The budget remains a top priority for lawmakers as we near the end of the regular session. Halen Doughty…
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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A measure to prohibit abortions because of a genetic abnormality moves closer to final legislative passage. Emelie Gunn has more…
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A bill that would require public school students in fourth through sixth grade to recite a passage from the Declaration of Independence moves to the Senate. Jeff Palermo has more…
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Lawmakers are in the final days of the regular session, and they have yet to approve the budget proposal for next fiscal year. Jeremy Alford with LaPolitics.com says HB1 will likely go into a conference committee before the session ends.
Alford says the next special session will begin just 30 minutes after adjournment for the regular session on Monday at 6 PM. He says the spending plan that lawmakers eventually agree on, will be 600-million dollars short of funding state services, which is why the governor has called a second special session.
Alford says in the budget’s current posture, TOPS and safety net hospitals are underfunded. He says lawmakers will have to raise more revenue in the special session to reduce cuts to these programs. He says lawmakers will likely try to raise between $300 and $450 million.
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A 9-thousand dollar reward is being offered by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for any information on the fatal shooting of two Whooping Cranes in Acadia Parish. LDWF Spokesperson Adam Einck says they found the endangered birds with gunshot wounds in Rayne. He says both birds were found very close to each other.
Einck says 2-thousand dollars in private donations were collected for this reward. He says many different organizations also contributed.
Einck says they’re currently tracking 38 Whooping Cranes and recently a pair of birds hatched a few eggs. He says a handful of Whooping Cranes have been shot in recent years but most people understand it is one of the most endangered of all the world’s cranes.
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A bill that would prohibit abortions because the fetus has a genetic abnormality moves closer to final legislative passage. Baton Rouge Sen. Dan Claitor spoke out against the legislation, even though he typically supports measures that add restrictions to abortions. He says this goes against a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion and many legislators don’t understand that…
The Senate voted in favor of the bill 29-6 and it heads back to the House for approval of minor changes. Claitor says when becoming a Senator he took an oath to follow the U.S. Constitution, whether he liked it or not.
Baton Rouge Sen. Regina Barrow co-sponsors the legislation and believes this will defend the lives of unborn children. She says this bill is about the importance and sanctity of life.
cut 12 (10) “some deficiencies”
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The bill to require fourth through sixth graders in public schools to recite part of the Declaration of Independence every day won the approval of the House. Opponents of the bill say it’s not fair to make students recite this passage, because there was slavery and women weren’t allowed to vote when it was written. But Denham Springs Representative Valerie Hodges says this document is the foundation of our country.
Hodges says civil rights and women’s rights activists have quoted the Declaration in their campaigns for equality.
cut 14 (11) “their liberation”
The measure passed on a 70-23 vote. Shreveport Representative Barbara Norton says Thomas Jefferson, who authored the document, owned slaves, as did many Founding Fathers.
Despite opposition, the measure now heads to the Senate, but the upper chamber has only four more days to pass the bill before the session ends.
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LSU Baseball Head Coach Paul Maineri has decided to start Junior pitcher Jared Poche for the Tiger’s opening NCAA regional game against Utah Valley at 2 p.m. in Alex Box Stadium. Poche is one the more experienced players on this year’s team after pitching in the College World Series last season. He says he hopes to control himself better this time around as energy levels are high during the postseason.
Maineri says he thinks Poche’s experience will help him to pitch well and confidently despite the postseason pressure.
The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs’ offense will have a tough task as they face the pitching rich Cal State Fullerton Titans in their opening game of the Starkville Regional today. Head Coach Greg Goff says the Bulldogs have a lot of momentum after hitting .342 in the Conference USA Tournament…
Cal State’s pitching staff has the top team ERA in the country at 2.21. Goff hopes assistant coach Jake Wells and his College World Series coaching experience can continue to help the team, specifically the hitters, in this unfamiliar territory.
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UL Lafayette will face Princeton tonight. The Ragin Cajuns are coming off a Sun Belt Tournament Championship, but Coach Tony Robichaux says a new season starts tonight….