GOP lawmakers are concerned with the growing size of the state’s health budget, which is set to increase to nearly 15-billion dollars next fiscal year. Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds had several questions for Health Secretary Rebekah Gee during a House Appropriations Committee meeting…
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Also in House Appropriations, Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters warned the food stamp program may have to be cut, unless the state agency receives an additional 13-million dollars in funding…
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The Republican House budget proposal doesn’t include any additional dollars for D-C-F-S.

The latest installment of the Louisiana Survey finds that 88-percent of respondents support a teacher pay raise. Director of LSU’s Public Policy Research Lab, Doctor Michael Henderson, says support for a teacher pay hike remains high, even after respondents were told the average salary for a public school teacher.
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Three-fourths of the state residents underestimate average teacher pay in Louisiana and they actually think they earn less than they actually earn.

Many Representative Frank Howard has filed a bill for this legislative session that would require law enforcement officers to undergo training so that they do not discriminate against people on motorcycles. Howard is concerned about motorcycle profiling…
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Howard’s bill has been assigned for a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee.