La. lawmakers pass bills to promote French roots

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - After Gov. Bobby Jindal struck out funding for a Lafayette-based agency that promotes French language and culture during last year's budget vetoes, French-speaking state lawmakers sought new ways to celebrate Louisiana's Francophone heritage.

In the recently-ended legislative session, that bipartisan group of lawmakers filed and won passage of bills that celebrate the state's Cajun culture and French roots, in a state where residents of some towns still speak French in their post offices and grocery stores.