Today, the House Ways and Means Committee will hear two different tax increases proposed by Plaquemine Representative Karen St. Germain to help fund road projects. Revenue from both HB 777 and HB 778 would pay for road and bridge projects. Ken Perret, President of Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association, says a first class transportation system is key for the state’s economic growth…

cut 5 (07) “products distributed”

Governor Jindal has said he would veto any tax increase that is not accompanied by a tax reduction somewhere else.

A bill by New Orleans Representative Helena Moreno, that would use funds from unclaimed gambling winnings to pay for rape victims forensic medical exams, clears House appropriations. Wade Duty, of the Louisiana Casino Association, says while they don’t oppose the bill on its merits, they don’t approve of the funding mechanism. He says winning money is the property of the gaming establishment until the player cashes the ticket…

cut 9 (07) “property”

The bill now heads to the House floor.

After interviewing former LSU Tiger La’el Collins Monday, The Baton Rouge Police Department says he is still not a suspect in the April 24th murder of Brittney Mills. However, Corporal Don Coppola says they may need Collins to stay involved in the investigation…

cut 12 (07) “clarification”

Coppola says they are still trying to gather information from people who may have known the victim.

Legislation that allows for the dispensing of medicinal marijuana to patients who suffer from certain medical conditions passes the Senate. New Iberia Senator Fred Mills says under the proposed law, medical marijuana could only be prescribed by a doctor for someone clinically diagnosed with glaucoma, spastic quadriplegia or suffering symptoms from chemotherapy cancer treatment. He says it would be grown at only one site in the state and dispensed in 10 places in non-smokeable form…

cut 15 (07) “can’t be inhaled”

The vote count was 22-13 and the measure now heads to the House.