In Washington the announcement of House Speaker Paul Ryan’s decision not to seek re-election has sparked debate over who might be the next Speaker. New Orleans area representative Steve Scalise’s name has popped up for consideration. Political analyst Clancy DuBos says Scalise has as good a chance as anyone.
The Louisiana House voted 88-to-3 to lower the threshold for voters to recall elected officials. A recall petition now needs a third of registered voters to sign the petition within six months to hold an election. But Representative Paul Hollis’ bill would lower those requirements. The bill now heads to the senate.
A bill to allow licensed riverboat casinos to expand their operations to land hasn’t moved in two weeks. Black senators are also not happy that earlier in the session the upper chamber voted against a proposal to raise the minimum wage. Senator Troy Carter says instead of providing a living wage, many low income workers are forced to rely on these casinos to provide for their families.
More than 19,200 senior high school students qualified for at least one TOPS scholarship, up from 18,373 in 2016. Superintendent for the Office of Student Opportunities Ken Bradford says many graduating seniors are ready to attend a college or university. But the hope is that they can afford it…