Over 300 leaders of Together Baton Rouge called for both law enforcement and economic reforms at a luncheon meeting held at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church. The call to action occurred after breakout sessions in which leaders substantively listened to each other. Said Rev. Lee Wesley, "It is not our goal to return to where we were before Alton Sterling was shot. It is not our goal to get back to business as usual. It is our goal to move forward."

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Shortly after leaders of Together Baton Rouge called on the Justice Department to widen the scope of its investigation into the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling, saying it should include possible state criminal violations, a spokesman for Gov. John Bel Edwards responded, saying that the U.S. attorney's office will not only investigate whether civil rights were violated, but also potential state and federal violations. "If the U.S. attorney's office finds any violation of state laws and believes the officers should be charged with battery, assault or murder, it will refer that back to the local district attorney for prosecution."

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Baton Rouge, LA - With seventy 'Together Louisiana' leaders in attendance, Governor John Bel Edwards issued an Executive Order overhauling the nation's largest state program of corporate subsidies, the Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP).

Reforms include requirements that impacted local tax authorities approve the subsidy, including municipal government, school boards and law enforcement; exemptions demonstrate a Return on Investment (ROI) for new jobs or retention of good jobs; and that subsidy applicants sign contractual agreements based on promised investments and local hires.

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One month after 400 'Together Louisiana' leaders secured the commitment of Governor John Bel Edwards to work towards tax fairness, the organization released a groundbreaking study demonstrating that Louisiana's Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP) amounts to giveaways of over $1.6 Billion per year. In response to the organization's call on Governor Edwards to use his constitutional authority to reform the program, the Governor's office has announced there will be an executive order.

Study findings show that over the last 10 years, $16.7 billion in local tax revenue has been redirected to subsidize heavy manufacturing, amounting to over $535 thousand per job reportedly created. Louisiana's top 5 environmental polluters, according to the EPA, received $506 million in taxpayer subsidies. Even British Petroleum (BP) received $9.4 million in state subsidies during and after the Deepwater Horizon spill. Louisiana is the only state in the country with a board that gives away local tax revenue, without approval from the local governments losing the money.

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In front of 400 leaders assembled at Mt. Zion First Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Together Louisiana leader Rev. Theron Jackson of Shreveport laid out the source of the state's budget shortfall (corporate exemptions and lower income taxes on the wealthy), referred to the reliance on sales taxes as "the big swap" and bluntly stated, "This calls for righteous indignation."

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When the Mayor of St. Joseph held up at least $250,000 in state funds available for local water system repairs, Together Louisiana leaders took their fight to the state Capitol, bottles of brown water in hand. In testimony to the House Natural Resources and Environmental Quality Committee, Pastor Samuel Johnson of Guilefield Baptist told legislators that parishioners are losing their hair and suffering from skin irritation. Others detailed that the mayor countered calls for water system repairs with the assertion that residents "can drink bottled water."

Though the state has allocated $7 Million for clean water, local mayors have the power to block such initiatives. The committee chair, impacted by Together Louisiana testimony, talked of issuing a subpoena if the Mayor does not respond to calls to appear before the committee. Governor Bel Edwards has committed to work with Together Louisiana leaders to resolve this issue. Leaders are calling for the appointment of an administrator that would use the $250,000 emergency fund to replace the most egregious pipe, passage of HB83 to recognize secondary water quality standards of the EPA, and increased prioritization of the $7 Million state fund appropriation so that the town's pipes and filtration system can be replaced, and release of those funds once an administrator has been appointed.

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On his first full day in office, newly elected Governor John Bel Edwards made good on a pledge to 'Together Louisiana' to expand Medicaid. Edwards signed the executive order for this expansion flanked by Together Louisiana leaders Fr. Rick Andrus, Rev. Patti Snyder, Ms. Pat LeDuff and Ms. Alma Stewart (with LA Health Equity). The expansion is expected to provide healthcare to an additional 300,000 Louisiana residents within the next six months.

This expansion came two months after what many called "an intervention" in the gubernatorial runoff election, which had devolved into a brawl of personal attacks. At the only event in which both candidates appeared jointly, more than four hundred Together Louisiana leaders assembled from 38 cities to put family issues like healthcare, wages, higher education and transportation back at the center of the campaign.

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The NOVA Workforce Institute of Northeast Louisiana broke their own record in job-placement this month, placing 17 of its graduates in living wage careers. Since 2009, NOVA has placed 461 adults into living wage work, with a projected annual wage impact of $7.4 million. Economist Bob Eisenstadt, the rector of the University of Louisiana at Monroe's Center for Business and Economic Research said,

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In collaboration with the Baton Rouge Catholic Diocese, Jesuit Social Research Institute and Catholic Charities, Together Baton Rouge kicked off a 4-part series on the 'Joy of the Gospel' by Pope Francis. With over 70 participants in attendance, representing 25 different parishes, Fr. Fred Kammer (Executive Director of the Jesuit Social Research Institute) taught the first section on the "Joy of the Good News." This is part of a larger strategy to broaden the institutional base of the organization.

Leaders from across Louisiana assembled to learn about their state's $1.6 billion budget deficit, the lack of access to fresh food experienced by over 1 million Louisianans, and how to organize effectively in their local communities for maximum state impact. Elected officials in attendance, including Agricultural Commissioner Mike Strain (R) and Democrats from North & Southern Louisiana agreed to work with Together Louisiana to address the budget and food access.