The bill to raise the gas tax 17 cents in Louisiana is being heard in the House Ways and Means Committee. Baton Rouge Representative Steve Carter says the additional revenue is needed for Louisiana’s infrastructure, but some lawmakers are concerned the money would not go towards improving highways. Carter promises that is exactly where the dollars would go:
CUT 25 (05) “the public”
But state Director of Americans for Prosperity John Kay says now is not the time to be raising taxes on Louisiana residents…:
CUT 26 (06) “few years”
The bill would also link the state’s gasoline tax to the Consumer Price Index.

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office arrests a man for allegedly beating his 7-week-old son to death. 25-year-old Anthony Dearmas of Slidell is charged with first-degree murder. Authorities say Dearmas revealed that he had punched the baby off of a sofa and onto his head because he would not stop crying.

The Louisiana Black Caucus is livid after what they call an offensive vote to advance legislation aimed at protecting the state’s confederate monuments. Chairman, New Orleans Representative Joseph Bouie, says this bill is a Trojan horse designed to supersede the authority of local municipalities who have voted to remove such statues…:
Cut 3 (08) “white supremacy”
But Shreveport Representative Thomas Carmody says his bill would allow the public to vote on which monuments to keep and which ones to remove.
Cut 6 (11) “people decide”
The measure is headed to the Senate side on a 65-31 vote.

The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office says the situation this morning that caused a large police presence where it’s reported a subject barricaded himself in a cooler at a gas station has been resolved peacefully.