Roundup: Fiscal cliff / Ethics board / Judicial hellhole

    Education shortfall: The budget for Louisiana education is facing up to $250 million in possible cuts for the 2025-2026 school year in order to make up for the state government’s deficit. The cuts could reportedly impact both preschool and higher education. Read more from the USA Today network. 

    Sole candidate: The Louisiana House of Representatives has nominated only one person so far to fill its open ethics board seat—former state Rep. Mike Huval. The House’s Governmental Affairs Committee is scheduled to conduct interviews for the seat on Thursday. Huval is also reportedly friends with Gov. Jeff Landry, who is in an ongoing dispute with the ethics board. Read more from Louisiana Illuminator. 

    State improving: The American Tort Reform Association announced that Louisiana remains among the nation’s worst “judicial hellholes” and ranked the state at No. 10 in its annual report. The state ranked seventh the last two years. The report points to the state’s nuclear verdicts, coastal litigation and rampant insurance fraud as plaguing its legal system. Read more from the American Tort Reform Association