance and trauma counseling.

"We have evolved from a small entity that was doing the work to empower women on a small scale, but we have grown to now be able to address women’s needs at all phases of their lives," said Dianna Payton, CEO of YWCA Greater Baton Rouge.

By : Casey Quinlan

Of the 20 states that have failed to raise the minimum wage above the federal $7.25 an hour standard, 16 have more than 12% of their children living in poverty, according to a States Newsroom analysis of wage and poverty data. Anti-poverty advocates say that’s a sign that there’s an urgent need for lawmakers to increase the federal minimum wage and do more to help struggling families.

Congress had the opportunity to achieve the latter by expanding the child tax credit before the end of the year, but lawmakers did not arrive at a deal with Republicans to include it in the omnibus spending package. The expansion, which was part of the American Rescue Plan, provided as much as $3,600 in monthly installments to qualifying families and is credited with lifting 3.7 million children out of poverty at least temporarily.

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.