BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana will rework how it spends the money it allocates to defending the poor, to ensure two-thirds of it flows to local indigent defenders, under a new law signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards.
That measure was among a package of bill signings released Monday evening by the governor's office.
The bill by Rep. Sherman Mack, R-Albany, requires the Louisiana Public Defender Board to dedicate at least 65 percent of its annual financing to local defenders of the indigent, which have been struggling with financial shortfalls.
Other bills signed by Edwards will:
—Give Louisiana's agriculture department up to 7 percent of the revenue from medical marijuana sales and let the agency charge the medicinal plant's state-sanctioned grower a $100,000 annual incense fee and a $10,000 application fee. The department says those charges will cover its costs of regulating the drug.
—Ban hotels, convention centers and trade shows from blocking personal access to mobile phone hotspots. Violators will face a fine up to $10,000 for each offense.
—Enact a legal framework and set penalties for prosecuting Louisiana grave robbers, an effort to curb the trafficking of human remains. The new law outlines who can possess remains and where they can be possessed. Violators face up to a $5,000 fine and one year in prison.
—Require the Louisiana State Law Institute, which studies complex legal issues for the Legislature, to hold its meetings in public buildings, as a way to cut spending by the legislative agency.