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Browsing entries posted on Monday, November 02, 2009
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Medicaid shortfall is about $308 million
The state health agency is projecting a $308 million shortfall in Medicaid funding, the government health insurance program for the poor, state Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine said Monday. Levine goes before the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget Tuesday to outline the problem and how health officials propose to bring the current fiscal year spending back in line. Read more…Posted in: Politics, Healthcare
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Ethics chief says new laws crippled system
Patrick Dennis/The Advocate
“This is a convoluted and crippled ethics system we have today,” Ethics Board chairman Frank Simoneaux said Monday at the Baton Rouge Press Club. “It does not make sense. It does not work well.”
Louisiana’s ethics system has been “crippled” as a result of legal changes made during Gov. Bobby Jindal’s 2008 special session on ethics, the chairman of the Louisiana Board of Ethics said Monday. Simoneaux said the main culprit is a law that moved judicial power from the Ethics Board to administrative law judges, called ALJs. The ALJs are hired by an appointee of the governor. Simoneaux said he agrees that there should be a division of powers between prosecutorial and judicial functions. But the law goes about it in the wrong way, he said. Read more… -
Audit state government auto fleet not efficiently handled
A new audit concludes that state government is not efficiently using its nearly 13,000-vehicle fleet. The Legislative Auditor’s Office looked at six agencies to see if vehicle costs were being reduced. However, the report, released Monday, stated that, on average, the agencies used only half their fleet on a given day. Read more…Related Documents
Posted in: Politics
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Jindal to raise money in Missouri
Gov. Bobby Jindal is traveling to St. Louis Monday evening to raise money for his re-election bid, Jindal’s office said Monday.
The governor plans to seek a second term in 2011.
He plans to return to Baton Rouge on Tuesday after the event.
Posted in: Politics
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Northeast Louisiana parishes disaster request
Farmers in six parishes running along the Mississippi River and the east border of the state could qualify for financial assistance for flood damages from earlier in the year.
Concordia, East Carroll, Madison, Tensas, and East and West Feliciana parishes have been named natural disaster areas because of their proximity to Mississippi counties that were declared primary disaster areas, according to a news release from the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
Farmers in both primary and contiguous parishes who suffered losses from flooding that occurred April 25 through June 25 may be eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency.
Farmers in eligible parishes have eight months from the disaster declaration date to apply for the loans. For additional information, visit disaster.fsa.usda.gov or contact a Farm Service Agency office.
Louisiana Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain is still waiting on a decision on a disaster declaration request for parishes affected by drought and excessive rainfall this year, according to the release.
Severe droughts during the early summer reduced yields of cotton, rice, soybeans and sweet potatoes, and excessive rainfall later in September slowed the harvesting process, according to the department.
Posted in: Politics
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Gov. David Treen memorial service
Travis Spradling/The Advocate
The Joint Honor Guard, consisting of members of the Louisiana State Police, Louisiana Air National Guard and Louisiana Army National Guard, brings former Gov. Dave Treen’s casket down the State Capitol steps Monday after the conclusion of public visitation in Memorial Hall of the State Capitol.
Nearly all of the state’s former living governors gathered at the State Capitol Monday morning to remember ex-Gov. Dave Treen. Treen, 81, died Thursday in Metairie of complications from a respiratory illness. Family members — a brother, two daughters, a son and numerous grandchildren — were escorted into Memorial Hall at the State Capitol to the strains of “Amazing Grace.” State Police then carried in a flag-draped coffin. Gov. Bobby Jindal said much has been said about Treen’s grace, dignity and integrity. Read more…Related Photo Galleries
Photos: Treen Memorial A photo gallery of former Louisiana Gov. David Treen's burial service.Posted in: Politics
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