Overall, this doesn’t look like a legislative session of big new policy proposals, but there are some good ideas emerging and efforts to make meaningful investments in important areas. One that’s getting some positive attention is early education. In the first week of the session lawmakers in the Senate advanced a bill to make permanent […]

The 2022 regular legislative session gets underway Monday and what should citizens expect? Well, perhaps the best way to think about what’s ahead is to take a look back. Even before Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed the recently-passed Congressional redistricting maps, the session was already shaping up to be an experience of déjà vu. Now […]

There are a few things everyone knows about redistricting. It happens every 10 years to reflect changes in population. There is a concept called one person, one vote, which basically means every district must have roughly the same number of people in it. And it is a politically-charged process that tends to pit different groups […]

There is a lot of discussion in education circles about dual enrollment – the ability of students to earn college credits while still in high school. Participation in dual enrollment programs in Louisiana has risen in recent years, but it’s still far short of what education leaders would like it to be. A new dual […]

This week Governor John Bel Edwards released his executive budget proposal for the coming year along with his priorities for how to spend billions of federal COVID relief funds and a pile of new state money. At this point the administration is only making recommendations and the Legislature will ultimately decide how the money will […]

The new year brings with it a lot of activity on the political scene. One of the first things out of the chute will be a special session to redraw a host of political districts in Louisiana. It happens every ten years and it’s a process citizens should pay attention to. On the one hand, […]

For years CABL has been involved in state tax policy issues with the goal of making Louisiana more competitive with other states. Over the last couple of decades, we have had both successes and setbacks. But tomorrow we have a chance to approve two constitutional changes that will clearly help move Louisiana forward. Amendment #1 […]

There is a lot of discussion occurring across the country about civics education and social studies. In Louisiana it comes at a time when our social studies standards are being reviewed and updated. What we teach about the history of our country and its strengths and flaws can be a sensitive subject. The good news […]

Early voting starts Saturday. For many people in Louisiana, there are not a lot of high-profile items on the ballot this year, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some important issues for voters to decide. Four constitutional amendments have been placed before voters and two of them deal with some major policy changes. You might […]

Two constitutional amendments on the November ballot represent a rare opportunity to streamline, simplify, and improve Louisiana’s tax structure. They are the product of months of hard work and the kind of compromise and give-and-take that represent government working the way people expect it to. Now, as the election approaches, there are isolated voices raising […]