It is National Police Week and personal finance website WalletHub releases a report that ranks Louisiana as the worst state for police officers. Connor Ferrill has the story.
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A bill banning drivers from using handheld cellphones while driving is set for debate on the House floor today. Matt Doyle talked to the bill’s author…
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A report shows Louisiana hit record numbers of tourism once again, with 51.3 million people checking out the Bayou State in 2018. Matt Doyle has more…
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Governor John Bel Edwards is confident the legislature will approve his proposal for 39-million dollars in block grant funding that would go to Louisiana school districts. Edwards says public schools desperately need this additional cash…
Lawmakers seem to be in agreement on a teacher pay raise. House Republicans propose a 12-hundred dollar raise for teachers, 600-dollars for school support workers, but they have shown no indication of approving the additional 39-million dollars in public school funding. But Edwards is confident he’ll be able to deliver more money to local school districts…
House Republicans have resisted Edwards proposal for additional funding for public schools, because they say Louisiana already spends the national average when it comes to per pupil funding. But Edwards says funding for Louisiana public schools has been stagnant for too long…
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National Police week kicks off and according to the personal finance website WalletHub Louisiana is ranked the worst state for police officers in 2019. The Bayou State is ranked 47th in highest crime rate and WalletHub spokesperson Jill Gonzales says the high violent crime rate may be the reason Louisiana ranks 50th in police deaths…
Louisiana has no required de-escalation training and Gonzalez says that is an issue for officer safety…
Gonzales says Louisiana falls well below the average in officer income ranking 49th…
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The House is expected to take up legislation today that would ban drivers from touching their cell phones while behind the wheel. Bill author, Breaux Bridge Representative Mike Huval says the proposal is a life saver, and a cost saver…
Huval says Georgia recently passed a cellphone ban and the Peach State has seen a 15-percent reduction in commercial vehicle fatalities, and a four-percent reduction in all fatalities, which adds up to 50 lives saved due to the new law.
The penalty for first time offenders is 100 dollars, or community service, under Louisiana’s proposed law. Huval says many of those who will be ticketed for the offense are teen drivers who are financially dependent on their parents, which is why they’ve added a non-financial penalty option.
Huval has tried to get this bill to the governor’s desk for the last two years, but each time it’s stalled on the House floor. Huval says this time legislators have come to him to express support, after being educated about the effects of distracted driving.
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A record breaking 51.3 million tourists visited Louisiana in 2018, a nine percent increase over 2017. That’s according to Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser who says the “Feed Your Soul” slogan is making waves, and the state has ghree areas of focus for tourism that are paying off.
The state has now seen 13 straight months of over the year job gains, and Nungesser says part of that trend includes the booming tourism industry, that added 2,600 jobs between 2017 and 2018.
The report, by DK Shifflet, says visitors in Louisiana spent nearly 19 billion dollars in 2018, a seven percent increase frin 2017. Nungesser says that’s a ton of money going back into the state and local budgets.