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ACADIANA
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T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
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W e d n e s d ay, F e b r u a ry 26, 2025
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Budget bill stakes high for the state La. has one of highest per-capita percentages of residents on Medicaid BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
PHOTOS By LEE BALL
Port of Iberia Director Craig Romero, from left, Gov. Jeff Landry and Cajun Industries Senior Vice President Andy Lopez talk Tuesday in New Iberia as the company announced its expansion at the port.
‘A long time in the making’ Cajun Industries announces plans to locate assembly yard at Iberia port, employ 600
BY ADAM DAIGLE
Acadiana business editor A Baton Rouge-based manufacturer will open a location at the Port of Iberia to build modules for petrochemical plants, a move that will employ 600, officials announced Tuesday morning. Officials with the port and Cajun Industries, along with Gov. Jeff Landry and state and local elected officials, ushered in the development Tuesday morning, which will cover 66 acres at the port and allow the company to use increased access to the Gulf of Mexico for transportation. Cajun’s move is also a big win for manufacturing in the region and the state, Landry said, as part of the Trump administration’s emphasis on growing manufacturing jobs in the United States.
ä See CAJUN, page 4A
WASHINGTON — As Republicans look to cut more than a trillion dollars out of the federal budget, some state leaders and health care officials worry that steep cuts to Medicaid could be on the table, which could blow a hole in the state budget and cause deep cuts in services to the 1.6 million Louisiana residents on the program. “The Medicaid cuts that are being discussed by think tanks and in Washington, without a doubt, would harm our ability to provide lifesaving care for Medicaid patients across Louisiana,” said Ryan Cross, vice president for government affairs at the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, which operates seven regional medical centers and urgent care centers scattered throughout Louisiana. But some, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, say those fears are overblown.
ä See BUDGET, page 5A
Legislators eye tax exemption for NIL deals BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
Port of Iberia Director Craig Romero, left, greets Andy Shealy and Brad Norris at the Tuesday event, where Cajun Industries announced it will lease 60 acres at the port for an assembly yard.
As Louisiana tries to stay competitive in a new college athletics landscape in which players can get paid, it could soon join other states that are considering a new strategy: tax breaks for athletes who get money from NIL deals. “Name, image and likeness” refers to arrangements in which athletes are paid to appear in advertising, merchandise and other media. Such agreements became legal in recent years, opening up an arms race for athletics programs seeking to attract top players with lucrative deals. Rep. Dixon McMakin, R-Baton Rouge, said he is preparing to file a bill for this year’s legislative session that would exempt compensation student athletes earn from NIL deals from state income tax.
ä See TAX, page 4A
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