The retirement plans of nearly 50,000 state employees would be adversely impacted by Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposal to increase retirement age to 67 years, according to public pension system calculations.About 40,000 of the 54,000 active members … Continue reading →

An article Thursday in the The Advocate suggests the Jindal administration wants to generate $100 million for higher education by increasing state employee retirement contributions. The $100 million would come from that and other proposed changes in … Continue reading →

Gov. Bobby Jindal said Friday that he will propose a package of bills to improve ethics enforcement, including one measure that would give the Louisiana Board of Ethics more time to investigate allegations of potential wrongdoing.

Gov. Bobby Jindal proposed a $25.5 billion state operating budget Thursday that would close prisons, eliminate more than 6,000 positions and cut rates for health-care providers who treat the poor.The spending plan is studded with … Continue reading →

Gov. Bobby Jindal will propose to keep total funding to public colleges and universities at current levels in the proposed state operating budget that will be unveiled Thursday.“There’s no cut. They’re fully funded,” the governor’s chief … Continue reading →

One of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s top aides will enter a pre-trial program for DWI offenders rather than stand trial for drunken driving, his spokesman said late Tuesday.Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater’s spokesman, Michael DiResto, said Rainwater … Continue reading →

Louisiana’s health chief Bruce Greenstein on Tuesday blasted LSU for “irresponsible” cuts to its hospital operations and lack of planning to offset their impact.Greenstein also said LSU overspending — not Gov. Bobby Jindal’s midyear budget cuts … Continue reading →

State lawyers have recovered $25.2 million from five pharmaceutical companies sued over alleged inflation of Medicaid program drug costs, Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell’s office said Tuesday.The settlements are part of major litigation involving more than … Continue reading →

Former state Rep. Noble Ellington landed a $150,000 a year job as the No. 2 official at the state Department of Insurance.Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon said Tuesday that Ellington — a veteran legislator who … Continue reading →

Legislators got a crash course Monday in the complex mechanics of the state’s finances.Veteran and new legislators descended into the basement of the State Capitol for an hours-long briefing on where the state gets its revenue, … Continue reading →

LSU’s Jason Tolliver envisions the middle of LSU campus — “Union Square” — as a true “bar alternative” for students to enjoy a nice dinner, catch a play or concert and … Continue reading →

Nearly seven years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his neighborhood in New Orleans East, Austin Badon still drives to another parish when he needs a gallon of milk or a new pair of socks.Homeowners like Badon, who … Continue reading →

The stage is set for government retirement issues to become one of the big debates facing the Louisiana Legislature when it convenes for its regular session in March.“It’s going to be a really tough session,” … Continue reading →

More than 400 LSU hospital system employees in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and other areas across south Louisiana are facing job layoffs as LSU moves to close a $29 million budget hole, the hospitals’ chief executive said Friday.Continue reading →

Aetna Better Health on Thursday asked a state district court to throw out contracts awarded to three private companies involved in the state’s new health-care delivery system for the poor.The Aetna “petition for judicial review” comes … Continue reading →

Gov. Bobby Jindal unveiled a package of proposed economic development incentives Thursday that he said will make Louisiana more competitive.The proposals include a more business-friendly approach to calculating taxes and a moving cost rebate for companies … Continue reading →

After a few extreme highs and lows for the LSU football team, fans said it was only fitting that the trend of ups and downs continued Wednesday for LSU’s Bayou Bash football recruiting party at the Baton Rouge … Continue reading →

• Signed, sealed, delivered

Three dozen Louisiana taxpayers got a big surprise when they received state income tax refunds this month from the Louisiana Department of Revenue.Instead of writing the 37 people checks, the agency sent prepaid debit cards with … Continue reading →

The state Civil Service Commission on Wednesday rejected a state health agency plan to contract out its information technology services, saying documentation was lacking that it would save money and increase efficiency.Commission Chairman David Duplantier, of … Continue reading →

In spite of a few start-up problems, Louisiana health officials are expanding a new private sector health-care delivery system for the poor to cover another 300,000 people, most of them in the Capital and Acadiana regions.Eligible … Continue reading →

Gov. Bobby Jindal appointed two former state legislators to the state Pardon Board this week.Former state Reps. Mert Smiley Jr., R-St. Amant, and Rickey Hardy, D-Lafayette, both will join the five-person board that pays $36,000 annually … Continue reading →

Louisiana is at a historic crossroad with the upcoming debate over sweeping changes in public schools and state employee pensions, Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday.“I think this is one of those critical moments,” Jindal … Continue reading →

Jindal administration cuts to the LSU hospital system will have a negative financial impact on private hospitals in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and elsewhere because they would get more indigent patients, according to a new Moody’s Weekly Credit Outlook … Continue reading →

Is there a law in Louisiana that basically says that if your windshield wipers are on, then your headlights should also be on? Do they enforce it?Yes to both questions, according to … Continue reading →

Former Gov. Edwin Edwards remained hospitalized with pneumonia Sunday.He was moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room late Sunday evening, his wife, Trina Edwards, said by email.Earlier in the day, she … Continue reading →

A contract signed by the Jindal administration offers a sizeable bonus to a financial firm if the privatization of a state employee health plan occurs.Morgan Keegan & Company Inc., based in Memphis, Tenn., could make up … Continue reading →

An ethics adjudicatory panel threw out conflict of interest charges against St. Gabriel Police Chief Kevin Ambeau because state ethics prosecutors refused to turn over information gathered in their investigation of alleged impropriety.Ambeau wanted a copy … Continue reading →

Kevin Davis is making sweeping staff changes less than two months after taking over as head of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.“We’ve got some great, capable people here. What I … Continue reading →