High cost: The two special sessions called by Gov. John Bel Edwards to help stabilize Louisiana’s finances cost taxpayers at least $1.8 million. During the two sessions on taxes held this year, lawmakers raised about $1.5 billion to shrink holes in the budget for the current year. WAFB-TV reports the House and Senate ran up costs of about $1.3 million for the first session, much of it for the $157 paid daily to lawmakers. House members received about $418,000 and Senate lawmakers received $153,000 during the first session. Among other charges, legislative staff overtime and extra hours cost $228,000. Printing carried a price tag of $32,000. See the full report.
Going up: First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending July 9 increased from the previous week’s total, The Associated Press reports. The state labor department figures released today show the initial claims rose to 3,163 from the previous week’s total of 2,871. For the comparable week a year earlier, there were 3,451. The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile measure of claims, decreased to 2,956 from the previous week’s average of 3,026. Continued unemployment claims claimed for the week ending July 9 decreased to 27,150 compared to 27,224 the previous week. The four-week moving average for such claims increased to 27,053 from the previous week’s average of 28,824.
Continued gains: For the third straight week, the amount of rigs exploring for oil and gas in Louisiana and across the U.S. increased. According to Houston-based Baker Hughes, there are 46 rigs working in Louisiana, up from 43 last week. Of those 46, 22 are on land, 21 are offshore and three are in inland waters. At this time last year, there were 69 rigs operating in the state. Across the country, there are 447 rigs operating this week, up from 440 last week. The breakdown is 357 searching for oil, 80 searching for gas and one miscellaneous. At this time last year, there were 857 rigs across the country.
