Louisiana
Big News for 2025 – Council for A Better Louisiana
For more than 60 years CABL has been a leader in developing, promoting, and protecting policies to move Louisiana forward. Today we are announcing a brand new chapter in that long history that sets the stage for an even more dynamic future.
CABL is merging with the Committee of 100 for Economic Development to form a new organization called Leaders for a Better Louisiana, or Better Louisiana, for short. Better Louisiana will combine CABL’s longstanding commitment to education, policy advocacy, and leadership development with the influential business leadership of C100.
Why did we do this? The reason was simple. Both of our organizations were looking for ways to have a greater impact on our state. We thought the best way to do that was to do it together.
CABL has a long history of work on education, workforce development, state fiscal policies, and government accountability. C100 has been an influential roundtable of business executives who share our passion for moving Louisiana forward. Through Better Louisiana we believe we can do even more to position our state for a brighter future.
CABL and C100 already have a successful track record of working together on major policy issues. The most notable example is our effective collaboration with the Public Affairs Research Council on our RESET Louisiana initiative. That effort led to the creation of a policy framework for the 2023 state elections that produced a 40-page game plan with 55 recommendations addressing many of Louisiana’s most pressing problems.
We believe this merger will allow CABL and C100 to build on that type of work while preserving the legacies of both organizations and enhancing our ability to create lasting change.
Of course, Leadership Louisiana has been a signature part of CABL’s work and that will remain the same with the new organization. We will continue to bring together great leaders from around our state just as we’ve been doing for more than 35 years. The good news is that through this merger we believe we will be able to do even more to enhance the program and support our 1,600-plus alumni.
The leadership of both organizations will remain part of Better Louisiana. Adam Knapp, the CEO of C100, will serve as CEO of Better Louisiana. Barry Erwin from CABL will serve as Chief Policy Officer.
CABL Legacy
As CABL begins a new chapter in its long history, it leaves a lasting legacy that has had a significant impact on our state.
CABL was formed in 1962 by a group of committed citizens from across Louisiana who aspired to the words they put in the organization’s name, “a better Louisiana.” Many of the issues they were concerned about back then still challenge us today, but there is no question that CABL’s work has led to tremendous progress on all of them.
In the early years that included things like enacting the state’s first code of governmental ethics, putting in place much-needed fiscal policy reforms, and the reorganization of the governance of K-12 and higher education.
As times changed, CABL changed. While it continued to work on major public policy initiatives, it also became more involved in being a catalyst for big projects. Ed Stagg, CABL’s first Executive Director, is widely credited as being “the father of the New Orleans World’s Fair.” While remembered by some as a venture that lost money for its investors, Stagg had a bigger vision which ultimately came to fruition – the redevelopment and revitalization of the New Orleans riverfront which led to the transformation of its downtown.
CABL was also a leader in the creation of Louisiana Public Broadcasting, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), the state’s earliest modern effort to research critical issues involving Louisiana’s coast.
In some ways it is fair to say that the history of CABL is the story of the reform movement in Louisiana from the 1960’s forward. The breadth of issues where CABL played a leadership role is impressive and includes, among its highlights:
- Numerous governmental ethics reforms.
- Passage of a constitutional amendment ending retirement benefits for legislators and other part-time elected officials.
- Sound state fiscal policies such as the Rainy Day Fund and other reforms to protect taxpayer dollars.
- Creation of the modern framework for tax reform.
- Creation of Louisiana’s original School Accountability System along with subsequent updates.
- Development and passage of Louisiana’s first charter school legislation.
- Creation and expansion of the LA-4 pre-k program for at-risk four-year-olds along with ongoing support for early childhood education.
- Creation of the original Recovery School District and its embrace of charter schools in New Orleans.
- Implementation of higher academic standards and better assessments in public education.
- Creation of the state’s community and technical college system.
- Support for higher education, workforce development, and enhanced opportunities for all students to have access to postsecondary education and training.
- Preservation in trust of 75% of Louisiana’s multi-billion-dollar tobacco settlement.
- Levee board and tax assessor consolidation and reform in New Orleans and southeast Louisiana.
- Almost 30 years of co-sponsoring debates in gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races with Louisiana Public Broadcasting.
Over the course of more than 60 years, CABL has lived up to the vision of its founders. Sometimes the positions it has taken have been controversial. Sometimes they have ruffled the feathers of the politicians of the day. But CABL has always stayed true to its mission. Its policy ideas remain focused on the broad public interest and achieving the best possible outcomes for the people of Louisiana.
While on the one hand CABL as we knew it is going away, the truth is its values and ideals are simply transitioning to a new organization. The Council for A Better Louisiana is now part of Leaders for A Better Louisiana. And its new vision rings true to the heart and soul of CABL: To transform Louisiana into a dynamic, future-ready economy that offers every business and citizen the opportunity to thrive.
For more information, visit the landing page at betterla.org
Louisiana
Federal appeals court upholds Texas’ Ten Commandments law. What does it mean for Louisiana?
