A bill to make panhandling a state crime in Louisiana advances from House Criminal Justice. Baton Rouge Representative Dixon McMakin says House Bill 97 is an effort to improve both motorist and pedestrian safety.
State law already prohibits panhandling on interstates, including off and on ramps and this bill expands the law to public streets, that local law enforcement police.
A bill to give judges the discretion to punish individuals who sexually assault a child with surgical castration advances from Senate Judiciary C. Baton Rouge Senator Regina Barrow’s bill allows for the sentencing of surgical castration if the victim is under the age of 13.
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The House Education Committee has approved the Gator Scholarship Program which in a few years would allow families of any income level to receive state dollars to attend a private school. Governor Landry’s deputy chief of staff Andree’ Miller says the legislation will give every child the chance to receive a quality education.
The Calcasieu Coroner’s office hopes to solve a 31-year-old mystery and identify a body found south of Merryville in 1993 with 2-gun shots to the head and hands bound behind his back. Investigators recently obtained a DNA profile linking the victim to families in southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas. Forensic Investigator, Zeb Johnson…