During the legislative session, lawmakers will debate a bill that will triple the pay of legislators from $16,800 a year to 60-thousand dollars. The bill’s author Gretna Representative Joe Marino says lawmakers have not received a raise in over 40 years. Governor John Bel Edwards is not against the bill, but says there are more pressing income matters…
cut 11 (11) “…gender pay gap”

A bill to make operating rooms safer advances from Senate Health and Welfare. Bill author, Lafayette Senator Gerald Boudreaux says heat-producing equipment used in surgeries can create a smoke plume that could obscure a physician’s view.
Cut 3 (10) “…other things.”
The legislation requires healthcare facilities to adopt policies addressing this issue.

UL Lafayette’s CAPE team of student researchers will design and build a small solar-powered satellite that will be used by NASA to help keep astronauts safe from radiation. Electrical and Computer Engineering Instructor, Dr. Jared Tessier (Tess-see-yay) says the students are excited to have been selected for NASA’s CubeSat Launch initiative.
Cut 6 (12) “…since 2007.”
The satellite will orbit the earth at least twice a day and will gauge radiation in space through measurements taken with a neutron radiation detector. The satellite will be launched between 2024 and 2027.

LSU’s win over the Hawkeyes in the women’s basketball national championship game has turned out to be a big winner for food banks. Governor John Bel Edwards and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds made a friendly wager before the game and Governor Reynolds has paid up by sending 1,250 pounds of pork to food banks in the state.