House Republicans approve a budget for next fiscal year that does not contain funding for a two-thousand-dollar teacher pay raise. Appropriations Chairman Jerome Zeringue, a Republican from Houma, says their funding plan calls for the paying down of debt of the state retirement system, which would free up dollars for local school systems to give out the raise.
But Democrats are skeptical of the plan. Shreveport Representative Tammy Phelps says teachers would rather see the state’s budget fund a teacher pay raise, but Zeringue says lower retirement debt should result in higher pay for working teachers…
The Senate will now comb through the budget, and they could offer a different solution to funding teacher pay raises.
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has levied a two-million dollar fine against the attorneys with a Texas law firm known as McClenny, Mosely, and Associates. Donelon says they orchestrated a scheme involving a roofing company going door-to-door in areas of suspected damage, filing claims, and collecting money from insurers on a homeowner’s policy with the policyholder’s authority…
Louisiana’s Western District federal court has also suspended the law firm for fraudulent Hurricane Laura suits. If you believe you might have been misrepresented fraudulently by MMA, call the Louisiana Department of Insurance.
Trina Edwards, the widow of former Governor Edwin Edwards, will marry John Alario, former Speaker of the House in New Orleans on June 1st. The wedding ceremony will be a private affair at the State Supreme Court building with a celebratory lunch to follow. The couple plans to take a cruise for their Honeymoon.