With less than two weeks remaining in the regular session the budget for next fiscal year is finally set to be taken up Thursday morning in House Appropriations. Between federal funding and the use of rainy day funds, the budget deficit for the next fiscal year has shrunk to only 80 million dollars from an initial projection of nearly a billion.
Despite that easier to handle fiscal situation political analyst Bernie Pinsonat believes it is a safe bet that a special session will need to be called.
The regular session ends June 1st and a budget must be passed before July 1st.
An attempt to lower the state’s 247 dollar a week unemployment benefit is shelved after Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Ava Dejoie testifies against the move…
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Representative Gerald Beaullieu admitted to not consulting with LWC before filing the legislation.
And a bill significantly expanding medical marijuana access is nearing final passage.
Under the legislation any condition a doctor considers “debilitating to an individual patient” would be eligible to receive medical marijuana. New Iberia Senator Fred Mills says the current limitations are too strict.
The legislation lifts the requirement that a doctor is specifically licensed to prescribe medical marijuana.