The “I Voted” George Rodrigue Blue Dog sticker was one incredible investment in outreach, according to Secretary of State Tom Scheder. Jeff Palermo reports…:
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Legislation for the upcoming session has been filed that would give convicted felons who have been out of prison for five years the right to vote. Emelie Gunn has more…
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A criminal justice package for the regular session has been released by Governor John Bel Edwards. Halen Doughty has more on the proposals…
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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Secretary of State Tom Schedler told a House panel this week that the popular “I Voted” George Rodrigue Blue Dog sticker is one of the best investments his department has made. This was the reward citizens received for casting a ballot in the 2016 fall elections. Schedler said he had to make sure EVERYONE who voted got the precious sticker…:
Schedler says his office received calls from people outside of the country wanting to know if they could have one, but they were only for Louisiana voters. He says when they made the announcement about the “Blue Dog for President” campaign, lawmakers called asking how much taxpayers were dishing out for the stickers…:
Schedler says the Rodrigue family charged the state nothing for their part in the stickers. He said it was amazing to see how people would re-purpose the Blue Dog to brag that they had voted…:
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A measure has been filed for the legislative session that would give convicted felons, who are on parole and have been out of jail for at least five years, the right to vote. Baton Rouge Representative Patricia Smith says many of these individuals have been out of jail for over 20 years…
Currently, anyone convicted of a felony cannot vote in Louisiana because the law considers anyone on parole imprisoned. The Democrat from Baton Rouge offered similar legislation last year and it was killed on the House floor. The difference with this bill, felons would not be able to vote until they are out of jail for five years. Smith says these individuals are still citizens and if allowed to vote, could choose their elected officials and contribute to society.
Smith says taking away privileges for people who committed crimes solves nothing and only makes them still feel like prisoners. She says some states allow convicted felons the right to vote immediately after being released from jail.
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Louisiana drivers are the second worst in the nation for cell phone usage while driving, according to a report from Life360. Co-founder Alex Haro says a feature in their family location app allows users to see how their family drives using the sensors on their phone. He says Louisianans use their phones an average of 2.4 times every time they get behind the wheel.
Cut 10 (09) “national average”
Haro says there are over 3,000 deaths nationwide every year due to distracted driving. He says some people say they only text at red lights, but he insists that’s not safe either. He says the National Safety Council found divers are still distracted up to 30 seconds after using their phones.
Haro hopes this report will get more families to discuss the dangers of using cell phones while driving. He says over 58 percent of their users are using the phone less while driving. He hopes this report shows drivers that using your phone can wait.
Cut 12 (09) “they’ll understand”
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The Governor has released his comprehensive criminal justice legislative package that lawmakers will debate in the regular session that begins April 10. Metairie Senator Danny Martiny will attempt to push several of the proposals through the legislature. Martiny says in an effort to lower the state’s massive prison population they’ll seek to expand alternatives to incarceration.
Cut 13 (07) “their incarceration”
Louisiana is known as the incarceration capital of the world, and Governor Edwards has said with that comes a significant price tag. Martiny says one of the measures he’ll attempt to pass will expand incentives for inmates to participate in recidivism reducing programs, like drug and psychiatric treatment.
Martiny says habitual offender laws keep people in jail for the rest of their lives if they commit three violent crimes. But by classifying more and more offenses as violent crimes, he says we’re putting more people than necessary behind bars forever. He says streamlining parole eligibility for some of the lesser offenses could help reduce the incarceration rate.