Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed an executive order on Monday requiring state executive agencies to provide a disclaimer on voter registration forms stating that noncitizens are barred from registering to vote and voting.
Voting in federal elections is limited to US citizens by federal law. Voting in any elections in Louisiana is also limited by Article 1, Section 10 of the Louisiana Constitution. The disclaimer would state, “The Louisiana Constitution prohibits non-citizens from registering and voting. Therefore, it is illegal for non-citizens to register and vote in Louisiana.”
The executive order was signed in response to a large number of undocumented immigrantsunder the Biden-Harris administration. The executive order expresses concern for a resulting large number of undocumented immigrants voting in elections and it states, “[A]ny vote cast unlawfully is a dilution of the votes cast by individuals lawfully registered to vote in the United States[.]”
Governor Landry shared in a press conference that the US from its inception has welcomed immigrants, but the federal government has created a broken immigration system. Yet, he said that those facts cannot allow Louisiana to ignore immigration law. He elaborated, “[I]f we do, we disrespect all the great immigrants who came to America, who followed the process, who became a citizen and did it the right way.” He also emphasized that citizenship is the foundation of a constitutional republic and that “[US] elections are a privilege reserved for American citizens because citizenship should mean something.” He further stated, “American citizens are expected to uphold the principles of liberty, democracy, rule of law, and individual rights, that form the foundation of our country. And how can one do that if one has broken the law when gaining access to this very country in the beginning?”
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Landry’s executive order comes after the US Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Arizona’s election law requiring proof of citizenship.
BATON ROUGE, La. (KPLC) – The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will soon be accepting applications for the Louisiana Black Bear Hunting Lottery after a new state law established the black bear hunting season.
The lottery will open on Aug. 29 and run through Sept. 25, LDWF said.
The bear hunt will take place between Dec. 7 and Dec. 22 in northeast Louisiana in Tensas, Madison, East Carroll, and West Carroll Parishes. The hunt will also include portions of Richland, Franklin, and Catahoula parishes.
A total of 10 permits will be issued for the 2024 lottery. Bear harvest permits will consist of three types: Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Private Landowner, and General.
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To apply for the 2024 lottery, visit the LDWF website. A non-refundable $50 application fee will be charged to each applicant. Possession of a valid black bear hunting license is required before applying for the WMA and general lotteries.
Only one application is allowed per applicant per lottery. For example, a person cannot apply more than once for the WMA Black Bear Lottery, but they can apply once each for the WMA lottery and once for the general Black Bear Lottery.
Successful applicants will be required to attend an LDWF bear hunter training course on either Nov. 2 or Nov. 14. LDWF encourages attending the Nov. 2 date if possible. Individuals who do not attend these courses may be disqualified or forfeit their bear hunting permit.
All applicants will be notified of their results by email. An applicant’s results can also be viewed HERE.
AAA reports that the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Louisiana is $2.98. Fuel Analyst Don Redman says this reflects a slight decrease in fuel costs compared to previous weeks, offering some relief to drivers amid a fluctuating fuel market…
“It’s a return for good times for the motorists at least short term. We’re almost 40 cents a gallon cheaper than this time last year. So certainly for a lot of families getting a break at the pump.”
The downward trend in gas prices is attributed to a combination of factors, including a decrease in crude oil prices, seasonal changes in demand, and an increase in fuel supply. However, despite this dip, fuel prices remain a concern for many residents, especially as the state braces for potential disruptions during hurricane season, which Redman says could impact both supply and prices.
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“If we add to the mix potential we are still in the height of the hurricane season. This is the season within the season for the next few weeks.
Redman cautioned that while prices may stabilize or decrease slightly in the short term, the overall trend remains unpredictable, with potential spikes depending on global conflicts in the Middle East and domestic production levels. Drivers are advised to stay informed about fuel prices and consider strategies to conserve fuel as they navigate these fluctuations.
“All the good times that we’re having at the pump maybe erased depending on what may or may not happen in the Middle East. If those rockets continue to fly.”
Louisiana’s gas prices are typically lower than the national average due to the state’s proximity to Gulf Coast refineries and lower state taxes on fuel.
Even in Louisiana, where fossil fuels have long been the dominant energy source, utilities and industrial power users continue to place more emphasis on tapping a renewable power supply — whether forced to do so by regulators or driven by environmental reasons.
The Legislature has been asked to consider policy to pave the way for alternative energy, which has led to some resistance from lawmakers with deep ties to oil and gas. While legislation for wind energy infrastructure has been embraced, thanks to its overlap with offshore exploration, solar energy hasn’t enjoyed the same warm welcome.
This was evident during a joint meeting Thursday of the House committees on Agriculture and Natural Resources on solar energy development. Summoned through a study resolution approved earlier this year, the hearing was rife with misinformation, unsubstantiated statements and contradictory data.
The Illuminator researched some of the most noteworthy claims made at the hearing to determine their accuracy and provide factual evidence to support or refute them.
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Claim: Federal subsidies for renewable energy have created an unlevel playing field in favor of the renewable energy industry, according to Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain.
Fact check: Mostly false and misleading. While it is true that direct federal subsidies for renewables are currently greater than those for conventional energy sources nationwide, it is not the case for Louisiana and has only recently become the case in many other states.
Louisiana has received $156 million in federal solar subsidies under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the major source of federal clean energy funding. This amount is small compared with the roughly $1.6 billion in state tax subsidies that Louisiana hands out to the oil and gas industry each year, according to Louisiana Department of Revenue data.
