—DONAHUE BACKS INDEXING GAS TAX: Department of Transportation and Development Joe Donahue supports indexing the state gasoline tax to inflation. “That would be a very wise choice,” he told the House Appropriations Committee on Friday, adding that any additional funding “would be put to good use.” Louisiana has not raised its 20-cents-per-gallon gas tax since 1990, so inflation has eroded its value over time. Donahue acknowledged the political difficulty of getting enough lawmakers on board to raise revenue. He previously told LaPolitics that he didn’t think raising the gas tax should be the “sole means of providing the appropriate level of funding for the department” but he is “not opposed to having an increase be part of a broader plan to get to the level of funding that is necessary.” 

—PSC CANDIDATES ON GREENE: Republican Public Service Commissioner Craig Greene received a mix of praise and criticism from the three candidates seeking to replace him at a Baton Rouge Press Club forum held Monday. Greene, who serves with two other Republicans and two Democrats and is not running for reelection, has often been the commission’s swing vote. Democrat Nick Laborde gave him credit for being willing to buck his own party if he believed it was best for ratepayers. But the Republicans in the race, Sen. Jean-Paul Coussan and former Sen. Julie Quinn, expressed concern about some of those party-bucking votes, while still praising his service and wishing him the best. “He supported more of the ‘green new deal’ concepts than I was comfortable with,” Quinn said. (Read more about the race in LaPolitics Weekly)

—LOTTO’S WINNINGS: The Louisiana Lottery Corporation had total sales of $639.6 million last fiscal year, which was down about $12.8 million from the year before but still the second-highest total in the Lottery’s 33-year history, Lottery officials and the Louisiana Legislative Auditor reported. The corporation transferred about $204.8 million to the State Treasury in fiscal year 2024, a decrease of $7.3 million from fiscal year 2023.

—CASSIDY SUMMIT: U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy has announced speakers for the “energy security summit” he has planned for Oct. 16 in Baton Rouge. They include Mark W. Menezes, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy; Neil Chatterjee, former chair of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; James Connaughton, former chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality; and Kimberly A. Reed, former chair of the U.S. Export-Import Bank. (More info, including the full list of speakers)

—LABI PARTNERS WITH PLACID: As part of National Manufacturing Week, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry is partnering with Placid Refining Company to highlight opportunities in the manufacturing industry. More than 134,100 people are employed by more than 3,000 companies in Louisiana’s manufacturing sector, which adds $51.8 billion to the state’s economy and comprises 17.8 percent of the state’s gross domestic product, LABI says.

—GARRET’S TAKE ON END OF TERM: Congressman Garret Graves chose not to run for reelection following a redistricting process that converted his district to one with a Democratic majority. Rather than coasting to the end of the term, Graves is “running through the tape,” as he discusses in an exclusive column for tomorrow’s edition of Beltway Beat. 

—CORRECTION: A story in last week’s Tracker included an incorrect date related to the upcoming presidential election. The deadline for a registrar of voters to receive a voted absentee ballot, other than one from military and overseas voters, is November 4 by 4:30 p.m. Election Day is Nov. 5.