Legislators manage to pass tort reform aimed at lowering auto insurance rates by ten percent but Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat believes Governor Edwards will veto the session’s signature bill. Edwards has long expressed concerns that the bill would not actually lower rates and was frustrated when the Legislature blocked efforts to prevent insurance rate discrimination on gender or class grounds.

The legislation did not pass with a veto-proof majority and Pinsonat says that may have doomed their effort, despite a mandate from voters to lower auto insurance rates.

Cut 11 (09) “…rates.”

Pinsonat says some of the lost support came from compromise changes made over the weekend.

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Another piece of controversial legislation made it out of the Legislature in the last minutes of the session: a 300 million dollar grant program for small businesses funded with cash set aside to help local governments whose revenue was impacted by the shutdown. National Federation of Independent Business State Director Dawn Starns says with businesses still restricted the money is badly needed.

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But New Orleans Representative Gary Carter opposed the grant program saying the Louisiana Congressional Delegation sent us that money to aid local governments.

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Amite Representative Robby Carter says Louisiana businesses have already received 7 billion dollars in Payroll Protection Program funds…

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If either of the bills are vetoed they could be overridden during this ongoing special session.

Tropical Storm Cristobal forms in the Bay of Campeche, but it’s expected to remain stationary over the next few days. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the current forecast calls for the storm to move to about 200 miles south of Morgan City on Sunday morning and tracking northward.

Cut 7 (10) “…surrounding the storm.”

President Trump calls on governors to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers to “dominate the streets” in the wake of lawlessness following nationwide police brutality protests. Senator Bill Cassidy backed the President’s statement. The President has been criticized for using inflammatory language to describe the protests, but Cassidy says Trump’s focus right now is on restoring order.

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The protests were triggered by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police last week.

Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat believes Governor Edwards will veto legislation headed to his desk aimed at lowering auto insurance rates through lawsuit reform. Pinsonat says tort reform supporter’s inability to pass the legislation with veto-proof majorities may have doomed their effort, despite a mandate from voters to lower auto insurance rates.

Cut 11 (09) “…rates.”

Edwards says he’s concerned the legislation will not lower rates. Proponents disagree, claiming it would lower rates by at least 10 percent.

The Legislature signs off on a 300 million dollar grant program for small businesses funded with cash set aside to help local governments whose revenue was impacted by the shutdown.New Orleans Representative Gary Carter opposed the grant program saying the Louisiana Congressional Delegation sent us that money to aid local governments.

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The Legislature signs off on a 300 million dollar grant program for small businesses funded with cash set aside to help local governments whose revenue was impacted by the shutdown. National Federation of Independent Business State Director Dawn Starns says with the 50 percent cap on occupancy still in effect for Phase Two, the bill is timely.

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If signed by the Governor, the program would begin taking applications from businesses with fewer than 50 employees July 1^st. Eligible businesses could receive up to 15,000 dollars

Tropical Storm Cristobal forms in the Bay of Campeche and the forecast calls for the storm to be 200 miles south of Morgan City by Sunday., but State Climatologist Barry Keim says there is much uncertainty when it comes to forecasting the track and intensity.

Cut 6 (08) “…taking this storm.”

Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat believes Governor Edwards will veto legislation headed to his desk aimed at lowering auto insurance rates through lawsuit reform. Pinsonat says GOP lawmakers scrambled to pass the bill in the last minutes of the session, failing to make their case effectively to the public.

Cut 9 (11) “…on it”

Edwards says he’s concerned the legislation will not lower rates.

President Trump calls on governors to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers to “dominate the streets” in the wake of lawlessness following nationwide police brutality protests. Senator Bill Cassidy says the President’s statements were in response to protests that the Senator says have been infiltrated by anti-government elements.

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A political analyst expects Governor Edwards to veto the regular session’s signature bill aimed at lowering auto insurance rates through lawsuit reform. Matt Doyle has more…
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Ronnie Jones is out as chairman of the state’s gaming control board. The retired state police deputy superintendent has held the job since 2013, but the Senate did not confirm his re-appointment. Since the decision was made during executive session, there’s no public record on why Jones was ousted.

Louisiana could be threatened by a named storm next week. Tropical Storm Cristobal formed this morning in the southern Gulf of Mexico. It’s not expected to move much over the next couple of days, but the National Hurricane Center says Cristobal will eventually head north and could be nearing the Louisiana coast on Sunday. State Climatologist Barry Keim says says a strong storm in June is possible…
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President Trump calls on governors to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers to “dominate the streets” in the wake of lawlessness following nationwide police brutality protests. Senator Bill Cassidy backed the President’s statement. He says Americans have the right to protest peacefully, but not violently.
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Tropical Storm Cristobal forms near the southern Gulf. Kevin Barnhart has the story.

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The health department releases new covid-19 numbers for the state; hospitalization rates continue to decline. A decrease of 22 from the previous day with 639 now recorded. Vent usage also decreased down by 3 with 83 on record and fatalities increased by 34 for a total of 2,724. Case numbers increased by 405.

Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat believes Governor Edwards is going to veto legislation aimed at lowering auto insurance rates through lawsuit reform. The legislation is a few votes shy of a supermajority needed to override a veto. Pinsonat says some of the lost support came from compromise changes made over the weekend.

Cut 10 (09) “…similar.”

Pinsonat says tort reform supporter’s inability to pass the legislation with veto-proof majorities may have doomed their effort, despite a mandate from voters to lower auto insurance rates.

President Trump calls on governors to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers to “dominate the streets.” The President has been criticized for using inflammatory language to describe the protests, but Senator Bill Cassidy says Trump’s focus right now is on restoring order.

