John White, Louisiana’s Superintendent of Education, is officially vacating his position on March 11 after eight years.

The announcement came just two days after Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee announced her resignation effective January 31, after four years of service.

The news of White and Gee comes ahead of the inauguration of Gov. John Bel Edwards’ second term.

Edwards and several other state officials were sworn in on January 13.

On Saturday, Gov. John Bel Edwards defeated Republican challenger Eddie Rispone to win reelection.

The election was close heading into the final week and Edwards held onto his seat with a difference of 40,300 votes.

Edwards becomes the first Democrat in Louisiana to win reelection since 1975.

The Legislature adjourned sine die on June 6.

The 60-day session was overshadowed by the upcoming November gubernatorial election.

However, in its final day the Legislature did pass a $30 billion budget that increased teacher pay.

Gov. Jon Bel Edwards is expected to sign the deal, which applies to the financial year beginning July 1.

Sen. Rob Shadoin, a republican representing the state’s Ruxton area, announced he will resign his seat in the legislature and take a position with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Shadoin is currently serving the third year of his second term and is known as a moderate republican lawmaker and consistent ally of Gov. John Bel Edwards.

Once a resignation date has been announced, the state will likely call a special election to fill his seat.

The Louisiana Legislature will convene its third special session of the year on Monday, June 18, 2018.

Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a call for the session on the same day he signed the skeleton operating budget passed by the legislature in the last special session.

Lawmakers will aim to pass legislation regarding state sales and use tax to raise money to fund state services taking deep cuts in the current budget.

Gov. Edwards and legislators have been meeting in the interim hoping to reach an effective solution before the deadline for adjournment.

The special session must adjourn no later than June 27, 2018.

The Louisiana Legislature adjourned a special session late Monday night after passing a skeleton budget similar to one vetoed by Gov. Jon Bel Edwards at the end of the regular session in mid-May.

Lawmakers wanted a more robust budget but were unable to pass enough tax bills to fund it. The approved budget makes deep cuts to public universities and other state agencies.

Gov. Edwards has not said whether he will veto the passed budget but announced he will call another special session before the current fiscal year ends on July 1.

If the passed budget is signed by the Governor, Lawmakers will need to fund about $500 million in expiring taxes to avoid the dramatic budget cuts currently on the table.

Gov. John Bel Edwards announced this week that the Louisiana Legislature will adjourn Friday, three weeks ahead of its scheduled date of adjournment.

An early end to the regular legislative session will allow Legislators to convene in a special legislative session scheduled to start on May 22.

The special session to address the state’s budget crisis will adjourn no later than June 4, the scheduled adjournment date of the regular session. At stake is $648 million in temporary taxes set to expire on July 1.

A February special session aimed at the budget failed to pass any taxes to close the budget gap.

The Louisiana Legislature adjourned a special legislative session on the state’s budget crisis on Monday night, two days before the session was scheduled end.

During the session, Lawmakers were unable to reach a deal to close the state’s $994 million budget shortfall.

State agencies who are unsure of their future funding will need to wait three to four months for a second special session to be called for a resolution, as tax bills cannot be considered during a regular session of the Legislature. Louisiana’s regularly scheduled legislative session will convene March 12 and is scheduled to end by June 4.

Gov. John Bel Edwards stated his hope for the regular session to end early to allow the Legislature to remedy the budget shortfall in a second special session in late May or early June.

A special session of the Louisiana Legislature on the state’s budget troubles convenes February 19 at 4 p.m., and centers on closing the budget gap by replacing expiring taxes or allowing deep cuts across agencies statewide.

Gov. John Bel Edwards called the session hoping to convince the Republican led Legislature to renew expiring taxes to fix the deficit.

Taxes cannot be considered during a regular session of the legislature, requiring a special session to address and propose taxation legislation.

The special session must adjourn by March 7 at midnight, five days ahead of the regularly schedule legislative session set to convene March 12.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has set Friday as a deadline to determine whether a special session of the Legislature will be called to close a $1 billion fiscal cliff in the state’s budget expiring in July of this year.

The session would begin February 19 and adjourn before the regularly scheduled legislative session set to convene March 12. Legislators from both parties have been working to get close enough to a resolution for Gov. Edwards to call the special session.

A special session to remedy the budget shortfall could also be called in June if it does not happen by March.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards told state lawmakers this week he intends to call a special session of the Legislature in mid-February to address the state’s budget crisis.

Gov. Edwards set a January 19 deadline for a tax deal to be reached to help balance the budget, and will not call the special session if he does not think the issues will be resolved.

Temporary state sales taxes totaling $1 billion expire next July, and Gov. Edwards hopes a package of sales and income tax proposals can offset the impending deficit.

Tax bills cannot be considered during Louisiana’s regular sessions but require the Governor to call a special session for consideration.

If the session is called in February, it will be the sixth special session since Gov. Edwards took office in 2016.

A special election has been set for February 17, 2018, to replace Louisiana lawmaker Chris Broadwater.

Broadwater, a republican representative from the 86^th district, submitted a letter of resignation this week to focus on spending time with his family.

His resignation will be effective March 1 unless a successor is chosen before that date.

If necessary, a runoff election to fill the seat will be held on March 24, 2018.

In Louisiana, a pair of legislators and members of the Board of Ethics are leading an advisory committee to review and revise the state’s ethics laws.

The overarching goal is not to tighten requirements, but to address clarity and the ease of ethics reporting. On the list of things to be considered for revision are lobbyist reporting which is now done monthly but could be reduced to quarterly, and rules about accepting and reporting sponsored travel and gifts.

Gov. Bobby Jindal overhauled Louisiana’s ethics laws a decade ago, but the sentiment among lawmakers is that those changes were made not to promote transparency and enforcement, but rather to rate high on an ethics ranking system.

The advisory committee plans to make recommendations to the Legislature ahead of the 2018 regular session scheduled to convene in March.

A special election for the Louisiana State Treasurer is set for October 14, 2017. Former treasurer John Kennedy vacated the position when he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016.

The race to fill the seat marks the first time the treasurer’s office has not had an incumbent running since Kennedy was elected 17 years ago.

Five contenders filed this week when the candidate registration period opened. The special election is creating an unforeseen expense for the state, costing taxpayers nearly $5 million, as Louisiana had no other statewide races scheduled this year.

The office is being run by Kennedy’s top assistant until the fall election.