Citing concerns that if homeowners don't "get this wet stuff out of their homes in the next few days, the entire home will be contaminated," leaders of Together Baton Rouge organized "Gut Check Saturday" pairing groups of volunteers to residents needing assistance.

160 TBR leaders turned out Saturday to help their neighbors.

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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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Fulfilling a second campaign promise to Together Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards met with 33 leaders assembled from across the state to address the $3 billion projected budget deficit left behind by his predecessor. The first promise -- to enact Medicaid expansion -- was fulfilled in the early days of his taking office.

After announcing that Medicaid expansion would save the state $100 million, the governor requested that Together Louisiana leaders assist him with long-term fiscal reform. Leaders expressed concern about short-term expansions of regressive sales taxes and called on the governor to help address water quality in St. Joseph and a statewide problem of food deserts. See full report below for more.

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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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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.

At a meeting convened by Together Baton Rouge and the Baton Rouge Food Access Commission, TBR leaders announced a new limited-stop route to run Saturdays from 'food deserts' to grocery stores as a temporary measure to ensure access to healthy food. Asked Tamika Porter, "If there's such a thing as Whole Food, then what am I giving my children? Half food?"

Capital Area Transit System (CATS) CEO committed to providing the new Saturday bus route by June 2015. He also promised to re-evaluate every route to ensure that buses are stopping at at grocery stores where possible.

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Over 150 leaders from Northern & Central Louisiana Interfaith assembled with three candidates for US Congressional District 5 including Republican incumbent Vance McAllister, Dr. Ralph Abraham and Mayor Jamie Mayo. Leaders succeeded in leveraging bipartisan agreement to work with the organization to:

- Expand Medicaid in Louisiana;

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Together Baton Rouge (TBR) leaders, in collaboration with the East Baton Rouge Food Policy Commission created last year by the Mayor with TBR, delivered five recommendations to a crowd of 80 residents working to end food deserts in East Baton Rouge. TBR leader Edgar Cage reported that, 17% of the parish population lives in areas with "unacceptably low access" to grocery stores -- while the national average hovers at 8%.

"There are many nurturing mothers who care what goes into our bodies and our children's bodies," said Tamika Mason Porter. "And we'll make sacrifices to do it." The real issue, she said, is getting access to those good food choices.

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