The House Criminal Justice Committee will hear a bill to decriminalize prostitution in Louisiana tomorrow. New Orleans Representative Mandie Landry says the intent of her bill is not to turn the state into a red-light district but to protect sex workers and reduce human trafficking.
Landry says if their profession is no longer a crime, they could seek assistance.
However National Center of Sexual Exploitation CEO Dawn Hawkins says decriminalizing prostitution will do more harm than good for sex workers.
Hawkins says it was a London School of Economics study that found decriminalization increased the sex trade and violence associated with it.
The Louisiana Insurance Department has approved a statewide rate increase of four percent for State Farm motorists, but it was last year the legislature passed a tort reform law that supporters say will lead to lower auto insurance rates. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says the legislation changes the rules on how car accident lawsuits are handled in the state’s court system, but we will not see the impact until suits are settled or judges’ rule on cases…
The Department of Transportation has completed hurricane debris removal from damage last season. DOTD Spokesperson Rodney Mallet southwest parishes in the state required most of the debris removal with more than 2 million cubic yards of the just over 3 million cubic yards removed in the state.
Cut 8 (09) “…hurricane season.”
Hurricane season for 2021 begins in four weeks.