Cut 4 (09)_ “together”

Tropical Storm Cristobal forms in the Bay of Campeche. The system started off as Tropical Storm Amanda in the Pacific, but as it crossed over Central America it weakened and ended up in the Bay of Campeche and has been renamed as an Atlantic storm. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the current forecast calls for the storm to move to about 200 miles south of Morgan City on Sunday morning and track northward.

Cut 7 (10) “…surrounding the storm.”

This is the earliest date for an Atlantic third named storm formation on record.

Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat believes Governor Edwards will veto legislation headed to his desk aimed at lowering auto insurance rates through lawsuit reform. Pinsonat says GOP lawmakers scrambled to pass the bill in the last minutes of the session, failing to make their case effectively to the public.

Cut 9 (11) “…voted on it.”

President Trump calls on governors to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers to “dominate the streets” in the wake of lawlessness following nationwide police brutality protests. Senator Bill Cassidy says the President’s statements were in response to protests that the Senator says have been infiltrated by anti-government elements.

Cut 5 (10)  “community”.

The health department releases new COVID-19 numbers; hospitalization rates continue to decline. A decrease of 22 from the previous day with 639 now recorded. Vent usage also decreased down by 3 and fatalities increased by 34.

Tropical Storm Cristobal in the Bay of Campeche today, but it will remain stationary for the next few days. State Climatologist Barry Keim says later this week the system is expected to head towards the central Gulf Coast…
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The National Hurricane Center forecasts a tropical storm bearing down on Louisiana’s coast early next week.

President Trump calls on governors to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers to “dominate the streets” in the wake of lawlessness following nationwide police brutality protests. Senator Bill Cassidy backed the President’s statement. He says Americans have the right to protest peacefully, but not violently.
Cut 3 (11) “…response”

Legislation aimed at lowering auto insurance rates by enacting lawsuit reform is headed to the Governor’s desk. River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says his bill brings our legal climate in line with other states. He pointed to an exchange he had with Nationwide as evidence…
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The bill extends the prescriptive period for filing suits and lowers the jury trial threshold from 50,000 to 10,000 dollars.

LSU plans to test 10-to-16 percent of the population on their campuses as part of their plan to have students back in the classrooms for the fall semester. Interim president Thomas Galligan on what happens if someone tests positive…
cut 11 (10) “….tracing protocol”
Anti-body testing will also be offered to employees.

Starting Friday restaurants can operate at 50 percent capacity and bars can open in a limited fashion as the state enters Phase Two. Assistant Health Secretary Doctor Alex Billioux notes normal bar settings are high risk for COVID transmission so they’ll only be allowed to open at 25 percent capacity with a six-foot separation between groups.
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Bars with LDH food permits will be allowed to operate as restaurants. The state will remain in Phase Two at least until June 26^th.
LSU outlines a roadmap to the return to physical class settings this fall.  The current plans would see the fall semester starting on schedule.  LSU Interim President Thomas Galligan says they are exploring the idea of holding physical classes on campus through Thanksgiving, then after the holiday, using online courses to finish the semester.
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The special session has begun and lawmakers are set to tangle over proposals aimed at rebooting the state’s economy. Chairman of the Louisiana Economic Recovery Task Force Jason Decuir says first up is codifying relief passed by executive order during the early days of the pandemic, and then things like…

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Legislators will also consider a temporary, and possibly permanent repeal of the franchise tax.

The regular session concluded last night with lawmakers approving a bill that makes changes to the state’s legal system in an effort to reduce auto insurance rates by at least 10-percent. Monroe Senator Katrina Jackson voted against it
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There’s a chance the governor will veto the legislation.

Louisiana will enter Phase Two on Friday and that means more businesses can open to 50-percent capacity…
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The National Hurricane Center says a Tropical Depression in the Bay of Campeche will develop into Tropical Storm Cristobal later today. Forecasters say the system will move northward across the Gulf of Mexico later this week, but it’s too soon to specify the location and timing of any potential impacts along the Gulf Coast.

In the final hour of the regular session, lawmakers approved legislation that seeks to lower auto insurance rates by making significant changes to the state’s legal system. Opponents of the measure say it will make difficult for those involved in a car accident from getting money and it does not require auto insurance companies to lower rates. Amite Representative Robby Carter…
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Governor Edwards could veto it.

Today is the first full day of the special session, as lawmakers still need to pass a budget. Republican legislators will also use this time to pass tax breaks to help businesses impacted by the COVID shutdown. Chairman of the Louisiana Economic Recovery Task Force Jason Decuir says despite our current budget woes the cost of inaction will create bigger problems…
cut 5 (12) “….coffers”

Louisiana will begin phase two of reopening of the economy on Friday that means restaurants, churches, funerals, barbers and casinos and many other businesses can operate at 50-percent capacity. Assistant health secretary Dr. Alex Billioux says several businesses can also re-open for the first time since March…
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Bars can also operate at 25-percent capacity beginning Friday, but New Orleans is holding off on moving to phase two.

LSU plans to test 10-to-16 percent of the population on their campuses as part of their plan to have students back in the classrooms for the fall semester. Interim president Thomas Galligan on what happens if someone tests positive…
cut 11 (10) “….tracing protocol”
Anti-body testing will also be offered to employees. LSU also hopes to launch a mobile app that would include a symptom checker for users and a contact tracing function.

The regular session ended last night with lawmakers approving a bill that would set up a 300-million dollar small business grant program. The money would come from 811-million dollars in federal coronavirus relief aid that the governor intended to use to help local governments. Also passing, a tort reform bill that supporters say will lead to lower auto insurance rates, opponents are skeptical that will happen.

Now the special session is underway. Matt Doyle reports legislators will discuss proposals to help businesses cripppled by the COVid shutodown..
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