Tagged: politics

BATON ROUGE — Louisiana lawmakers have agreed to shorten voting hours on most election days, and Gov. Bobby Jindal must decide whether to accept the bill. Currently, poll hours run from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The measure pushed by Secretary of State Tom Schedler will push back the opening to 7 a.m. on Saturday elections. The change will start in 2013. 

BATON ROUGE — Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed into law a 10-year, $37 million tax break for the New Orleans Hornets, part of the state's deal to keep the NBA team in Louisiana.

Jindal announced the signing Tuesday, in a list of bills that he agreed to enact into law.

The bill by Jefferson Parish Rep. Cameron Henry, a Republican, extends an existing tax break that saves the Hornets $3.7 million a year through Louisiana's Quality Jobs Program. The rebate will be extended through the 2024 NBA season.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The Senate's budget-writing committee refused to agree to deep cuts pushed by House Republicans for next year's $25 billion state operating budget.

Senators on the Finance Committee restored an estimated $350 million to next year's 2012-13 spending plans.