The special legislative session to pass a court-ordered congressional map with two Black majority districts failed to pass and now lawmakers await feedback from the judicial system. Baton Rouge Senator Cleo Fields says despite his efforts with a map that had two Black districts, in the end, the legislature simply had no desire to pass a new map.
Chair of Senate Governmental Affairs, Slidell Senator Sharon Hewitt says the legislature did make a concerted effort, but in the end, she says the votes weren’t there.
Judge Shelly Dick set a court date of June 29th for attorneys to present congressional maps for her consideration while the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has a July 8th court date set.
After recent incidents at the Bridge City Center for Youth and the Swanson Center for Youth in Monroe, Governor John Bel Edwards has directed the Louisiana State Police and The Department of Corrections to provide personnel to those facilities to help with staffing shortages. Office of Juvenile Justice spokesperson Nicolette Gordon says the staff shortages extend to service providers needed on-hand to help in the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders and that both are required for these facilities to fulfill their roles…:
Cut 8 (08) “…things in order.”
OJJ was provided with $5 million for enhancements during the 2022 Regular Legislative Session that can be accessed immediately.
State Police say two teenage girls died Sunday in Ascension Parish, when the car they were in went off the roadway, struck a tree then crashed into a pond. Both girls were just 16. Troopers say they are unaware if seats played a role in the incident. The crash remains under investigation.