A bill to allow the state’s 15 licensed riverboats casinos to expand their gaming operations on to land and change the rules regarding gaming space has been sitting on the Senate floor for over two weeks, but a vote in the upper chamber could happen today.
Black legislators have also raised concerns that casinos fail to contract with enough minority-owned firms and they also believe there’s a lack of minorities in management at the gambling halls. Lake Charles Senator Ronnie Johns says he’s had good dialogue with concerned legislators
The number of eligible graduates in Louisiana achieving TOPS reaches an all time high. More than 19,200 senior high school students qualified for at least one scholarship, up from 18,373 in 2016. Superintendent for the Office of Student Opportunities Ken Bradford says if TOPS funding is cut due to a one-billion-dollar budget shortfall, a lot of high school students hoping for a scholarship may be disappointed…
=======================———————————————————–
A bill by New Orleans Senator Troy Carter to ban the sale of assault rifles to people under 21 was killed on the Senate floor. The 9 to 26 vote ends that anti-gun legislation for the rest of the session. Baton Rouge area Senator Bodie White says the bill is not strong enough to stop the bad guys.White compared the domestic killers to terrorists.
Governor John Bel Edwards and state Health Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee unveiled a report on the economic impact of Medicaid expansion. Edwards says according to the LSU report, Louisiana is saving 317-million dollars in state money and providing medical care to those who can’t afford it…