Louisiana is nearing a settlement on a 100-million dollar class-action lawsuit that dates back to 1983. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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One lawmaker wants parents who are found guilty of murdering their own child to be eligible for the death penalty. Brooke Thorington has more
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Louisiana is closing in on reaching a 100-million dollar settlement on a class-action lawsuit that dates back to 1983 when 12-hundred home and business owners in Tangipahoa Parish sued the state over flooding caused by the construction of I-12. Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne…
The state already has 21-million dollars set aside to pay for the settlement and Dardenne says they need the Legislature to allocate 45-million dollars this year and another 35-million dollars next year to satisfy the settlement…
About a third of the 12-hundred plaintiffs in the class action have died waiting for this lawsuit to be resolved. Dardenne says the money will go to their heirs…
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Baton Rouge Representative Barbara Carpenter wants parents convicted of killing their minor children to be added to the list of first-degree murder thus making them eligible for the death penalty.
Carpenter says the murder of a two-year-old in Baton Rouge last fall whose body was taken to Mississippi to be buried inspired the legislation.
Baton Rouge Representative Denise Marcelle spoke in opposition and says many adults who kill their children suffer from mental illness. She also opposes the death penalty.
Currently, the law includes all minors under the age of 12 on the list of victims for whom killers can receive the death penalty. Mandeville Representative Richard Nelson asked why victims ages 12 to 19 would be added in cases where the victim is the child of the offender.
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The bill cleared committee with two votes in opposition and now goes to the House.
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Louisiana is getting back to work, so says data released by the Louisiana Workforce Commission. Adjusted nonfarm employment figures are at their highest in two years, and this past February the state posted an unemployment rate of 4.3%, the third-best February since 1976 says LWC spokesperson Chris Fiore.
An estimated 25-hundred jobs were gained from January to February. While certain industries, like hospitality and professional services, did better than others, there were across-the-board rises. Fiore says the rise in Louisianans getting back to work hasn’t been limited to any particular region either.
Fiore says those looking for their next opportunity should visit louisianaworks-dot-net to see more than 30-thousand available jobs and to utilize other programs with the LWC for training and certification.
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State lawmakers have until midnight tonight to decide if they want to hold a veto override session to override Governor John Bel Edwards’ rejection of the Congressional district map approved by the Republican-led Legislature last month. La-Politics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford believes the veto session will happen
It takes a majority vote in either the House or Senate to cancel the session. Alford says since Republicans have strong majorities in both chambers, the veto session will likely happen.
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It would take 70 votes in the House and 20 in the Senate to override the governor. Alford says there are 68 Republicans in the House and a couple of them have not committed to voting for the override…
House GOP Caucus chairman Blake Miguez has yet to decide on how he would vote on a veto overturn because he doesn’t support the Congressional map approved. His reasoning is it splits St. Martin and St. Mary parishes between two congressional districts.