12:30 LRN Newscast May 19

As the state budget makes its way through the legislature Governor Edwards says, for the most part, he’s pleased lawmakers have accepted the majority of his funding requests. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

A Senate-passed bill proposing risk assessment for juveniles who run afoul of the law clears another legislative hurdle. Central Louisiana Senator Heather Cloud’s SB 323 has already won approval from the full Senate. Cloud’s bill would require that juveniles arrested and brought into the system be assessed for their tendencies toward violent behavior, assessing them from least to most dangerous.

The Louisiana Department of Health has removed the COVID-19 vaccine as a requirement for elementary and secondary school students, citing a lack of full approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Though the COVID vaccine will not be on the schedule this fall, Governor Edwards and the LDH are still in agreement with the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations that all children between the ages of five and 17 get vaccinated.

Cut 12 (11) “…any boosters.”

Since March of 2020, Louisiana has had 21 children die due to COVID-19. In none of those cases were those children fully vaccinated.

The U-S House passed a pair of bills Wednesday night to address the nationwide baby formula shortage, approving a measure that would allow the federal government to purchase more formula to aid low-income women, infants, and children, as well as another that would send $28 million to the FDA to help boost supply and prevent future shortages. Both bills now head to the Senate.