The Louisiana Senate has given final legislative approval to a bill that will decriminalize the possession of 14 grams or less of marijuana. The proposal needed 20 votes to pass and that’s exactly how many it got as Senate President Page Cortez read the vote tally…
Cut 6 (10) “…the table”
The proposal heads to the governor’s desk. If signed into law, a person caught with a small amount of pot would not face jail time.

Also heading to the governor’s desk is legislation that would result in a referendum in St. Tammany Parish to see if they want to legalize riverboat gaming so a casino can be built in Slidell.

This afternoon the House passed a Senate bill that would allow college athletes to profit off of their name, image, and likeness through endorsements and sponsorships.

The state legislative auditor’s office releases a report that finds Louisiana Workforce Commission Workers may have been improperly compensated by 786-thousand dollars based off a paid leave program. Auditor Ricky Rodriguez says the way they see it, some employees were paid double the amount of time they actually work….
cut 10 (10) “….80 hours”
LWC Secretary Ava Cates says the extra payments were made when the agency’s employees were pushed to the limit during the first few weeks of the pandemic.

LSU had several great pitching performances yesterday as it staved off elimination in the Eugene Regional to beat Gonzaga and Oregon. The Tigers will face Oregon again tonight and the winner advances to the super regionals. Coach Paul Mainieri on who might pitch…
cut 14 (09) “…to win”
First pitch tonight is at 9 PM.

The LSU Baseball team will look to keep Paul Mainieri’s coaching career going as the Tigers take on Oregon tonight in the Eugene Regional championship game…
Cut 2 (30) …I’m Jim Shannon”

The Louisiana Senate has sent a bill to the governor’s desk that would eliminate jail time as a possibility for someone convicted of possessing 14 grams or less of marijuana. Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau pushed for approval in the upper chamber…
cut 8 (06) “…than anything else”
It’s unknown if this legislation will receive the governor’s signature.

An audit conducted by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office says that the Louisiana Workforce Commission may have violated State Civil Service Rules by improperly paying employees 786-thousand dollars during the first three weeks of the pandemic. Auditor Ricky Rodriguez says the agency was using a special paid leave program…
cut 11 (08) “…compensated for”
But LWC Secretary Ava Cates says their employees were pushed to the limit during the first few weeks of the public health emergency and were paid in accordance with LWC policy.

State Troopers are still searching for a vehicle involved in the May 26th fatal hit in run in St. Helena Parish that killed a two-year-old girl and injured three others. Trooper Will Huggins says a family of four was outside of their vehicle on LA Highway 1045 due to a previous car accident…
Cut 3 (7) “…the suspect vehicle”
The vehicle has been described by witnesses as a light-colored van or SUV.

A bill that eliminates jail time and lowers the fines associated with the possession of 14 grams of marijuana or less has passed in the Senate and heads to the governor’s desk. Erik Piccoli has the story…
Cut 1 (30) “ …I’m Erik Piccoli.”

The Senate also approved a bill that would raise the age to purchase tobacco, alternative nicotine, or vape products from 18 to 21 years old. The upper chamber also approved a bill that would eliminate the state sales tax in mid-2022 on purchases of diapers and feminine hygiene products. Both measures return to the House for approval of Senate changes.

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office says 27-percent of the pandemic-related unemployment insurance claims they reviewed had inconsistent or missing information. Assistant Director for the Legislative Auditor’s office Ricky Rodriguez says that should have been a red flag that the claimant was not entitled to the benefits…
cut 9 (12) “…those payments”
The Louisiana Workforce Commission says the agency was facing unprecedented challenges but still thwarted two large-scale fraud attempts.

LSU had several great pitching performances yesterday as it staved off elimination in the Eugene Regional to beat Gonzaga and Oregon. The Tigers will face Oregon again tonight and the winner advances to the super regionals. Coach Paul Mainieri on who might pitch…
cut 14 (09) “…to win”
First pitch tonight is at 9 PM.

The Louisiana Senate gave final approval today to a bill that would take away jail time as an option for judges when they sentence individuals caught with 14 grams or less of marijuana. Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau led the effort to get the bill passed in the Senate…
Cut 7 (7) “…the fines”
The fine would also be reduced for a first offense from 300 to 100-dollars.

State Police are asking for the public’s help in trying to find a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run crash in St. Helena Parish on May 26th that killed a two-year-old girl. Trooper Will Huggins says the vehicle has been described by witnesses as a light-colored van or SUV
Cut 4 (04) “…driver side mirror”
The girl was outside of the vehicle at the time on La Highway 1045 due to a previous accident.

Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser is in Juneau, Alaska this week as part of a partnership between our two states to jointly promote domestic seafood. Nungesser says the partnership will certainly boost the profile of Louisiana seafood and help promote tourism into the Bayou State, but it will also spread another important message.
Cut 25 (08)” …country.”

The LSU Baseball team will face Oregon again tonight in the Eugene Regional title game after beating the Ducks four to one last night. Gavin Dugas hit a home run and so did Dylan Crews, who has three home runs in the regional and has also collected ten hits. Dugas says it’s great to call Crews a teammate…
cut 13 (10) “…he’s awesome”
Tonight’s game will begin at nine PM.

