The House Transportation Committee voted 6-5 against a measure that sought to eliminate the state’s vehicle inspection sticker program. The bill’s author, Stonewall Representative Larry Bagley argues that the requirement to get your vehicle inspected is government overreach.

Cut 4 (12) “…keep up with them.”

However inspection station owners, insist the program promotes road safety and maintains vehicle standards. Neal Underwood, represents inspection station owners, and he warned that removing the requirement could lead to increased accidents and even higher insurance rates.

Cut 6 (08) “…insurance rate as well.”

Again the bill failed on a six to five vote.

The Louisiana House has approved several bills that seek to reduce the big payouts car accident victims receive after filing a lawsuit. One of those measures to receive approval was Baton Rouge Representative Emily Chenevert’s bill that says if a driver is 51-percent or more at fault for a wreck then they are not entitled to damages. She says states with much lower insurance rates than Louisiana have this law…

Cut 21 (12) “…damages”

A study finds that the energy industry generates 25-percent of Louisiana’s economy and is 15-percent of the state’s total employment. The Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association paid for the study and President Tommy Faucheux says as technology evolves, there will be an opportunity to build on these strong numbers…

Cut 10 (12) “…talk about today”

The Louisiana House approved several bills on Monday that seek to stop the rise in insurance rates by reducing the chance that motorists involved in car crashes could receive big payouts after filing a lawsuit. One of the bills to pass would allow medical costs to be admissible in court, which is not allowed right now.

An effort to eliminate the inspection sticker program fails in the House Transportation committee. Sean Richardson has more.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

A new study shows that the oil and gas industry is a major driver of Louisiana’s economy. The study by the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association says the oil and gas industry generates 25-percent of the state’s economy. Mid-Continent President Tommy Faucheux (foah-SHAY) says it proves how big a player the industry is in the state….

Cut 8 (14) “…energy industry”

Faucheux says the energy industry is responsible for 305-thousand jobs, which is 15-percent of the state’s total employment.

At the state treasurer’s website, you’ll see a link for the Louisiana K-through-12 school transparency project. It provides information on how schools are spending their money. Treasurer John Fleming is questioning a two-thousand-dollar expenditure to Act Blue by the Orleans Parish School Board…

Cut 11 (08) “…something like that”

The Orleans Parish School Board did not respond to our request for comment.

A bill that would have eliminated the need for motorists to get a vehicle inspection stickers failed in a 6-5 vote in the House Transportation Committee. Sean Richardson has more.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

_____________________________________________

Oil and gas has long been a major driver in the state’s economy, and now we know exactly to what extent. Colleen Crain reports.

Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Colleen Crain.”

____________________________________________

Balloon releases in Louisiana are one step closer to being illegal. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 3 (33) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

______________________________________________________

The House Transportation Committee voted 6-5 against a measure that sought to eliminate the state’s vehicle inspection sticker program. The bill’s author, Stonewall Representative Larry Bagley argues that the requirement to get your vehicle inspected is government overreach.

Cut 4 (12) “…keep up with them.”

Currently, vehicle owners must pay ten dollars for a one-year inspection sticker or 20 dollars for a two-year sticker. Bagley noted that 39 other states, including Texas this year, have ended similar programs.

Cut 5 (04) “…has the stickers.”

Critics argue inspections are often not properly conducted, while supporters, including inspection station owners, insist the program promotes road safety and maintains vehicle standards. Neal Underwood, representing inspection station owners, warned that removing the requirement could lead to increased accidents and higher insurance rates.

Cut 6 (08) “…insurance rate as well.”

Kathy Slavant, an inspection station operator, defended the integrity of the inspections.

Cut 7 (11) “…in what we do.”

______________________________________________________

A new study shows that the oil and gas industry is a major driver of Louisiana’s economy. The study by the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association says the oil and gas industry generates 25-percent of the state’s economy. LAMOGA President Tommy Faucheux (foah-SHAY) says it proves how big a player the industry is in the state.

Cut 8 (14) “…the energy industry.”

Faucheux says the oil and gas industry also generates 15-percent of the state’s jobs and 19-percent of the state’s total earnings.

Cut 9 (10)  “…of the state.”

Faucheux says as technology evolves, there will be a lot of opportunity to build on these strong numbers in the years to come.

Cut 10 (12) “…talk about today.”

