A diverse coalition of business leaders, military officials and child care advocates is asking the governor and state lawmakers to include some $31 million in the Louisiana Department of Education’s budget for the coming year to fund programs that will enable more families with children ages 0 to 3 to access quality child care.

And they’re backing up their request with data. At a forum at the Capitol this afternoon, the Council for a Strong America released the findings of a new report showing the dire status of affordable, accessible childcare in Louisiana. According to the report:

Gov. John Bel Edwards is urging lawmakers to add more money for early childhood education to next year’s budget after receiving criticism for shortchanging the programs. But his proposal falls far short of the millions advocates want.

The Democratic governor didn’t include money in his initial budget proposal to replace nearly $9 million in expiring federal funds that pay for pre-kindergarten programs. In addition, he didn’t add new dollars sought by advocacy groups and Superintendent of Education John White to help more children from birth to 3 years old with early learning assistance.

There is more good news about not just the results of criminal justice reforms in Louisiana, but the political perception of the changes.

A new Louisiana Survey found support growing for the historic 2017 legislation, backed by Republicans as well as Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards.

The reforms garnered 70 percent support among Louisiana residents in the fifth of six reports from the 2019 Louisiana Survey. That's a jump from 61 percent in 2018.

The state is still the most prolific jailer of its residents, based on a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, even as the prison population went down. The data are for 2017, so the reforms of that year's legislative action are still a work in progress. 

Since 2015, legislatures in 19 conservative states—those that voted for President Trump in

the 2016 election—have increased their gasoline taxes by between 3 cents and 19 cents per gallon, according to an analysis released today by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber. 

BRAC says that Baton Rouge Rep. Steve Carter’s HB 542 is “a chance for Louisiana to join these states with a new and renewed investment in traffic infrastructure.” The bill, which Carter on Tuesday said would be amended to remove a sales tax provision, would give Louisiana a new 18-cent-per-gallon tax increase, phased in over 11 years. 

The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is expanding the Jump Start Summers program, giving more than 3,000 high school students the opportunity to earn academic credit, engage in workplace-based learning, and attain critical industry-based credentials, all while earning a wage, during their summer break.

“Workplace-based learning provides an unparalleled opportunity for students to master essential workplace skills, while making their academic school work more relevant,” State Superintendent John White says. “This is true for all students—those who are university-bound, as well as those who are career-focused.”

Two toll bills that could play a factor in construction of new Interstate 10 bridges over the Calcasieu River at Lake Charles and over the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge received favorable nods here Monday from the House Transportation Committee. Both move to the full House for debate.

Legislation by Rep. Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles, that creates a Calcasieu Parish Tolling Authority is scheduled for a Tuesday hearing by the same committee. House Bill 561 would create an authority of seven directors appointed by governing authorities of Calcasieu and Jeff Davis parishes, Lake Charles, Westlake and Sulphur and two selected by the Southwest Louisiana legislative delegation.

Just two weeks into the legislative session, a split is developing between public schools advocates and those who contend early childhood education and care is an urgent need.

Both sides are aiming for a $39 million hike in state aid in a $30 billion state operating budget.

Gov. John Bel Edwards, superintendents, school board members, principals, charter school advocates and teachers unions are behind the push for an increase in public school funding.

Backers of new dollars for early childhood education, including state Superintendent of Education John White, agree that more money for public schools is long overdue.

Vision is the key word here, and state officials need to recapture the vision they have lost over the last decade. I’m not the only one who thinks it’s going to take forward thinkers to lift Louisiana off the bottom of almost every ranking known to man.

The Council for a Better Louisiana and others remember Vision 2020, a strategic plan created for the state during the administration of Gov. Mike Foster. CABL thinks with elections coming up this fall that it’s time once again to consider the type of vision we want for Louisiana.

Three of Louisiana’s most prominent good-government groups are collaborating on an electoral agenda that they hope this year’s candidates will address, the head of one of those groups said Monday.

“Maybe this can be something that can take a little bit of the politics out of the election this year,” said Barry Erwin, president and CEO of the Council for a Better Louisiana. “I know that sounds crazy.”

Candidates and their consultants often try to “distract voters” with “hot-button issues” that draw attention away from serious policy discussions, Erwin said. But CABL, the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana and the Committee of 100 hope to craft an agenda that will help set priorities for the discussions and debates leading up to the state elections this fall, he said.