The House votes unanimously to give K-12 teachers a 1,000 dollar pay raise, support personnel a 500 dollar pay raise, and approves 39 million dollars in new public-school funding. Monroe Representative Katrina Jackson says the state is long overdue for an increase in education spending.
The pay raises plus additional funding will cost the state an extra 140 million dollars a year.
The Corps of Engineers says they’re delaying the opening of the Morganza Spillway to Sunday. Just outside the State Capitol building you can see the water pushing up close to the top of the levee system. Corps Spokesperson Ricky Boyett says the river level in Baton Rouge has been up and down but is projected to stay within safe levels through the end of the week.
Most recent reports indicate that the river’s high-water mark will be arriving three days later than previously thought.
The Senate amends a proposal to let medical marijuana patients use cannabis inhalers which results in a 31-7 favorable passage. New Orleans Senator JP Morrell spoke in favor of the bill, saying providing a remedy for debilitating issues when other drugs fail to help is the fair thing to do.
Cut 13 (11) “…suffer in silence.”
The bill is now heading back to the House.
Gov. Edwards request for federal assistance has been approved by the President. The request was made for Lincoln, Morehouse and Union parishes after the destructive tornadoes in late April that killed two people and property damage estimated to more than 12-million dollars. Louisiana Tech University’s Campus also had major damage from a tornado. The funds will help pay for debris removal and restoring public infrastructure. The request for Individual Assistance for homeowners is still under review.