The Louisiana Senate has given final legislative approval to a bill that will decriminalize possession of 14 grams or less of marijuana. The proposal needed 20 votes to pass and that’s exactly how many it got as Senate President Page Cortez read the vote tally…

Cut 6 (10) “…the table”

The proposal heads to the governor’s desk. If signed into law, a person caught with a small amount of pot would not face jail time.

State Troopers are searching for the culprit in a hit and run which resulted in the death of a two-year-old girl. Witnesses say the suspect was driving a light-colored van or SUV that received damage during the incident

Anyone with information is urged to contact Louisiana State Police Troop L or online anonymously at la-safe.org by clicking the suspicious activity link. Trooper Will Huggins says Tangipahoa crime stoppers are also seeking tips..

Cut 5 (09) “…one thousand dollars,

The LSU Ag Center is participating in a trial to show the effectiveness of a new form of insect repellant, Brooke Thorington has more

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”

The LSU Baseball team will look to keep Paul Mainieri’s coaching career going as the Tigers take on Oregon tonight in the Eugene Regional championship game. Jim Shannon has more…
Cut 2 (30) …I’m Jim Shannon”

Louisiana Tech’s dream season ended last night with a 14-7 defeat to North Carolina State. The Bulldogs finished with a record of 42-20. But LSU-Eunice won the Division Two National Junior College World Series, beating Western Oklahoma five to four in 14 innings.

The Louisiana Senate has given final approval to a bill that would result in no jail time for an individual caught with a small amount of marijuana. The decriminalize pot bill is headed to the governor’s desk. Meanwhile, we are waiting to see if the Senate will act on legislation that would make a temporary sales tax permanent and use that money to pay for improved roads and bridges. Governor Edwards admits something must be done to generate more infrastructure dollars…
cut 11 (09) “…fund”

Louisiana State Troopers are still searching for a vehicle involved in the May 26th fatal hit in run in St. Helena Parish that killed a two-year-old girl and injured three others. Trooper Will Huggins says a family of four was outside of their vehicle on LA Highway 1045 near LA Highway 43 due to a previous car accident…
Cut 3 (7) “…the suspect vehicle”
Huggins says the vehicle has been described by witnesses as a light-colored van or SUV.

Louisiana Tech’s dream season ended yesterday with a 14-7 loss to North Carolina State, but the LSU Tigers are still alive in the Eugene Regional after winning two games yesterday over Gonzaga and Oregon. In the four to one win over the Ducks, Gavin Dugas homered and also took a trip around the bases when he banged one off the wall and Dugas says he was not stopping when he got to third…
cut 12 (12) “….go from there”
LSU will play Oregon again tonight.

The legislative session ends Thursday so legislation that would dedicate .45 percent of the state sales tax that will expire in 2025 to infrastructure has only four days left to get over the finish line. Conservative lawmakers oppose it and Governor Edwards says he likes the idea, but the devil is in the details.
Cut 10 (12) “…expire”
The Senate Finance Committee has approved a couple of House-approved pieces of legislation that could result in more money going to roads and bridges.

The state legislature has overwhelmingly passed a bill to cover bariatric surgeries for state employees after a long-fought battle. Baton Rouge Senator Regina Barrow says her legislation can extend the life of overweight state employees and reduce the costs spent on morbidly obese-related illnesses.
Cut 13 (09) “…were on.”
Despite Louisiana’s high obesity rate, it is one of a few states that does not cover bariatric surgery for severely obese state employees.

Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser is in Alaska this week as part of a partnership between our two states to jointly promote domestic seafood. Nungesser says Louisiana and Alaska are the two biggest producers of domestic seafood and the partnership is a natural fit.
Cut 4 (12)”…takeovers”
Alaska and Louisiana combine to produce about 6.5 million pounds of seafood annually.

Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser is in Juneau, Alaska this week as part of a partnership between our two states to jointly promote domestic seafood. He says Louisiana and Alaska are the two biggest producers of domestic seafood in the US and the partnership is a natural fit. Nungesser says after visiting Alaska he will be hosting their Lt. Governor on a trip to New Orleans later on.
Cut 6 (12)”…winning that”

LSU’s AgCenter is seeking volunteers to participate in a study of an insect repellant. Medical Entomologist Kristen Healey says they are helping a company rate the effectiveness of an existing product. Before insect repellants are available to the general public, Health says they are thoroughly tested so what you read on the EPA label is backed by proper research and that’s what they are doing with these forms of the product.
Cut 9 (06) “…by science”
Healey says the manufacturer picked the right state to test their product because Louisiana has more than 60 individual species of mosquitos.
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Governor Edwards reiterated his commitment to vetoing a bill that’s been sent to him by the Legislature that would remove the requirement for those over 21 to have a permit to concealed carry.
Edwards says the current requirement that anyone concealed carrying be trained on marksmanship, carrying laws, safety, and law enforcement interactions is not burdensome.
Cut 12 (11) “…problems.”

A bill to cover bariatric surgeries for state employees passes overwhelmingly in the legislature after a long-fought battle.
A fiscal note attached to the bill estimates that covering the surgeries will cost more than $5 million in the first year but decrease to half that by 2026 due to savings on prescription drug benefits and other medical costs like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Bill sponsor Sen. Regina Barrow
Cut 15 (09)“…go down.”