Where to Retire Magazine has highlight Bossier City as a Veteran-Friendly city. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
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A clear majority of Louisianans support the 2016 criminal justice reform according to the latest installment of the 2019 Louisiana Survey. Matt Doyle has more…
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A Monroe lawmaker would like voters to have the option of deciding whether or not abortion rights are covered in the state constitution. Matt Doyle has the story.
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Bossier City has been selected as a top retirement destination according to Where to Retire Magazine. The city was highlighted in a feature called “8 Veteran-Friendly Cities” in an upcoming issue. Bossier City Chief Administrative Officer Pam Glorioso says the area offers a great part of Louisiana for people to live in and at a low cost.
Bossier City is the home of Barksdale Air Force Base and Glorioso says many of those that have worked on the base, either in a military career or civilian career, have returned to the area to retire as the area has much to offer for vets.
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Glorioso says the area certainly has much to contribute to the state’s reputation as being a Sportsman’s Paradise.
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The 2019 Louisiana Survey shows 70 percent of Louisianans support the criminal justice reforms championed by Governor Edwards and passed by a bi-partisan Legislature in 2016.
The reform now has majority Republican support, and Director of LSU’s Public Policy Research Center Dr. Mike Henderson says responsible for a dramatic rise in overall support.
The reforms were aimed at reducing the prison population by reducing sentences and providing non-prison alternatives for non-violent offenders.
60 percent of Republicans now support the reform efforts. in 2018 only 46 percent of Republicans backed the changes, and Henderson says it’s taken a few years for the average GOP voter to buy in…
79 percent of Democrats support the reforms, up five percent from last year, and 74 percent of Independents are on board, a 12 percent increase over 2018.
But the survey did reveal that despite the reform effort, most Louisianans are not happy about the state of the criminal justice system in Louisiana. Henderson says only a third of respondents thought the system was fair, and only a third thought it kept them safe.
65 percent of those polled say “mandatory minimum sentencing” should be eased so that judges have the flexibility to determine sentences on a case by case basis.
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A wreck that claimed the life of four-year-old Katie Grantham in November 2017 has inspired legislation to run toxicology tests on drivers at fault for vehilcle collisions that cause serious injury. The child’s mother, Morgan Grantham, spoke to a Senate Committee Tuesday and says the driver was not drug tested and had a history of bad decisions.
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Currently a drug test is only mandated if someone dies at the scene of a crash. Grantham’s daughter died in the days that followed. Grantham says evidence was found that could indicate the driver’s impairment, even though he was able to pass a field sobriety test.
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The bill won the approval of the committee. Grantham says victims should not have to die at a crash to mandate a drug test and adds she has experienced issues, both physical and mental, since the wreck.
Cut 12 (08) “…moment of impact.”
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A constitutional amendment is on it’s way to the House floor that would let Louisiana voters decided whether or not the state constitution protects abortion rights.
Governor Edwards is backing the measure and his spokesperson Matthew Block says the Governor wants to send a message to his constituents.
The proposal would need two thirds support in both chambers, and over 50 percent of the vote at the October 12th ballot that also features the primary round of the governor’s race.
The amendment was brought by Monroe Democratic Representative Katrina Jackson who says it’s an opportunity for voter to show the rest of the country that the Bayou State is the no. 1 pro-life state.
Several states have adopted similar additions to their constitutions.
Pro-choice advocates were on hand to contest the proposal. Steffani Bangel with the New Orleans Abortion Fund disputed the amendment, saying a persons right to determine her own future, and her bodily autonomy are inextricably linked.
Bangel says outlawing abortion in Louisiana would hit those living in precarious economic and social situations the hardest.
The law would not outright ban abortion, and thus is unlikely to be challenged in federal court, but it may create a legal framework to outlaw the procedure if the US Supreme Court ever undid Roe vs. Wade.