A bill to create accountability for rape kits in Louisiana advances in the legislature. Brooke Thorington has more.
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Adoptions can be financially challenging but a bill that would provide families with a $5,000 tax credit for adopting children under the age of three was approved by a full House. Teiko Foxx has more.
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After numerous stories of rape kits getting lost and the backlog of processing Franklinton Senator Beth Mizell decided to make the system more accountable with legislation to create a tracking system for the kits. Senate Bill 169 establishes a database system so victims can follow where their kits are in the process.
In addition to creating accountability for the vital piece of evidence, Mizell says the tracking process will place Louisiana in the ranking of 40 other states who have similar mechanisms.
Ponchatoula Representative Bill Wheat thanked Mizell for bringing attention to the matter and sponsoring legislation to create a tracking system.
The bill has passed in the Senate and heads to the full House for final passage.
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Legislation that would provide families adopting a child under the age of three with a $5 thousand tax credit was approved by a full House in a 97 to 0 vote. Bill author, Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds says he hopes this will alleviate some of the financial burden for adoptive families.
Under the legislation, if the $5,000 credit exceeds the adoptive family’s tax liability, the state would give the family the balance of that money the year the adoption takes place. Edmonds says it’s about helping families help children.
The bill also prohibits the tax credit from applying to the adoption of a child from foster care and prohibits a taxpayer from claiming the credit and claiming the deduction.
The bill heads to the Senate.
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The state House has unanimously approved a bill that would symbolically abolish slavery in Louisiana. Baton Rouge Representative Edmond Jordan’s legislation would add language to the state’s constitution that would abolish slavery and involuntary servitude forever…
Jordan’s measure heads to the Senate for its approval. Since it’s a constitutional amendment, it will also need voter approval.
Louisiana voters rejected a similar proposal last year, but Jordan asked voters to reject it because the amendment’s language was confusing. He says the language is more clear this year
Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865. But more than 150 years later, states are banning involuntary servitude and slavery in their state constitutions. Jordan says this legislation will not prevent convicts from performing hard labor while in prison…
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There’s an effort by a state lawmaker to provide free lunches and breakfast for public school students who currently receive school meals at a reduced price. Families who have children that qualify for reduced-price meals have to pay 70-cents a day. Marrero Representative Kyle Green’s legislation calls on the state to pick up that cost, which is about 14-dollars a month…
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Green’s bill will cost the state 860-thousand dollars and it will be needed to be included in the state’s budget. The budget proposal that’s in the Senate currently does not include this allocation.
Green says Louisiana is a poor state and low income families shouldn’t have to worry about their kids not eating while at school
The bill heads to the House floor for more discussion.