| By Jessica Williams | Capitol News Bureau Editor |
Cortez steps up: It will fall to Senate President Page Cortez to wrangle lawmakers to back a state spending plan the Senate and Gov. John Bel Edwards can live with, Tyler Bridges reports. At issue are competing efforts to either spend money on teacher raises and infrastructure or use it to pay down pension debt. Child advocate: To better track children in the state's care, Senate Bill 137 would create a child ombudsman's office, Andrea Gallo reports. The bill was filed after multiple children who had been on child welfare officials' radar died last year, and after child inmates sued state-run juvenile jails this year, alleging inhumane practices. Montoucet scandal: Former Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Jack Montoucet had long steered state work to Leonard Franques, the man accused of bribing Montoucet, Sam Karlin reports. Leonard Franques or his brother Andre Franques received no-bid contracts after hurricanes Ida and Laura. | 