Fiery debate in a House committee today as legislators argue over whether or not a resolution to study policing policy should mention race or George Floyd. The resolution mentioned the killing of black men by white police officers and questioned the treatment of minorities by law enforcement. Haughton Representative Dodie Horton called it racist.

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But resolution sponsor Baton Rouge Representative Ted James says people should instead be insulted by ongoing issues of police brutality.

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The resolution ultimately passed but was amended to remove any mention of George Floyd. It moves to the House floor.

Louisiana records its 44,000th confirmed COVID-19 case today.

A lawyer representing the family of Thomas McGlothen, a 44-year-old black man who died in police custody, says the four police officers shown in a video beating him, should be fired and charged with murder. McGlothen died April 6th, and the coroner says McGlothen’s death could have been preventable if officers reacted to his medical condition he experienced during the incident. Attorney James Carter says that’s enough proof the responding cops should be fired…

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During the regular session, lawmakers passed criminal justice reforms that advocates say will cut down on recidivism. Pelican Institute CEO Daniel Erspamer pointed to one of the reforms, a resolution continuing a commission dedicated to studying criminal justice system funding. He says right now much of the funds come from fines and fees on poor people…

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A lawyer representing the family of Thomas McGlothen, a 44-year-old black man who died in police custody, says the four police officers shown in a video beating him, should be fired and charged with murder. The four officers are on leave, but attorney James Carter says their badges should have been stripped immediately
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McGlothen died April 6th, but a Shreveport TV station released the video of his encounter with police this week. Caddo Parish Coroner Doctor Todd Thoma says McGlothen died from excited delirium.
New Orleans moves into phase two of economic reopening on Saturday.  CEO of New Orleans and Company, the city’s convention and visitor’s bureau, Mark Romig says the easing of regulations will see restaurants and attractions from 25% to 50% capacity.
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Romig says Bourbon Street will see a bit more life as additional bars will be allowed to reopen.

During the regular session, lawmakers passed criminal justice reforms that advocates say will cut down on recidivism. One bill requires the Department of Corrections to issue ID cards to those leaving prison. Pelican Institute CEO Daniel Erspamer says the ID is tailor-made to help those recently released find employment.
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SB 354 was brought by Covington Senator Patrick McMath.

COVID-19 numbers released from the state today show an increase in cases by 418, bringing the total case count to 44,030. Total fatalities… 2855, an increase of 11. Hospitalizations 549, down by 19. Vent usage sees an uptick, increasing by 5 to 72.

Legislation that provides businesses with tax breaks has advanced out of the House Ways and Means Committee. The proposals do not have the full support of the Edwards Administration, because it will result in less revenue for state services. Revenue Secretary Kimberly Robinson…
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Supporters say the legislation is needed to help businesses struggling after the COVID shutdown.

During the regular session, lawmakers passed criminal justice reforms advocates say will cut down on recidivism. One of the bills allows parolees to check in with their officers virtually. Pelican Institute CEO Daniel Erspamer says this saves parolees from having to take off from work to meet their parole officer.
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That’s House Bill authored by Eunice Representative Patrick Devillier.

He can’t do it in this special session, but Baton Rouge Senator Cleo Fields is looking at filing legislation for an upcoming session that would require certain policy changes for Louisiana police officers. Fields says a duty to intervene among officers is one proposed policy change…
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Fields says he’ll also file a bill that would ban the use of chokeholds by Louisiana law enforcement.

LSU professors are testing wastewater from various areas in East Baton Rouge parish as a way to track COVID-19 cases. LSU Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor John Pardue says they can do this because COVID-19 patients shed the virus in fecal matter. He says sewer epidemiology is not a new science and is used to track other metrics…
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Houston, Oregon, and Michigan are doing similar tests.

The House Ways and Means Committee has approved a series of tax relief bills for Louisiana businesses worth millions of dollars. Chairman of the Louisiana Economic Recovery Task Force Jason Decuir says the state owes it to these businesses after many were ordered closed for weeks.
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One of the bills that passed would suspend franchise taxes for small businesses.

LSU professors are tracking COVID-19 in wastewater in Baton Rouge through a science called sewer epidemiology. Civil and environmental engineering professor Dr. John Pardue says coronavirus patents shed the virus in their fecal matter and testing wastewater from various areas in the parish can see how many cases exist.
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Pardue says Houston, Oregon and Michigan are doing similar testing.

