The House Ways and Means Committee sent several tax bills to the House floor today. But the panel used a procedural move to advance the tax hikes without having to vote “yes or “no.” Louisiana Association of Business and Industry President Stephen Waguespack says the committee basically punted these revenue-generating pieces of legislation to the House floor

cut 12 (10) “these bills”

Governor John Bel Edwards is pushing lawmakers to approve some of these tax increases as a way to balance this fiscal year’s budget, which has a 900-million dollar deficit. Many republicans oppose the tax hikes, but Jan Moller, director of the Louisiana budget project, says there are other republican legislators who understand the need for them

cut 14 (08)  “those cuts”

Moller expects a fierce debate on the House floor over these tax bills as it will take 70 votes for them to advance to the senate.

Lawmakers are discussing letting voters decide whether or not Louisiana should legalize recreational marijuana so the state could tax it. Michelle Southern reports…:

CUT 1 (32)  “I’m Michelle Southern”

Wednesday is higher education day at the state capitol. Students are expected to rally on the steps of the capitol at noon to protest proposed cuts to public colleges and universities. Several public colleges are also facing the threat of a credit rating downgrade because of budget problems. A lower credit rating will make it more difficult for schools to borrow money.

The House Ways and Means Committee sent several tax bills to the House floor today. But the panel used a procedural move to advance the tax hikes without having to vote “yes or “no.” The full House is expected to vote on Thursday whether or not to increase taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, telephones, rental cars and there’s proposal to raise the state sales tax by a penny. Louisiana Association of Business and Industry President Stephen Waguespack hopes the rest of the House is up to speed on these different tax proposals…

cut 13 (11)  “can get”

A report out of Tulane University finds that students in Louisiana’s voucher program end up scoring drastically lower in math. Co-author of the study Jonathan Mills says after one year in the program, they found a large negative drop in both English and language arts and math scores on the Louisiana State assessment test…

Cut 11 (09) “effects”

A tornado watch remains in effect for southeast Louisiana parishes until 10 tonight. Andrew Ansorge is with the national weather service in Slidell.

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There have been reports of suspected tornadoes in parishes in and around the Baton Rouge area.  There have also been reports of property damage and power lines down, but no major injuries have been reported.

State lawmakers are discussing whether to file a proposed amendment to the state constitution in the special session that would ask voter whether or not to legalize recreational marijuana in Louisiana so the state could tax it. Jesse McCormick, head of the Louisiana Cannabis Association, says some feel this is not the time to be getting into the marijuana debate, but he knows there is support from lawmakers who are open to considering every revenue raising option. But he believes getting such a constitutional amendment out of the legislature will be tough…:

CUT 5 (10)  “on the ballot”

Over 30 different bills that would increase taxes on Louisiana residents and businesses advanced out of a House committee today. Jeff Palermo has the story…
CUT 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

Tornado watches are still posted across south Louisiana. The New Orleans area is under a watch box until 10 o’clock. There are been some suspected tornadoes spotted as a cluster of storms move through the state. There have been reports of property damange from the strong winds and power outages. No major injuries have been reported.

 
State lawmakers are discussing behind closed doors to file a proposed constitutional amendment in the special session that would ask Louisianaians to vote on legalizing recreational marijuana so the state could tax it. Jesse McCormick, the head of the Louisiana Cannabis Association, says they argue that these discussions need to be had as the state deals with such a major budget crisis that schools could be closed or lights turned off at hospitals…:
CUT 4 (07) “benefiting from”

But he believes getting such a constitutional amendment out of the legislature will be tough…:

The Louisiana Public Service Commission is set to vote tomorrow on whether or not Cleco will be sold for nearly 5 million dollars to the investment group Macquarie Infrastructure. Cleco says this merger will not charge utility customers for any costs related to the sale and their rates will not go up. Cleco claims the transaction will result in 143 million dollars in credits to customers over the next 15 years.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for south central and southeast Louisiana until five o’ clock today. The watch box came as a result of a strong line of storms, associated with a cold front. Andrew Ansorge with the National Weather Service in Slidell says these strong thunderstorms have the potential to produce lightning and hail…
CUT 6 (06) “60 miles per hour”

Entergy is reporting thousands of people are without power due to high winds.
The House Ways and Means Committee sent multiple tax bills to the House floor today. But the panel used a procedural move to advance the tax hikes without voting “yes or “no.” Louisiana Association of Business and Industry President Stephen Waguespack says the committee basically kicked these revenue-generating pieces of legislation to the House floor
cut 12 (10) “these bills”
State lawmakers are discussing wether or not to file a proposed constitutional amendment in the special session that would give Louisiana residents a chance to vote on legalizing recreational marijuana so the state would have the ability to tax it. Jesse McCormick is the head of the Louisiana Cannabis Association…
CUT 3 (10) “regulate cannabis”

But so far nothing has been filed in this special session related to legalizing marijuana.

A report from Tulane University finds that students in Louisiana’s voucher program are scoring drastically lower in math. President of the Louisiana Federation for Children Ann Duplessis says reports like this help show the program where it needs to improve…
cut 10 (10) “ultimate goal”

Co-author of the study Jonathan Mills says after one year in the program, they found a large drop in both English and math scores.

The National Weather Service says they’ve received reports of a tornado which passed through Prairieville in Ascension Parish which caused significant damage to a brand new gym. They say a tornado crossed I-10 in the area and another in the southern part of East Baton Rouge Parish and another near the New Orleans Airport in Kenner. Andrew Ansorge is with the National Weather Service in Slidell…:
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A tornado watch remains in effect for south/southeast Louisiana until 5pm. Wind advisories are posted throughout the state.

