| By JAMES FINN | Staff writer |
Pointing fingers: U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy is taking aim at the U.S. Department of Energy for its decision to bypass a Louisiana-led coalition for millions in funding for regional “clean” hydrogen development, Robert Stewart reports. Cassidy accused Biden administration officials of steering more dollars toward states with Democratic legislators even though some of those regions don’t have the hydrogen infrastructure Louisiana does. He claimed the “fix was in” before the review process even started. Another surplus: Forecasts show Louisiana will once again be flush with cash when governor-elect Jeff Landry and a new round of state legislators take office in January, James Finn reports. Lawmakers will tens of millions of dollars in surplus tax collections from the last budget cycle to carve up when they convene next spring in Baton Rouge, analysts told the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget Wednesday. Death row debate: Dealing a blow to attorney general and governor-elect Jeff Landry's attempts at blocking a historic push to clear Louisiana's death row, a Baton Rouge judge on Thursday disqualified attorneys from representing the state Pardon Board in a lawsuit over that effort, Matt Bruce reports. Landry had hired the attorneys from Sher Garner after firing an attorney previously assigned to the case — a decision that drew blowback at the time. | 