State Rep. Nicholas Muscarello Jr., R-Hammond, said there are no statistics proving that capping damage awards lowers insurance premiums. ( Photo by Cross Harris/LSU Manship School News Service) BATON ROUGE — A bill that would have placed a cap on general damages in civil lawsuits was blocked 5-4 by a House committee on Tuesday after vigorous debate. House Bill 526, authored by state Rep. Kellee Hennessy Dickerson, R- Denham Springs, sought to place a $500,000 cap on civil

State Rep. Tammy Phelps proposed to establish a minimum wage for workers in Louisiana starting at $12 an hour. (Photo by Cross Harris / LSU Manship School News Service) BATON ROUGE — The House Labor Committee voted 7-5 along party lines to kill a bill that would have established a state minimum wage starting at $12 an hour on Jan. 1, 2027. Republicans voted against the bill; Democrats supported it. The party split was similar to votes in most years since former Gov. John Be

State Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter deferred his call for voters to consider a constitutional amendment to increase property tax exemptions. (Photo by Avery White / LSU Manship School News Service) BATON ROUGE — An amendment that would allow parishes to increase the homestead exemption failed 9-5 in a House committee hearing Tuesday while a Senate committee heard but deferred two similar homestead-exemption amendments. The House Ways and Means Committee did not advance House Bill 4

A bill sponsored by Rep. Beau Beaullieu would require the Louisiana secretary of state to submit the information of every registered voter to a federal database to verify voter eligibility. (Photo by Cross Harris / LSU Manship School News Service) BATON ROUGE — A House bill that would require the Louisiana secretary of state to submit details on every registered voter to a national database for investigation into their eligibility passed 73-29 Tuesday following extensive deba

State Rep. Tony Bacala proposed a bill to exempt clerks of court from law that require them to scrub personal information of public officials and judges from online records. (Photo by Francis Dinh / LSU Manship School News Service) BATON ROUGE — A House committee voted 12-0 to repeal a requirement that clerks of court must remove personal information about many current and former public officials from online records if the individuals requested their removal. The provision in

State Rep. Ed Larvadain, D-Alexandria, has authored a workforce bill that would lower the minimum age for the MJ Foster Promise Program from 25 to 21. (Photo by Cross Harris / LSU Manship School News Service) BATON ROUGE — Louisiana lawmakers are advancing a series of education and workforce bills aimed at expanding vocational opportunities for students and addressing gaps in training across the state. Three key proposals — House Bills 325, 407 and 482 — highlight a broader