Where Does Louisiana Stand Now that Legislative Sessions Finally Over?
Louisiana Lawmakers opened their marathon series of legislative sessions on Valentine’s Day. Now, approaching the Fourth of July, they have finally gone home.
Time to Move On with Academic Standards
In 2010 when Louisiana adopted a set of academic standards in English and math no one even noticed. At the time they were called Common Core and developed by a consortium of states, including Louisiana, and no one seemed to care.
2016 Regular Session: Saying Goodbye to Fantasy Budgets
Many words could be used to describe the just-completed regular session of the Legislature. Unfinished. Incomplete. Unresolved.
Education Policy Does Okay in Session
From the outset it was clear that this year’s regular session was not going to be about pushing the envelope forward in public education reform – it was about preventing a return to the past. This year there were dozens of bills filed dealing with education, and the vast majority of the significant ones were […]
Context Important to Louisiana’s Tax Debate
For those interested in state tax policy and data, the weekly meetings of the Task Force on Structural Changes in Budget and Tax Policy might be something akin to nirvana. If you’re not, you just might want to steer clear. But the information that’s been provided so far does present a pretty comprehensive backdrop about […]
Tax Structure Task Force Work Has Its Opportunities, Pitfalls
Back in February the Legislature created the Task Force on Structural Changes in Budget and Tax Policy with the idea that it would make recommendations to the Legislature by September on budget and tax reform. CABL serves on that task force and has been involved with fiscal policy issues dating back at least to the […]
Budget Shenanigans Grow Tiring
For weeks people from across the state with diverse interests in what goes on in state government have been waiting to see the revisions members of the House budget committee would make to the governor’s executive budget.
The New Legislature and School Reform
There had been some question about how the new 2016 Legislature, bringing with it a number of new faces, would respond to the onslaught of bills this session attacking many of the state’s most significant education reforms. To some degree the question was understandable. The education committees in both the House and Senate were filled […]
Charter Schools Under Major Legislative Attack this Session
This legislative session a number of high-profile bills dealing with various aspects of public charter schools have been introduced. When the body of that legislation is considered as a whole, the direction it attempts to move Louisiana is clear – away from CABL’s goal of providing meaningful options to parents, students and taxpayers who feel […]
New Group to Study Old Issue – Taxes and Spending
The packet given to members at the first meeting of the Task Force on Structural Changes in Budget and Tax Policy said a lot. Each person got a thick accordion-style pocket folder containing three somewhat recent reports on Louisiana budget and tax policy. It all but screamed, “been there, done that!” But times change, circumstances […]