The proposal to raise the state sales tax by one “clean penny” advances today out of the House Ways and Means Committee and heads to the full House. The Chairman of the committee is New Orleans Democrat Representative Neil Abramson…:
CUT 1 (09) “that motion passes”
Governor John Bel Edwards issued a statement following the vote saying by moving this revenue debate forward, Louisiana is one step closer to avoiding catastrophic cuts.

A report out of Tulane University finds that students in Louisiana’s voucher program end up scoring drastically lower math. But President of the Louisiana Federation for Children Ann Duplessis says we have to put the study into context because all of these students were attending failing and under-performing schools…:
CUT 9 (10) “take time”
Co-author of the study Jonathan Mills says after one year in the program, they found a large negative drop in both English and language arts and math scores on the Louisiana State assessment test…:
Cut 11 (09) “effects”

Entergy is reporting that about 3800 customers in southeast Louisiana are without power. Tornadoes have been reported in the area. They say additional crews are on standby to get power restored as soon as possible.

A tornado watch is in effect until 5pm for most parishes in southern and southeast Louisiana. Warnings have also been coming and going as the National Weather Service receives reports of funnel clouds. They say a storm spotter reported a tornado crossed I-10 near exit 171 in Ascension Parish. Andrew Ansorge with the National Weather Service in Slidell says this level of risk hasn’t been seen in quite sometime…:
CUT 8 (05) “southeast Louisiana”
Flood warnings have been issued for St. Tammany, Washington and Webster parishes.

The Louisiana House Ways and Means Committee quickly went through a series of tax proposals today and are still meeting. The proposed one cent increase in the state sales tax was reported and will go to the full House for consideration. Louisiana Association of Business and Industry said committee members used a procedural punt to get the sales tax bill the house floor. The 20 cent increase on the cigarette tax advances, so does the alcohol tax an extra 6 cents on a six pack of beer.

Secretary of State Tom Scheduler announces the temporary suspension of early voting in East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Lafourche, Livingston, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and West Baton Rouge due to severe weather. They say it is expected that the list of parishes impacted could increase over the course of the day.

Lawmakers are discussing letting voters decide whether or not Louisiana should legalize recreational marijuana so the state could tax it. Jesse McCormick, head of the Louisiana Cannabis Association, says it would be difficult to move a bill like this out of the legislature:
CUT 5 (10) “on the ballot”
He says the revenue from pot taxes in other states has been substantial and could really help Louisiana in this time of crisis.

A tornado watch is in effect until 5pm for most parishes in southern and southeast Louisiana. Warnings have also been coming and going as the National Weather Service receives reports of funnel clouds. They say a storm spotter reported a tornado crossed I-10 near exit 171 in Ascension Parish. Andrew Ansorge with the National Weather Service in Slidell says this level of risk hasn’t been seen in quite sometime…:
CUT 8 (05) “southeast Louisiana”
Flood warnings have been issued for St. Tammany, Washington and Webster parishes.

The Louisiana House Ways and Means Committee quickly went through a series of tax proposals today and are still meeting, but did not take up the proposed one cent increase in the state sales tax and the bill was returned to the calendar. The 20 cent increase on the cigarette tax advances to the House Floor, so does the alcohol tax an extra 6 cents on a six pack of beer.

Secretary of State Tom Scheduler announces the temporary suspension of early voting in East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Lafourche, Livingston, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and West Baton Rouge due to severe weather. They say it is expected that the list of parishes impacted could increase over the course of the day.

Lawmakers are discussing letting voters decide whether or not Louisiana should legalize recreational marijuana so the state could tax it. Jesse McCormick, head of the Louisiana Cannabis Association, says it would be difficult to move a bill like this out of the legislature:
CUT 5 (10) “on the ballot”
He says the revenue from pot taxes in other states has been substantial and could really help Louisiana in this time of crisis.

The House Ways and Means Committee has begun what is expected to be a critical meeting for the special legislative session. Various tax increases will be voted on today as a way to raise revenue to close at 900-million dollar deficit. A bill to raise the cigarette tax by 22-cents has already been approved by the panel. Jeremy Alford, publisher of la-politics-dot-com says the sales tax bill is the key piece of legislation that’s being pushed for by the Edwards administration.

Cut 10 (05) “to do it”

Alford says many republicans could vote for the sales tax increase, but they want the governor to commit to some long-term spending cuts.

With the state facing a huge money crunch there is discussion at the state capitol about filing a proposed constitutional amendment in the special session that would put to a vote whether or not to legalize recreational marijuana so the state could tax it. Jesse McCormick, head of the Louisiana Cannabis Association, says these discussions need to be had as the state deals with such a major budget crisis that schools could be closed or lights turned off at hospitals…:

CUT 4 (07)  “benefiting from”

But any such proposal is expected to face fierce opposition from the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for south central and southeast Louisiana until five o’ clock today. The watch box was issued as a result of a strong line of storms, associated with a cold front. Andrew Ansorge with the National Weather Service in Slidell says these strong thunderstorms also have the potential to produce lightning and hail…

CUT 6 (06) “60 miles per hour”

A wind advisory remains in effect until 3pm Wednesday.

Early voting for the Louisiana Presidential Preference Primary continues today through Saturday. Secretary of State Tom Schedler says this primary is costing Louisiana $3.5 million during tough budget times. He says switching to a caucus format would save the state that money, because a caucus is paid for by the political parties. Schedler says he has proposed caucus voting to the legislators, but it takes a vote by the legislature to make that change…

Cut 15 (05) “do it”