Hot issues make upcoming session less predictable

Remarks by legislative leaders shows this upcoming legislative session likely will develop into the most contentious of this term – and not because of Democrats’ agenda.

When Republican Gov. Jeff Landry and the current crop of GOP legislators kicked off their terms in 2024, they largely were on the same page, such was the consensus around the excesses – both in priorities pursued and blocked – of the Democrat former Gov. John Bel Edwards Administration and the factions he empowered in the Legislature. That continued almost unabated in 2025, with perhaps a slight fraying.

However, 2026 looks to expose some significant fractures among Republicans, from the Governor’s Mansion on down to backbenchers. A vast gulf exists between the lot of them and Democrats, of course, with the minority party so enfeebled that it’s unlikely anything a majority of that party wants will make it into law. Yet several issues may divide Republicans, along axes of the leadership vs. Landry and a significant number of GOP legislators (particularly in the House) or the leadership and Landry vs. many in the party.

Bossier Council sidelines BAC, ups Boardwalk ante

While this week’s Bossier City Council meeting drew plenty of attention to the fate of the Bossier Arts Council, it undertook a much more far-reaching action.

The Council, after a two-week delay, voted formally to evict the BAC from the its city-owned digs as well as cut off any contracts or grants from the city. Another ordinance disallowed any nongovernmental organization from receiving city grants unless it did not appear on the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s noncompliance list, issued annually in February.

Practically speaking, this means that the BAC will have to vamoose by Mar. 24 and it loses its contract to manage the East Bank Plaza, worth $50,000 annually (unless the Council shockingly reverses itself on second reading), as well as any opportunity to receive grants from the city for now. It already has drawn on in its entirety its $80,000 grant for this year. To be eligible for a future grant, it would have to get into compliance with the LLA, meaning it completes an audit for each of the last three years.

LA 2026 Senate race looking like 2008 CD4 contest

Excuse Republican Treas. John Fleming if he wants to party like it’s 2008, because to date there is considerable congruence between the election that introduced him to Congress the next year and the one that could propel him to the Senate in 2027.

In the most recent poll fewer than three months out from the GOP primary election, Fleming held a lead of nearly ten points on his closest rival Republican Rep. Julia Letlow, who was up a few points on GOP incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy. Letlow’s and Cassidy’s numbers tracked similarly to those of a poll released a few days earlier, while Fleming had expanded his share by several points.

Cassidy’s campaign dynamics are such that he really only can make a runoff by attacking and flipping votes from Letlow, which eventually may not be enough to succeed yet will detach voters from her that don’t want Cassidy, mainly for a series of poor decisions, and therefore will settle on Fleming, who at this juncture with certainty would defeat Cassidy in a runoff and probably win over Letlow if, benefitting from the endorsements of Republican Pres. Donald Trump and GOP Gov. Jeff Landry, she hangs on despite an effective ethics attack deployed by Cassidy surrogates. The reason this is a realistic, if not the most likely, scenario is because Fleming has gone through this before and come out on top.

System should complete welcome LSU change

You win some, you lose some with the Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors, who recently took a belated two steps forward and one step back in admissions policy for the state’s flagship university.

Last week at the Board’s bi-monthly meeting it adjusted LSU’s admission standards. Since 2018, the Board has been out of compliance with Board of Regents standards by granting admission to a greater proportion of students scoring below a 22 on the ACT standardized test (in other words, those in the bottom fourth-sevenths of all takers) than Board rules permit. For the past eight years the Regents spinelessly allowed LSU to flout the rules.

But now, the pendulum has swung back – at least halfway. Starting for next fall, taking the ACT will be required for admission for students with a high school grade point average of below 3.5, and then for all the year after. In the past it was optional, so for those students not taking it (or not choosing to submit a score to LSU) they were evaluated on mostly subjective criteria.

Arceneaux campaign receives good, bad news

Republican Mayor Tom Arceneaux acquired another arrow in his quiver for reelection, even as he picked up his most serious challenger to date for that.

Last week, S&P Global announced a change in outlook for Shreveport’s credit rating. Maintaining its current call of BBB+ – the lowest investment grade category – it did cite a better outlook of “stable” rather than “negative.” The latter means a downgrade was more likely than an upgrade, which would have meant higher borrowing costs in the future, with the former meaning no change either way anticipated.

This declaration in and of itself doesn’t affect anything substantively, but it carries beneficial positive symbolism for Arceneaux’s quest, especially coming from the rationale stating why the rating agency made the change. The city has maintained a commitment to its 8 percent operating reserve target in the general fund, which he fought for in the 2026 budget, against some pressure to dip more into it for increased spending.