A bill to provide parole eligibility for juveniles convicted of murder has been approved by the state Senate. Baton Rouge Senator Dan Claitor’s measure calls for parole after 25 years. He says that would apply to a handful of jailed offenders..:

Cut 4 (08) “for consideration”

Claitor says his proposal would bring Louisiana in line with a Supreme Court decision that prohibits juvenile offenders from receiving life sentences without parole.

A House panel approved two bills that would expand who is covered under domestic violence laws. One measure by New Orleans Representative Helena Moreno would include couples who are dating. She says currently the laws only apply to couples who are living together or married.

Cut 15 (07) “in our laws”

The other measure headed to the full House would include same sex couples.

D+ is the grade Louisiana gets on its roads, bridges and drinking water on a report card by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Executive Director of the project, Dr. Kam Movassaghi (Mo-vuh-sah-gee) says there are several bills filed for the session that could help address these problems, but that means getting the legislature to shell out more money:

CUT 20 (09) “function better”

There is a bill to increase the state gasoline tax by as much as 17-cents.

The House overwhelmingly approved a measure to allow children to bring sunscreen to school and apply it themselves, or parents could designate someone at the school to help. The lone dissenting vote came from Baton Rouge Representative Patricia Smith, who raised concerns about teachers putting lotion on students.

Cut 13 (08) “…touch me right”

The measure was approved on a 99-1 vote and now heads to the Senate.