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We reached out to more than a dozen prominent associations and advocacy groups working in Louisiana policy and politics to ask about their priorities for next year. What follows is a sneak peek at their agendas.
Leaders for a Better Louisiana
Leaders launched at the beginning of this year, though it was born out of the union of two Capitoland stalwarts: the Council for a Better Louisiana and the Committee of 100 for Economic Development.
Asked about plans for year two, CEO Adam Knapp mainly talked about the state’s workforce needs. To illustrate the need, Leaders looked at six megaprojects moving forward next year—two associated with Meta in north Louisiana, two liquefied natural gas plants in southwest Louisiana, and the Hyundai and CF Industries projects in the Capital Region—and found that peak industrial construction employment could reach 20,500 by the end of next year on those projects alone, not counting anything else that’s underway or in the pipeline.
The situation calls for coordination on workforce training among various stakeholders, including high schools and colleges, Knapp says. Job growth also should be part of a strategy to attract (or lure back) new residents, he adds.
“We are in this position of needing more folks entering the economy, more alignment of the education system with the workforce needs, and more in-migration to help meet the moment of that demand,” he says.
Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
Tax, education and legal reform, along with the reorganization and realignment of state agencies, have put the state in a better position, LABI spokesperson Johnston von Springer says.
But the association argues that more work is needed on the legal front “to create an environment that fosters a fair, predictable and transparent legal system to attract insurers, help reduce insurance costs and restore balance to our civil justice system.”
LABI also calls for strengthening “cradle-to-career workforce development” through early childhood education, expanded work-based learning opportunities for students, and greater access to “reskilling, upskilling and reentry initiatives” to prepare as many Louisianans as possible “for high-wage, high-demand careers.”