That amount doesn’t include fossil fuel subsidies from the state’s most lucrative incentive, the Industrial Tax Exemption Program.
Nationwide, about 53% of federal energy subsidies were associated with renewables, including biofuels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. About a third of that share, or roughly $7.5 billion, has gone to solar. That includes direct payments such as grants and agency spending, as well as indirect incentives such as loans and tax breaks.
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Federal subsidies for conventional energy sources — such as coal, nuclear power, natural gas and petroleum liquids — have reached about $5.3 billion per year. However, the natural gas industry has received the lion’s share in direct payment subsidies, amounting to $103 million in 2022 compared to $27 million for the solar industry, according to federal data. Louisiana Agricultural Commissioner Mike Strain. (Photo provided by the Strain campaign)
Claim: Strain said some banks and activists have forced large companies to purchase expensive renewable energy by pressuring corporate board members to adopt environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies. Those purchases, he claimed, turned out to be poor investments because conventional fossil fuels are cheaper. Corporate boards are now reversing their ESG policies after realizing they have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders to not waste money on politically motivated initiatives, Strain said.
Fact check: Partially true but misleading. Activist shareholders have managed to influence some companies’ investment priorities, and investment banks have created ESG funds that bundle stocks from companies that, for example, have smaller impacts on the environment or greater workforce diversity.
However, many ESG funds and policies, for the large part, are branding opportunities to try to attract new customers by letting them choose investments that align with their personal values. Most of the political pressure and legislation on this issue came from conservatives after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it would require companies to disclose whether climate change poses a risk to their long-term financial positions.
The Illuminator could not confirm any individual companies have lost money on renewable energy investment.
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Strain referred to John Deere as a recent example, but there have been no reports of the company losing money related to ESG policies. John Deere made headlines when it removed “socially-motivated messages” within its employee training manuals following targeted backlash from conservatives. Some companies have continued their core commitment to ESG and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, but some have simply dropped the acronyms or renamed the policies.
Claim: The wind and solar industries would effectively collapse if not for federal subsidies because renewable energy costs much more than fossil fuels.
Fact check: False. Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, made such claims throughout the meeting. He refused to accept testimony that refuted them from one of the state’s leading economists on the subject, Greg Upton, director of LSU’s Center for Energy Studies, who said utility-scale solar is the cheapest form of energy even without federal subsidies.
“That’s contrary to everything everybody else said in the world,” McCormick said, adding that Upton’s department receives funding from the solar industry and accused him of having a financial incentive to reach certain conclusions. State Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
Upton cited other research that’s reached the same conclusions and said the center receives a lot of money from oil and gas companies, too.
It’s unclear where McCormick got his information as he didn’t mention a source, but news of renewable energy’s cost competitiveness is relatively old. Average power purchase agreement prices for solar supplanted the cost of burning fuel in existing natural gas units nearly a decade ago, according to a 2023 study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
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Onshore wind began undercutting all fossil fuels by significant margins in 2014. Utility-scale solar joined wind at the top of the affordability rankings a few years later, and they remain nearly tied with each other for being the cheapest forms of electricity — 33% lower than natural gas — even without government subsidies, according to a 2024 study by the financial firm Lazard.
Claim: Louisiana utilities could generate cheaper electricity using natural gas, but it’s being shipped overseas. As a result, utility companies are forced to buy renewable energy.
Fact check: False. McCormick asked about this after Upton tried explaining how oil and gas markets are global and largely unaffected by domestic factors such as the increase of solar developments in Louisiana. Upton said solar electricity isn’t a direct competitor to oil and gas companies that make most of their money on the global market.
Utilities are not being forced to use renewable energy. Rep. Jerome Zeringue, R-Houma tried to clear up the confusion, explaining that utilities purchase the lowest cost wholesale electricity through the regional grid operator regardless of how it’s generated. When they’re purchasing renewable electricity, it’s simply because it’s the cheapest electricity available at that time and not because they’re being forced to do so, Zeringue said.
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Claim: Solar’s use of land poses a risk to the state’s food supply, which is dwindling because people are eating more food than is produced.
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Fact check: Mostly misleading. Strain and others suggested solar could cause severe disruptions to farming, including sugar cane, by taking over a significant portion of the land being used for crops.
“We’re consuming more food than we’re producing,” he said.
Although some studies indicate the world could run out of food by as early as 2050, the problem is not the fault of the solar industry. Rather, it is primarily the result of unsustainable farming practices, wasteful eating habits and, to some extent, climate change.
Unsustainable farming practices such as overuse of fertilizers, intensive tilling and planting the same crop each year have caused severe soil degradation to the point of where land can no longer support plant life, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.
But even when farms can produce enough food, Americans waste about 30-40% of it, data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show.
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Jim Simon, director of the American Sugar Cane League, testified that Louisiana’s sugar cane industry is fragile. The loss of a few thousand acres in a single area would lead to the closure of a mill, he said. When asked by lawmakers, he could not offer any data to suggest solar farms are displacing sugar cane fields.
Simon’s organization announced last year that Louisiana sugar cane farmers had record-setting yields, producing the most sugar cane in the country.
Upton said that even if Louisiana built enough solar farms to replace every other source of energy in the state — a virtually impossible scenario — those solar farms would still only take up a little over 1% of the state’s land.