______________________________________________________

State Treasurer John Fleming has some questions for Orleans Parish schools regarding questionable expenditures, thanks to a new law requiring schools to submit expenses to the K-12 school transparency website.  Fleming says two thousand dollars were given to Act Blue.

Cut 11 (08) “…something like that.”

Examination of the data revealed questionable expenditures, such as almost 250 thousand dollars on staff retreats, almost 170 thousand dollars on restaurants, and five thousand dollars for fireworks.  Fleming says all these expenses need to be accounted for and examined.

Cut 12 (05) “…it does now.”

Fleming praised the initiative, emphasizing that transparency promotes accountability, greater efficiency, better educational outcomes, and improved teacher pay by shedding light on how taxpayer money is used.

Cut 13 (08)  “…waste, fraud and abuse.”

________________________________________________________

Balloon releases in Louisiana are one step closer to being illegal. The House passed HB581 by Harahan Republican John Illg, sending it to the Senate. Illg says balloon releases are tantamount to litter.

Cut 14 (12) “…the air here?”

Representative Illg says what goes up must come down; and when those balloons released into the air come down, they could have serious consequences for the environment and wildlife.

Cut 15 (06) “…into the air.”

There was no debate on the House floor before members voted; and as Speaker Phillip DeVillier announced, the vote was not unanimous.

Cut 16 (04) “…14 nays.”

For anyone over 16, penalties under Illg’s proposed legislation would be 150 dollars for a first offense, 250 dollars for a second offense and 500 dollars for each subsequent offense. The measure heads to the Senate for more consideration.

________________________________________________________

The second-ranked LSU baseball team will host the top team from the Southland tonight. The Southeastern Louisiana Lions are at Alex Box Stadium. S-L-U is 33-11 overall, 18-6 in the Southland, and Coach Bobby Barbier’s team is coming off a series victory over Houston Christian…

Cut 17 (11)  “…season long.”

Southeastern Louisiana’s pitching staff ranks fourth in the Southland Conference with a team ERA of 3.28. Brennan Stuprich is their Friday night ace, with a team ERA of 2.06. But Barbier says they have several guys who are pitching well…

Cut 18 (23)  “…starting roles.”

Barbier says they are looking forward to playing the second-ranked Tigers…

Cut 19 (19) “…most of the year.”

The House Transportation Committee approves a bill that would prohibit drivers from using a handheld cell phone while driving. Slidell Representative Brian Glorioso says a person behind the wheel that is more focused on his phone than the road is a threat to other motorists.

Cut 11 (06) “…drunk driving”

Highway safety advocates say a ban on handheld cell phones while driving in Louisiana is really needed. But Alexandria defense attorney Ed Tarpley questions how the proposed law would be enforced, and he also believes it’s an overreach of government regulation…

Cut 14 (10) “…every day life.”

The Louisiana Legislature has rejected similar proposals to the past, but supporters of a ban on handling your cell phone while driving say the proposed legislation can help reduce auto insurance rates by reducing crashes.

The House Transportation committee votes against a bill that sought to eliminate the state’s vehicle inspection sticker program. The vote to turn the bill away was 6-to-5. It was sponsored by Stonewall Representative Larry Bagley.

Cut 4 (11) “…keep up with them.”

Critics argue inspections are often not properly conducted, while supporters, including inspection station owners, insist the program promotes road safety and maintains vehicle standards. Neal Underwood, representing inspection station owners, warned that removing the requirement could lead to increased accidents and higher insurance rates.

Cut 6 (08) “…insurance rate as well.”

Bagley noted that 39 other states, including Texas this year, have ended similar programs.

Over 30-thousand Caddo and Bossier Parish SWEPCO customers were without power Saturday after the Southwest Power Pool gave an emergency directive to SWEPCO when they identified grid instability. Spokesperson Michael Corbin expressed regret for the inconvenience caused by the sudden outages, noting that the emergency nature did not allow for advance notice to customers.

Cut 5 (08) “…in the future.”

For the first time, Saints quarterback Derek Carr is speaking out about his injury to his right shoulder. Carr opened up about his injury while leading a service as a guest pastor in Las Vegas, saying he has an MRI to prove that he has an injured shoulder.

Cut 9 (05)  “…forward with that.”