The ongoing special session does not allow lawmakers to file bills that seek to reform police practices, but Baton Rouge Senator Cleo Fields says the legislation will come up in either a special session in the fall or the 2021 regular legislative session. Fields says he will propose a ban on the use of chokeholds by law enforcement, routine psychological testing for both prospective and current officers and new regulations for body cameras.
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Governor Edwards has signed legislation that would put an end to higher auto insurance rates for military members who return from a deployment. Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau says it’s a great piece of legislation….
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Baton Rouge Senator Cleo Fields plans to file police reform legislation in a future session and in the current special session he’s authored a resolution to create a Task Force to study police practices…
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Opelousas Police Sergeant Tyron Andrepont is facing five felony charges of malfeasance for allegedly beating up a black teenager last fall in a hospital. Andrepont, who is white, has been on paid administrative leave since November.

Governor John Bel Edwards has signed legislation that ends what is called the Patriot Penalty. Service members pay higher auto insurance costs when renewing their policies after coming back home following deployment. Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau authored this legislation to end this practice but wishes his other rate reduction bills passed as well…
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LSU researchers are using what is known as sewer epidemiology as a way to track community spread of the coronavirus in Baton Rouge. LSU Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor John Pardue says you can track the spread of the virus through human waste in the sewers…
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Pardue says COVID-19 patients shed the virus in fecal matter.

Bills that would provide businesses with various tax breaks have been approved by the House Ways and Means Committee. Democrats on th panel raised concerns that the state can not afford tax cuts at a time of declining revenues. Lafayette Representative Stuart Bishop disagrees…
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According to the Associated Press, the proposals would provide 130-million dollars in tax cuts over five years.

He can’t do it in this special session, but Baton Rouge Senator Cleo Fields is looking at filing legislation for an upcoming session that would require certain policy changes for Louisiana police officers. Fields says a duty to intervene among officers is one proposed policy change…
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Fields says he’ll also file a bill that would ban the use of chokeholds by Louisiana law enforcement.

The University of Louisiana at Monroe says they’ve placed two faculty members on administrative leave after they posted racial slurs on their personal social media pages. The school says a termination letter has been sent to Biology professor Dennis Bell and they are in the process of firing Nursing instructor Mary Holmes.

LSU researchers are tracking COVID-19 cases in Baton Rouge through wastewater testing. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
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New Orleans will move into phase two of coronavirus pandemic restrictions on Saturday which means bars can reopen on Bourbon Street and Harrah’s Casino in New Orleans can also welcome gamblers back.

The House Ways and Means Committee approves a series of bills that reduces the tax burden for Louisiana businesses. Matt Doyle has more.
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Governor Edwards has signed a bill that would ban vaping in vehicles with children riding as passengers.

The ongoing special session does not allow lawmakers to file bills that seek to reform police practices. But Baton Rouge Senator Cleo Fields says he has a series of bills in mind that will be introduced in either a special session in the fall or in next year’s regular legislative session. Fields says he will propose a statewide ban on the use of chokeholds by law enforcement, routine psychological testing for both prospective and current officers and new regulations for body cameras.
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KSLA-TV has uncovered video of Shreveport police officers punching and tasing 44-year-old Tommie McGlothen who evenutally died while in custody in April. The coroner has ruled McGlothen died of excited delirium, but his death could have been prevented if he received immediate medical care. The four officers invovled have been put on departmental leave.

Legislation that provides businesses with tax breaks has advanced out of the House Ways and Means Committee. These proposals do not have the full support of the Edwards Administration, because it will mean less revenue for state services. Revenue Secretary Kimberly Robinson…
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Supporters say the legislation is needed to help businesses struggling after the COVID shutdown.

Baton Rouge Senator Cleo Fields plans to file police reform legislation in response to George Floyd’s death. However, the current special session is limited to specific legislation that was outlined before Floyd’s death. But he has filed a resolution to create a 15-member task force to study police practices.
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As for police reform legislation, Fields encourages police departments to act now before he introduces his bill in a possible special session in the fall or in the 2021 regular session. He wants to see policies that include a “duty to intervene” among officers.

LSU professors are testing wastewater from various areas in East Baton Rouge parish as a way to track COVID-19 cases in the capital city area. LSU Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor John Pardue says COVID-19 patients shed the virus in fecal matter and continue to shed the virus for up to five weeks after negative respiratory samples. He says sewer epidemiology is not a new science and is used to track other metrics…
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Environmental engineering faculty from universities in Houston, Oregon, and Michigan are doing similar tests.