A Southern Media and Opinion Research poll finds opinions on President Donald Trump and the Affordable Care Act are split along party and racial lines. Don Molino has more…
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The full House takes up the controversial bill aimed at protecting Louisiana’s confederate monuments. Halen Doughty has more…
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No major legislation has been passed to solve the state’s problems as Louisiana is halfway through the legislative session. Emelie Gunn reports one state capitol reporter has never seen anything like this….
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Today is the last day for residents to file their 2016 Louisiana individual income tax returns. State Department of Revenue Secretary Kimberly Robinson says the easiest way to file is with Louisiana File Online, where taxpayers can file their state returns for free and make payments.
The website to file online is revenue-dot-louisiana-dot-gov-slash-file-online (revenue.louisiana.gov/fileonline). Robinson says there are some tornado related extensions for certain areas affected.
Robinson reminds taxpayers that if you miss the deadline to pay or file returns, you could face some charges.
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Louisiana support for President Donald Trump is split along party and racial lines, according to a Southern Media and Opinion Research survey. Pollster Bernie Pinsonat says Republicans really like the President with 91 percent giving him a favorable approval rating. But he says that’s a stark contrast to how Democrats feel.
The poll finds two-thirds of white voters approve of the President’s job performance with 25 percent saying he’s doing an excellent job. Seventy-two percent of Democrats disapprove of Mr. Trump’s job performance.
Opinions are similarly split on the Affordable Care Act. Pinsonat says only 8 percent of respondents would keep the ACA as it is now. He says that’s a more popular opinion among Democrats in Washington.
Most Democrats want to see Obamacare improved. Thirteen percent of respondents said they’d prefer the ACA to be repealed and not replaced. Pinsonat says many Louisiana Republicans agree with the GOP’s position, but not as strongly in the Bayou State as on the national level.
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Today the state House takes up a controversial bill aimed at protecting Louisiana’s confederate monuments. Debates quickly became heated in committee, where the measure narrowly passed on a 10-8 vote. Retired US Air Force Col. Rob Maness spoke in support of the measure, saying these monuments are not about some long-lived racial issue, though they may have been in the past.
The bill by Shreveport Representative Thomas Carmody would prohibit the removal of any military monument from any war without approval from a majority of voters. Franklinton Senator Beth Mizell also supports the proposal. She says this bill is a response to the Confederate monuments being removed in New Orleans, but these veterans’ blood was shed for the country as a whole, and that is timeless…:
But Baton Rouge Representative Denise Marcelle says this bill has nothing to do with protecting veterans. She says the local government in New Orleans has voted to take down these statues, and this bill is about usurping the authority of the local municipalities.
A monument supporter told black lawmakers it’s time to grow up and get over it. Marcelle says that’s an insult to the African American community.
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The regular legislative session has passed the halfway mark and not much has been accomplished when it comes to solving the state’s problems. That’s according to Jim Beam, retired editor of the Lake Charles American Press, who has covered the capitol for decades, and says he’s never seen anything like it. Beam blames partisan politics, especially in the House Ways and Means Committee.
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Beam says the goals coming into the session were to reform the state’s tax structure, make changes to the criminal justice system and raise money to avoid a 1.3 billion dollar fiscal cliff. He says House Republicans refuse to pass legislation recommended by Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards.
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Beam says what makes this so frustrating is the next time lawmakers can raise revenues during a regular session is in 2019. He says it’s a struggle for lawmakers to pass taxes that please residents.