Governor Edwards approves the complicated tax swap plan approved by the Legislature this year but voters will have the final say on the entire plan this fall at the ballot box. Matt Doyle has more.
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The state Board of Ethics opposes legislation signed by Governor Edwards that removes the cap on how much money candidates can receive from PACs. Matt Doyle has the story.
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Before St. Tammany voters have even approved the casino, investors have increased their investment by $75-million for a total of $325-million. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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Governor Edwards OK’d the Legislature’s tax swap proposal that removes the ability to deduct federal income taxes in exchange for lower overall income tax rates for businesses and individuals.
Tax expert Jason DeCuir says voters will have a chance to weigh in on the issue in the fall, but only through an amendment involving a part of the reform…
The rest of the tax swap plan, three legislatively approved bills, were signed by the Governor.
DeCuir says the entire tax swap plan was constructed so that if this narrow amendment fails at the October ballot, none of the proposal will take effect.
DeCuir says this amendment and tax swap plan should make sense even to voters who learn about it for the first time in the ballot box.
Voters will also have another tax-related amendment to consider, that being one that would move the state away from a decentralized sales tax collection system and to a centralized sales tax collection system. The state is one of only two that still has a decentralized collection system.
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Governor Edwards signs legislation removing the cap on the amount of money candidates in state elections can receive from political action committees.
Gonzales Senator Ed Price says his legislation was about transparency because it allows candidates to consolidate the number of PACs they form to receive donations, making the money easier to track.
The removal of the contribution cap will go into effect on August 1st.
The bill was opposed by the State Board of Ethics. Council for a Better Louisiana President Barry Erwin says removing the previous caps could result in a campaigns becoming a lot more expensive…
The previous caps for contributions to a candidate from PACs were $80,000 for major offices, $60,000 for district offices, and $20,000 for smaller offices per the AP.
Erwin says there are real concerns that this new law could drastically increase the amount of influence out-of-state actors have on in-state politics.
Price disagrees with that criticism. He says under the old capped system candidates still functionally could receive unlimited amounts of money.
The bill had overwhelming support from both the House and Senate during the session.
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A Covington-area woman and four teenagers have been arrested in a murder-for-hire scheme in an effort to take out her romantic rival. St Tammany Sheriff’s Spokesperson Captain Scott Lee says 20-year-old Mykia Tyson was initially arrested on unrelated charges when they learned of her involvement with a shooting at a Lacombe house on June 5th.
19-year-old Delester Magee was one of the teens solicited along with a 17-year old and two 16-year olds. Lee says Tyson drove the four teens to the home where her former girlfriend’s new boyfriend was located.
Authorities say at the last minute Magee got cold feet about committing murder but instead fired shots at the residence. He’s charged with criminal conspiracy and aggravated criminal damage to property.
Tyson remains behind bars facing solicitation for murder, contributing to the delinquency of minors and additional charges.
Cut 13 (09) “…custodial agreement.”
No one was physically injured in the shooting.
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Before the proposed Slidell casino has even gone before St. Tammany Parish voters, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment announces they plan to invest even more than initially proposed to the casino site. St. Tammany Corporation CEO Chris Masingill says a $75-million investment alone is pretty significant.
Masingill says P2E has made historic economic commitments to the area, for example, a five percent of gaming share revenue to the area, which is the highest negotiated rate in the state’s history.
Cut 15 (11)“…east St. Tammany.”
P2E has also made a 50-percent guarantee to hire St. Tammany Parish residents. Masingill says jobs will run the gamut from hospitality to casino operations and IT.
P2E estimates nearly 1,000 direct jobs during the operation of the casino. If approved by voters, the venue would open in the first quarter of 2023.