If you’re in the market for a car anytime soon, be prepared for sticker shock and a scare car lot. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”
_______________________________
Governor Edwards vetos a bill which allows 21 and older to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. Brooke Thorington has more from Edwards and the bill’s author.
Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
____________________________
A sports gaming analyst expects Louisiana will have some of the highest per capita sports gaming revenue in the country once the activity gets off the ground. Matt Doyle has the story.
____________________________________
If you’re looking to buy a car this summer, be prepared for sticker shock, dealers say demand is high, but supply is low. According to Black Book used car prices have climbed 30% in the past year. Louisiana Auto Dealers President Will Green says a disruption in the supply chain is one reason car lots are short on vehicles.
Green says production was disrupted during the pandemic with a computer chip made overseas, it is those chips that function as the brain of vehicles.
With pent-up demand to travel this summer, but yet a hesitancy to fly or use public transportation, vehicle demand is even higher. Green says since dealers are having a hard time filling the lot with new cars, used vehicles are also a hot commodity and dealers tell him…
So, if you have a used car that you do not need, this might be the perfect time to sell. But Green says if you need a vehicle, be patient but also know that most dealers have a way of finding the right car for you.
Green expects production to return back to normal soon and car lots to look like they did pre-pandemic late fall.
___________________________
Governor Edwards vetoes legislation granting the right to conceal carry a firearm without a permit for ages 21 and up. The bill had popular support in both chambers during the session. Edwards says while he supports Second Amendment rights, he believes conceal carry is a large responsibility and one should undergo proper training.
But bill author, West Monroe Senator Jay Morris says while he expected the governor to veto his legislation, he admits is he is disappointed. Morris says he and the governor even had a conversation about the veto.
Edwards says it isn’t too much to ask a person who wants to carry a concealed weapon to have proper training and understand regulations and he strongly believes in proper background checks.
The veto of the concealed carry bill on the heels of a veto to ban transgender females from competing in women’s sports has increased the likelihood of the first-ever veto session to be called.
Morris says he’s optimistic a session will be called and conceal carry will become law in Louisiana.
The measure received wide support during the session it passed in the Senate on a 27-9 vote and in the House 73-28.
_____________________________
A half-trillion-dollar Congressional infrastructure deal that a bipartisan group of lawmakers and the President agreed to last week could be falling apart.
President Biden is now waffling on whether or not he would support the deal unless a companion piece of legislation expanding social programs was approved as well. LSU Poli Sci Professor Robert Hogan says that puts the infrastructure bill in jeopardy…
The companion reconciliation bill appears likely to include over a trillion dollars in spending on renewable energy and climate change, child and elder care, education investments, and more. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will not allow a vote on the infrastructure deal unless the reconciliation bill is also OK’d.
Senator Bill Cassidy was among the bipartisan group that approved the infrastructure deal. Hogan says even though Cassidy doesn’t back the larger social services bill this is tied to…
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is opposed to the infrastructure deal and the social services package and is working to make sure there are not ten Republicans who will vote to approve the bipartisan deal.
So what’s behind all of this political theater? Hogan says it’s mostly intra-Democratic Party politics between progressives who want a bigger package and centrists who want a bipartisan deal.
Biden partially walked back comments made last week that he would refuse to support the infrastructure bill if the reconciliation bill focusing on climate change and social services did not also make it to his desk.
________________________
Play USA dot com projects Louisiana’s sports gaming industry will generate more than two and a half-billion dollars in annual wagering once the market matures.
Analyst Eric Ramsey says the Bayou State has a lot going for it when it comes to a sports betting environment…
Ramsey says the approval of mobile device sports betting for all but nine parishes will also result in higher than usual activity.
Ramsey says per capita New Jersey is the gold standard for sports gaming revenue, but Louisiana looks set to rival them. That being said the industry runs on low margins so…
Despite 2.5 billion in overall action the industry is expected to only see revenue of 200 million dollars a year.
Ramsey says the approval of sports betting is likely to pay off in a big way for New Orleans.
Currently, 21 states and D.C. allow sports betting in one form or another.
________________________
______________________________________