The Louisiana State Bond Commission approved over $3.6 billion in financing last Thursday for a long slate of capital outlay projects authorized by the Louisiana Legislature during their unprecedented spending spree in Swampland (the Baton Rouge Capitol) earlier this year. This included over $105 million in cash lines of credit and new long-term debt obligations to finance projects for a select group of well-connected non-profit groups.

It’s the dog days of summer, and many Louisianians have been focused on LSU baseball, the missing Titanic sub, and the 4th of July holiday. Here’s a rundown of key headlines that you may have missed.

Lawmakers approved more than $51 billion in government spending in a flurry of chaotic votes that took place in the final moments of a two-month-long legislative session—but most of the members had absolutely no idea what they were voting on.

Back in 2016 Governor John Bel Edwards bullied lawmakers into passing the largest tax increase in the U.S. At the time, Edwards described the state budget situation as “dire” and he predicted massive layoffs of state employees, catastrophic hospital closings and college campuses that would be forced to declare bankruptcy if the legislature didn’t pass his tax increases. Edwards even threatened to cancel LSU football if he didn’t get his way.

This Legislative Session, Governor John Bel Edwards and the state Senate are putting on a masterclass in excessive government spending. Now it is up to leaders in the conservative-led state House to put a stop to the madness and advance policies that will get Louisiana’s economy back on track.

Despite the serious and long-lasting consequences that extended school closures had on student achievement, many public-school districts are throwing recovery money into pet projects that have nothing to do with helping students recover from the pandemic.

Louisiana spends over $4 billion a year on K-12 education. Taxpayers and parents have a right to know where that money is going and how it is being spent—but the education swamp is pushing to ensure that never happens.

As the debate over public school spending transparency ramps up at the Louisiana State Capitol this Legislative Session, public school superintendents from across the state are working overtime to kill reform efforts that would make it easier for you to find out how they are spending your money.

When the Louisiana House of Representatives passed a $345 million supplemental spending bill last week, they made sure it was loaded with plenty of pork barrel projects.