UL SOFTBALL Critical decisions will impact program’s viability 1C THE
ACADIANA
ADVOCATE
T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
|
T h u r s d ay, J u n e 5, 2025
$2.00X
2025 LEGISLATURE
LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL
Lawmakers OK purchase of new voting system
Road swap with state approved Johnston Street taxing district proposed BY CLAIRE TAYLOR
Staff writer
Louisiana could be on track to replace more than 10,000 voting machines that are 35 years old.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
New bidding process approved for Secretary of State’s Office BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
Louisiana may finally be on track to replace its decades-old voting machines, after years of controversies over how to do so. The Louisiana Legislature gave the Secretary of State’s Office the green light to use a new bidding process to pick a company that will replace the more than 10,000 machines that officials say are increasingly difficult to keep functioning. “Our machines are 35 years old, it’s impossible to find parts, and they don’t produce an auditable paper record for each vote cast,” Secretary of State Nancy Landry told lawmakers on the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee last month.
“Our machines are 35 years old, it’s impossible to find parts, and they don’t produce an auditable paper record for each vote cast. To put it bluntly, we’re in a dire situation, and we need a new voting system soon.”
process for state contracts. The new process will hopefully allow the state to speed up how quickly it purchases a new voting system, Landry said. But the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana says forgoing a public bidding process could lead to less transparency. NANCy LANDRy, “We just want to make sure that there Louisiana secretary of state will be something available for the public to see at the end of this process to understand why the Secretary of State’s Office “To put it bluntly, we’re in a dire situ- chose the vendor that it chose,” said PAR ation, and we need a new voting system Research Director Melinda Deslatte. “We’re not entirely certain yet if that insoon,” she said. Under House Bill 577, the office, which formation will be publicly available,” she runs elections, will be authorized to pur- added. “But we’re hopeful because the chase a new voting system using a bid- Secretary of State’s Office has indicated ding process called “invitation to negoä See VOTING, page 5A tiate” rather than a standard public bid
Weather service is filling jobs
Musk’s opposition prompts some in GOP to backtrack BY MARK BALLARD
BY KASEY BUBNASH
Staff writer
Staff writer
ä See WEATHER, page 4A
WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 73 PAGE 6A
ä See SWAP, page 4A
La. Republicans still support spending bill
Move comes after Trump cut budget After losing hundreds of employees to budget cuts and layoffs implemented by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, the National Weather Service announced plans Tuesday to hire 126 workers to permanent positions while transferring existing employees to
Lafayette and the state will swap ownership of parts of two major roadways in the city to facilitate Mayor-President Monique Boulet’s Johnston Street and Bertrand Drive redevelopment plans, with a caveat: the possible creation of an economic development district along Johnston Street with a special sales tax to pay for the work. The City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to swap a stretch of Johnston Street and Bertrand Drive, which the state owns, with nearly 4 miles of Ambassador Caffery Parkway, which the city owns, between Johnston Street and Bertrand Drive. In May, the council tabled the swap so Boulet’s staff could provide more information on her overall vision for the project. The approval came after council member Andy Naquin won a concession: that the city consider creating an economic development district along Johnston Street between College Road and Ambassador Caffery Parkway and possibly along Bertrand Drive to help pay for the improvements. The economic development district would be created and governed by City Council members who could impose an additional sales tax to be collected from customers who buy from businesses in the district, with the money to be set aside for a specific purpose. The city already has several economic development districts, created in 2019, including in downtown and part of University Avenue. They collect a 2% hotel occupancy tax and a 1% sales tax, except Trappey’s economic development district, which collects 2% sales tax. Swapping the roadways is needed because the city is limited in
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, makes a point as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Benton, listens during a news conference on President Donald Trump’s bill of tax breaks and spending cuts at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON — Louisiana Republicans rallied around House leadership Wednesday as some Republicans said they regretted their vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and Elon Musk called for throwing out GOP representatives for those votes. Musk, who ended his role over the weekend as President Donald Trump’s point man to
Business ...................10C Commentary ................3B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................4B Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C
ä Congressional Budget Office says tax bill will add $2.4 trillion to the deficit.
PAGE 3A
shrink the federal government, said the bill would add to the nation’s $36.2 trillion debt. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk posted Tuesday on X, the social media app he owns. On Wednesday, Musk doubled down, writing on X: “Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is
ä See SPENDING, page 5A
100TH yEAR, NO. 340