Down the ballot: The Council for A Better Louisiana has decided its positions on the three proposed Constitutional amendments on the Oct. 14 ballot. CABL supports exempting building materials delivered to construction sites from local property taxes and the creation of a fund for revenues generated from any new, future motor fuels tax. That amendment also restricts the usage of the funds for the direct costs of transportation infrastructure projects. The council is not taking a position on the last amendment—which extends a property tax exemption approved last year to a broader group of surviving spouses of certain first responders killed in the line of duty. Read more.
At work: Louisiana added 24,200 nonfarm jobs over the course of the year ending Aug. 31, bringing the total number of jobs in the state to 1.98 million, the latest seasonally adjusted figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show. Among the state’s eight metro areas, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe and New Orleans added jobs. Baton Rouge is up 10,000 jobs since August 2016—the eighth consecutive year over year increase—and 1,300 new jobs from July to August. Alexandria and Houma are down several hundred jobs since August of last year while Shreveport has lost 2,500. Read the full report.
Unanswered questions: The introduction of iPhone X’s new Face ID technology has given rise to questions among civil liberties experts about whether police officers can force you to unlock your phone with your face, The Washington Post reports. “There is some question whether or not they could get you to scan your face or your fingerprint,” says Susan Hennessey, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and a managing editor of Lawfare, a leading national security blog. “Ultimately, this is the next development in the already existing, open legal question. The law is ambiguous, and the uncertainty is likely to persist until a court case establishes clearer rules, analysts say. Read more.
