Louisiana to create veteran business certification, database

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana will create a new program that certifies businesses that are owned by veterans or their surviving spouses.

Consumers will be able to search a database to find those businesses, under the bill that won final passage Sunday with a 98-0 House vote.

The legislation creates the Veterans First Business Initiative in the state's economic development agency.

The department will certify the businesses and create an insignia for them to use. It will display a searchable database on its website for customers who want to find vendors owned by veterans or the spouses of veterans killed while on duty.

The measure by Baton Rouge Republican Rep. Franklin Foil goes to Gov. John Bel Edwards, a former Army Ranger who supports the legislation.