Louisiana lawmakers

Louisiana lawmakers must vote by 5 p.m. on a teacher pay proposal amid a legal challenge. A majority of educators oppose the governor's plan to reallocate $168 million from school funding to teacher stipends.

Louisiana lawmakers must decide by June 23 whether to shift $168 million from public school operations to teacher pay stipends, avoiding a $2,000 pay cut for teachers but reducing funds for school maintenance and other expenses. The plan requires two-thirds legislative approval, with Republicans holding a majority but needing Democratic support. School district leaders warn the funding cuts could harm students.

Louisiana lawmakers passed a congressional map to eliminate a majority-Black district following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that deemed the existing map unconstitutional. The action aims to reduce one of two majority-Black congressional seats in the state.

Louisiana lawmakers rejected a bill to implement real-time air monitoring for communities near oil and petrochemical refineries, unlike California which established such a system in 2017. The failure to act leaves Cancer Alley, a region with high cancer rates and pollution from over 200 industrial facilities, without access to critical air quality data.

Louisiana lawmakers deferred a resolution aimed at addressing the state's high maternal mortality rates, which are more than double the national average. The resolution, HCR 110, sought to review preventable deaths, racial disparities, and gaps in healthcare access, including rural hospital closures and Medicaid coverage issues.