Louisiana
Edwards budget chief Jay Dardenne to pay $3,000 fine for late campaign finance reports • Louisiana Illuminator
The Louisiana Board of Ethics assessed Jay Dardenne, a longtime elected official who was also Gov. John Bel Edwards’ commissioner of administration, a $3,000 fine for filing four campaign finance reports months after their deadlines passed.
Dardenne, who also served as Louisiana’s lieutenant governor and secretary of state, initially faced a much larger fine. The penalty for his four tardy reports was $12,000, but the board voted to reduce it to $3,000 after Dardenne personally apologized at its Friday meeting.
“I do not have any excuse I can make for failing to timely file those reports,” he told board members. “In those previous years that I filed, I had gotten in the habit only annually.”
The four reports in question were connected to Dardenne’s political action committee, JAY PAC, and should have been submitted during the fall and winter of 2023. He made a few small campaign contributions out of that account for state elections at the time.
Dardenne, who is a Republican, donated between $250 and $500 to a small group of candidates, including Baton Rouge state Reps. Dixon McMakin and Barbara Freiberg, Secretary of State Nancy Landry and former state Rep. John Stefanski, who ran for attorney general last year.
The fine for missing a PAC campaign reporting deadline was $200 per day for up to 15 days, at which point it reached a maximum of $3,000. Dardenne’s four reports were between 75 and 162 days late, according to information the ethics board provided.
Dardenne set up JAY PAC during his unsuccessful bid for governor in 2015 and said Friday he hasn’t used it much in recent years. It contained no more than $7,600 total last year, according to publicly available campaign finance reports.
He said he recently drained the PAC by making a few charitable donations with its remaining funds and intends to close out the account by the end of the year.
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The ethics board also assessed two state senators fines for failing to submit their own PAC campaign finance reports on time.
Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, was assessed a $1,000 fine for failing to file a campaign finance report for Kirk PAC 33 days late in 2019.
The board chose to reduce Talbot’s penalty from $3,000 to $1,000 after Talbot’s former accountant told the board Friday he was responsible for the overdue submission. Phillip Rebowe said he was locked out of his files, including the PAC’s paperwork, when he left an accounting firm and wasn’t able to file the paperwork by the deadline.
Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, was assessed a $500 fine for filing his LA PAC campaign finance report 15 days late in the fall of 2023.
The board voted to cut Luneau’s fine from $3,000 to $500 after Luneau appeared Friday and said his accountant had only recently taken over the PAC’s paperwork from the accountant’s dying father. Steven McKay didn’t file the report on time because he was newly assigned to Luneau’s accounts and not familiar with PAC deadlines yet. Plus McKay was caring for a sick parent who was also his business partner, the senator said.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) — Governor Landry has officially declared Louisiana under state of emergency.
The state emergency declaration covers Avoyelles, Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St. Landry, St. Tammany and Terrebonne parishes.
The declaration was issued Thursday following the impacts of Tropical Storm Arthur, which brough rainfall and strong storms to parts of the state on June 17 and 18.
Officials said the National Weather Service has confirmed three tornadoes tied to the storm system.
Officials also reported record or near-record rainfall totals in Avoyelles and Pointe Coupee parishes over a 12-hour period.
The order allows the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to coordinate resources and provide assistance to local governments if needed.
Certain state purchasing and bidding requirements have been temporarily suspended to speed up emergency response efforts.
The declaration took effect immediately and will remain in place through July 18 unless it is lifted or extended.
State officials are urging residents to stay weather aware, avoid flooded roadways and follow guidance from local emergency managers.
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MONROE, La. (KNOE) – The North Louisiana Crime Lab released a June 2026 law enforcement bulletin warning of additional cases tied to cyclorphine, a synthetic opioid the lab says can be significantly more potent than fentanyl.
The bulletin, titled “Cyclorphine Update — Additional Cases & Footprint,” notes that drug evidence submissions testing positive for cyclorphine have been received from multiple parishes in North Louisiana.
What is cyclorphine?
According to the bulletin, cyclorphine is a synthetic opioid in the emerging orphine drug class. The lab said current toxicity data are limited, but laboratory studies indicate cyclorphine may be up to 10 times more potent than fentanyl.
Reported effects
The crime lab said cyclorphine can produce effects similar to other narcotic analgesics, including:
- Central nervous system depression
- Lethargy or stupor
- Respiratory depression with slow, shallow breathing
- Pinpoint pupils
The bulletin said Narcan should be administered to someone suffering from cyclorphine toxicity, and that multiple doses may be needed.
What the bulletin says about trends
The crime lab said national data indicate cyclorphine will likely continue spreading through the region, including becoming more common in seized and submitted drug evidence.
Where cyclorphine has been detected
The bulletin includes a “detection timeline and counterfeit tablet types,” showing evidence submissions tied to specific parishes and dates, including:
- Caddo Parish (Feb. 19; April 14)
- Ouachita Parish (March 18; May 13)
- DeSoto Parish (March 25)
- Natchitoches Parish (May 14)
The lab also noted counterfeit pill types associated with these submissions, including tablets labeled “M30,” “M15,” “K56,” “1259,” and “M367.” Officials warned it may be impossible to know what a pill contains, even if it resembles a known tablet.
The North Louisiana Crime Lab said it will continue tracking trends and sharing updates as additional evidence is submitted.
Copyright 2026 KNOE. All rights reserved.
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