Gov. John Bel Edwards delayed Louisiana’s presidential primary a second time due to COVID-19.

The primary was originally scheduled for April 4. Edwards initially postponed the election until June 20 at the request of Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin.

Now the primary election has been pushed back an extra three weeks to July 11, making it one of the last states on the current primary calendar.

Ardoin also asked lawmakers to approve emergency procedures for the election. He sought to expand early voting from seven to 13 days.

Additionally, he wants to widen the availability of mail-in absentee ballots to people impacted by the virus.

With a 5-1 vote, the Senate and Governmental Affairs rejected an emergency certification that Ardoin needed to move ahead with the changes to polling places, early voting timelines, and absentee-by-mail voting eligibility.

The vote’s impact on the election is uncertain.

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.

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.

This week, Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a call for a special session of the Louisiana Legislature as a precautionary measure in response to significant disagreements over the state’s operating and construction budgets.

The special session, if necessary, is to convene Thursday, June 8, at 6:30 pm and must adjourn by midnight on Monday, June 19. The regular session of the Legislature is scheduled to adjourn at 6:00 pm on Thursday, June 8, with the special legislative session convening just half an hour later if no budget consensus is reached.

Gov. Edwards has threatened to veto the current budget, which leaves $206 million unspent, as he believes it forces unnecessary cuts.

The Louisiana Legislature adjourned a special legislative session on Wednesday, February 22, after approving a deal to close the state’s $304 million budget deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30.

Lawmakers agreed to use $99 million from the state’s rainy day fund, combined with shuffling allocated money and spending cuts across the Department of Education, State Police, and local offices offering mental health and addiction treatment.

Gov. John Bel Edwards stated budget stabilization will be a focus in the coming session. Louisiana’s 2017 regular legislative session is scheduled to convene April 10.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has called a special session of the Louisiana Legislature.

The special session will convene at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, February 13, and must adjourn by midnight on February 22.

The governor wants the Legislature to address the state’s budget shortfall and believes a special session is necessary to spread cuts across government and minimize cuts to critical state services.

Edwards plans to lay out the specifics of the budget cuts this week.

The Legislature is not scheduled to convene its regular legislative session until April 10, 2017.