Abortion, levee, tax measures whip through Louisiana Legislature
by Jeff Adelson - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Baton Rouge -- A torrent of bills moved through the Louisiana Legislature on Friday. Among them were proposals to restrict abortions, to put all New Orleans-area levee police under one supervisor and to allow residents to receive tax refunds by check instead of on a debit card. The last-minute surge came as lawmakers cleared the decks for the last hours of the session, which must end Monday by 6 p.m. Legislators will take off Saturday before coming in Sunday to continue the battle over the state's $25.6 billion budget and the use of $204.7 million from the state's rainy-day fund, debates that are expected to consume much of their remaining time in Baton Rouge. The abortion measure, filed by Senate President John Alario, R-Westwego, would restrict abortions to the first 20 weeks of a pregnancy. Current restrictions prevent abortion after a fetus is "viable."