In House Bill 876 by Rep. Steve Carter, R-Baton Rouge, among students eligible to take publicly funded courses are those in an “approved home study program,” or homeschoolers. If passed, it would mark the first time state dollars are spent on homeschooling. Also eligible for state-funded courses are students in schools graded “C,” “D” or “F,” those in the scholarship program and those attending schools that do not offer the desired courses.
—A tradition ends with the upcoming session’s first day, which won’t begin with a fundraising breakfast for former Rep. Kay Katz. The term-limited Monroe Republican’s Monday morning event has traditionally been the last of many fundraisers held in the week prior to the session’s start at noon, after which legislators cannot accept a check until the June 4 adjournment (the governor must wait another 30 days). Still, lobbyists have had little respite from invitations to events, with three or four scheduled every noon and night in the final presession week. “The rookies picked right up on it,” groused one lobbyist.
They said it: “We swept most of the funds last year. We’re just vacuuming up the corners this year.” —Appropriations Chairman Jim Fannin on moving statutorily dedicated funds into the general budget
(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)