A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a Texas law requiring public schools to post the Ten Commandments, just weeks after the same court allowed a similar Louisiana law to take effect.
A majority of judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Texas’ law, which is nearly identical to Louisiana’s, is constitutional and does not violate students’ religious freedom. In February, the court lifted an injunction on Louisiana’s law, which cleared schools to put up the posters, but the judges said it was too early to rule on that law’s constitutionality.
Tuesday’s ruling could bode well for Louisiana’s law if it eventually returns to the 5th Circuit, considered the country’s most conservative federal court of appeals.
In their majority opinion, the judges rejected the argument that posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms would pressure students to honor the biblical mandates or adopt particular beliefs.
“To plaintiffs, merely exposing children to religious language is enough to make the displays engines of coercive indoctrination. We disagree,” the majority wrote about the Texas law, known as S.B. 10. A minority of the court’s active judges dissented.
Even though Tuesday’s ruling only addressed the Texas case, defenders of Louisiana’s legislation celebrated it as a victory. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said the 5th Circuit’s argument in upholding Texas’ law was identical to the one Louisiana made in defense of its law.
“Our law clearly was always constitutional,” she posted on X, “and I am grateful that the Fifth Circuit has now definitively agreed with us.”
Louisiana’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed the law in 2024, which requires all public K-12 schools and colleges to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. A group of parents quickly challenged the law in court, and a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that stopped the state from enforcing the law.
In February, the 5th Circuit reversed the lower court’s decision, saying it had been premature to block the law before it took effect. The judges said they could not rule on the law’s constitutionality before seeing how it played out in schools.
But in the case of Texas’ law, which that state’s Republican-led Legislature passed in 2025, the court did rule on the merits.
Rejecting arguments made by attorneys for the Texas families who challenged the law, the 5th Circuit majority said that requiring public schools to post the Ten Commandments does not amount to the government endorsing a particular religion, which the U.S. Constitution forbids. The law also does not impose religious beliefs on students, the judges wrote.
“As noted, S.B. 10 authorizes no religious instruction and gives teachers no license to contradict children’s religious beliefs (or their parents’),” the majority opinion says. “No child is made to recite the Commandments, believe them, or affirm their divine origin.”
The Texas families were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, with the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP serving as pro bono counsel. The same groups, including Louisiana’s ACLU chapter, represented the Louisiana families.
In a statement Tuesday, the organizations said they are “extremely disappointed” by the 5th Circuit’s ruling, adding that they expect to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The First Amendment safeguards the separation of church and state, and the freedom of families to choose how, when and if to provide their children with religious instruction,” the groups said. “This decision tramples those rights.”
Nearly all major industries in Louisiana added jobs over the past year, signaling momentum for a stronger future, according to a recent report from Leaders for a Better Louisiana.
The organizat…
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — Police say a man shot and killed eight children, including seven of his own, following a domestic dispute in Shreveport.
The incident took place early Sunday morning, April 19, on West 79th Street in the Cedar Grove neighborhood. According to the Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office, the victims included three boys and five girls, aged between three and 11-years-old. Seven of the children were siblings, while one was a cousin. Two adult females were also injured, including one who was shot at a home located in the 500 block of Harrison Street.
One of the adults was inside the home on West 79th Street when the children were killed. She managed to escape through a window with two of the children and reached the roof. The woman jumped down with one of the children. Unfortunately, the other child did not manage to escape. Police later found his body on the roof with a gunshot wound. The surviving child was taken to the hospital with a broken leg.
The children were identified by their mothers as Jayla (age 3), Shayla (age 5), Kayla (age 6), Layla (age 7), Markaydon (age 10), Sariahh (age 11), Khedarrion (age 6), and Braylon (age 5).
Authorities say the suspect and father of the victims, Shamar Elkins, was the only person who fired shots that led to the juveniles’ deaths.
Authorities noted that Elkins stole a vehicle near West 79th Street after he shot the victims. He was pursued by patrol officers into Bossier Parish, where they discharged their weapons and fatally shot him on Brompton Lane. Louisiana State Police will take over the investigation involving the officers.
Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux expressed his thoughts on the matter, saying, “We have a hurting community. We have hurting families. We have hurting police officers, coroner’s personnel, fire department, sheriff people, and this affects the entire community. We all mourn with these families. I ask, it’s a Sunday morning. I ask all of you who are, who are listening, who might be able to. Pray at your services this morning for not just this family, for all the victims, for the victims who are at the hospital, and for the Cedar Grove community and for the community at large.”
Attorney General Liz Murrill also commented on the tragic shooting, stating, “Multiple law enforcement agencies are investigating this tragic situation. We do not yet know all the details, but I am deeply saddened by the senseless loss of life. I’m praying for the victims and their family members in the wake of this devastating violence.”
According to the Director of Strategy and Communications, Mary Nash-Wood, two of the children attended Summer Grove, and at least four attended Linwood Charter School.
The police have not determined a motive. More updates will be provided as the information becomes available.
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