News

Hearing set in tourism slogan case

by Walter Pierce

The legal fight over a billboard that features the state's tourism slogan as part of a push to expand Medicaid continues in Baton Rouge.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The legal fight over a billboard that features the state's tourism slogan as part of a push to expand Medicaid continues in Baton Rouge.

A hearing in Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne's federal lawsuit against MoveOn.Org is set for Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court.

At issue is Move.On's Baton Rouge billboard ad that uses Louisiana's "Pick Your Passion" tourism slogan.

The billboard is critical of Gov. Bobby Jindal's refusal to expand Medicaid in Louisiana under the federal Affordable Care Act.

Dardenne filed suit in March. He argues that organizations should not be allowed to use the state tourism slogan to deliver a political message.

MoveOn says the billboard message is protected by the First Amendment.