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2024 Session: Chipping Away at Sunshine

A year after lawmakers passed the state budget in a frenzied final few minutes before theirdeadline, the Louisiana Legislature adopted a $49 billion compromise package of spending plansthis year with time to spare and no last-minute chaos in their three-month regular session.

Governor’s Records Should Remain Open

Just as it appeared one awful public records exemption bill may be defeated for the current legislative session, another damaging exemption idea could take its place.

PAR Statement on a Proposed Constitutional Convention

The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana believes the state needs constitutional reform after years of cluttering Louisiana’s primary governing document with hundreds of amendments and provisions best left to statute.

Mapping the Future: Redistricting Do-Over

Gov. Jeff Landry launched his first special session in office with a lengthy to-do list. Lawmakers gave him the congressional map he preferred and a portion of the election system redesign he desired. The rest of the agenda ended up on the cutting room floor, with the ideas likely to reappear in future legislative sessions.

Partisan Primaries a Move Backward

Louisiana’s first legislative session of the new administration and new term will include proposals to change the state’s primary election system from an open primary to a closed one, an issue never highlighted by candidates in the 2023 elections.

Judicial Study Stonewalled

Louisiana lawmakers, with judicial backing, launched an important study last year to determine the workload of different courts, an effort aimed at ensuring tax dollars are appropriately spent and different judges aren’t saddled with higher caseloads than their peers.