Carr’s comments come as NFL Network’s Ian Rappoport reports that Carr’s shoulder injury may sideline him for the entire 2025 season. Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis is not ready to write off Carr’s season just yet.

The House Transportation Committee approves legislation prohibiting the use of handheld cell phones while driving. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

Governor Landry is ordering state workers back to the office.  State employees were sent home to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Landry said remote work was one of the biggest negative effects of the pandemic.

Cut 7 (05) “…are more productive.”

The House Transportation Committee approved a bill to prohibit drivers from using a handheld cell phone while driving. AAA spokesperson Don Redman says the bigger problem is not the talking. The real distractions are texting while driving, the use of social media, and streaming video.

Cut 13 (14)  “…in a crash.”

Alexandria defense attorney Ed Tarpley questions how the proposed law would be enforced and believes it’s an overreach of government regulation.

The House Ways and Means Committee has advanced a bill to amend the constitution giving teachers a pay raise.

Like the recently rejected Amendment 2, the plan would be to transform a two-thousand-dollar stipend for teachers and a one-thousand-dollar stipend for other school staff into permanent pay increases. President of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers Larry Carter…

Cut 16 (10) “…paychecks have not.”

H-B 573 now goes to the House Civil Law Committee.

Over 30-thousand Caddo and Bossier Parish SWEPCO customers lost power Saturday. Sean Richardson has more.

Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

Governor Landry is ordering state workers back to the office. State employees were sent home to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Landry said remote work was one of the biggest negative effects of the pandemic.

Cut 6 (06) “…their other colleagues.”

Landry says state workers will be required to return to the office July 1st.

Cut 8 (09) “…back to work.”

Governor Jeff Landry says state workers will be required to return to the office July 1st.

State employees were sent home to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic and Landry said remote work was one of the biggest negative effects of the pandemic. He is also encouraging employees of agencies outside of his authority to return to their previous office.

PSC Commissioner Foster Campbell wants to know why there was a six-hour unplanned power outage impacting over 30-thousand SWEPCO customers in Bossier and Caddo parishes Saturday. SWEPCO spokesman Michael Corbin says the Southwest Power Pool identified grid instability and required SWEPCO to implement emergency outages Power was restored by the end of the night. ​Corbin says whatever caused the problem wasn’t a SWEPCO issue and a much larger issue possibly in another state.

Cut 4 (06) “…updates to it.”

SWEPCO expressed regret for the inconvenience caused by the sudden outages, noting that the emergency nature did not allow for advance notice to customers.

The legislature is still working to give teachers and school staff a permanent pay raise. The House Ways and Means Committee has advanced House Bill 573, which would eliminate three education trust funds and divert two-billion dollars to pay down retirement debt, using the savings for teacher pay. Larry Carter, the president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, supports it, but he says passage of the amendment would come too late for the 2025-26 school year.

Cut 15 (07) “…amendment ultimately passed.”

Saints quarterback Derek Carr is speaking out about his shoulder injury. While leading a service as a guest pastor at ChurchLV in Las Vegas, Carr expressed frustration over social media speculation that he is faking the injury in an effort to get traded or to be released from the Saints.

Cut 10 (09) “…with this nonsense?”

Carr’s comments come as NFL Network’s Ian Rappoport has reported that Carr’s shoulder injury may sideline him for the entire 2025 season. Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis, however, is not ready to write off Carr’s season.

PC Commissioner Foster Campbell wants to know why there was a six-hour unplanned power outage on Saturday, with over 30-thousand SWEPCO customers in Bossier and Caddo Parishes. SWEPCO Spokesperson Michael Corbin says that due to a directive from the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), the regional transmission organization. SPP identified grid instability and required SWEPCO to implement emergency outages to prevent widespread damage to power lines and equipment.

Cut 3 (12) “…their homes or businesses.”

Governor Landry is ordering state workers back to the office.  State employees were sent home to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Landry said remote work was one of the biggest negative effects of the pandemic.

Cut 7 (05) “…are more productive.”

The House Transportation Committee approves legislation prohibiting the use of hand held cell phones while driving. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

And again, in the Transportation Committee hearing, Rep. Larry Bagley presented a bill that would eliminate vehicle inspection stickers..   Bagley says Louisiana is the only red state that still requires inspection stickers and has support from State Police, OMV and the governors’ office. Despite that the bill failed with a 5-6 vote against.