A second special session for 2016 begins tonight at 6:30 pm, and lawmakers will look at changes to income taxes as they try to close a $600 million shortfall for next fiscal year. Halen Doughty has more…

CUT 1 (29)  “I’m Halen Doughty”

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The Louisiana Family Caregiver Act has been signed by the governor and goes into effect August 1. Michelle Southern has more…

CUT 2 (30)  “I’m Michelle Southern”

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Lawmakers will begin a special session tonight at 6:30 pm to attempt to raise $600 million to close the budget deficit for next fiscal year. LSU economist Jim Richardson, also serves as the chairman of the task force for long term budget reform and says to raise that much money, lawmakers will likely have to alter personal income taxes.

CUT 3 (11)  “do constitutionally”

State Capitol observers say a key to bill to watch in the session is House Bill 11 which would limit federal itemized deductions on income taxes. Richardson says reducing or removing these deductions could affect a lot of Louisiana taxpayers, particularly those with higher personal incomes.

CUT 4 (11)  “income brackets”

The call for the special session also calls for changes to income tax brackets. Richardson says this approach would impact most taxpayers.

CUT 5 (08)  “notice it”

Richardson says legislators will probably not do anything with the sales tax, other than cleaning up some exemptions that should have been placed on the increase in the last special session.

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The Governor has signed the Louisiana Family Caregiver Act into law, which supporters say will provide critical help for families across the state. Advocacy Director for AARP Louisiana, Andrew Muhl says this will assist the more than 660-thousand family members who help out an aging relative.

CUT 6 (08) “more independently”

Twenty-two other states have passed similar legislation. Muhl says this measure requires hospitals to offer caregivers instruction and demonstrations of medical tasks. He says the bill also allows a family caregiver to be designated in the patient’s medical records.

CUT 7 (07) “post-hospital stay”

It’s estimated this type of unpaid care to family members in our state amount to about 6-point-4 billion dollars annually. Muhl says this legislation will save the state money by reducing costly hospital readmissions, as family caregivers will be able to perform the tasks the patients need.

CUT 8 (10) “be required”

The unanimously-approved law goes into effect August 1.

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A small Tensas parish town is one step closer to having clean water after being plagued by murky brown tap water. The town of St. Joseph has agreed to appoint a fiscal administrator so audits on the town can be cleared up and work can begin to repair the town’s water system. The governor’s Communications Director, Richard Carbo says getting a fiscal administrator is a step in the right direction.

CUT 9 (05) “St. Joe”

St. Jo has not been able to get approval to use state funds to fix the water system because Mayor Edward Brown missed the December deadline to file an audit. Carbo says the Governor’s Office has been working to get clean water for St. Jo since Governor John Bel Edwards took office in January.

cut 10 (07)  “finish line”

Carbo says they’re making progress, but at this point it’s still not clear when clean water will flow from the taps in St. Joseph.

Cut 11 (10) “projects underway”

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A trooper was injured in a fatal St. Charles Parish incident that involved two suspected drunk drivers and a man who stopped on the Bonne Carre spillway to urinate into Lake Ponchartrain. State Police trooper Melissa Matey says Louis Hernandez pulled his truck over to pee, and at that time a man suspected of being impaired, 42-year-old Joel Ybarra, crashed into the stopped vehicle

cut 12 (06) “not belted”

Matey says as a trooper was responding to the first crash scene on the spillway, his unit was hit from behind by another impaired driver. She says the trooper was wearing a seat belt and sustained minor injuries in the crash:

Cut 13 (06)  “operation”

Matey says Ybarra is charged with vehicular homicide and careless operation. She says charges are pending for Hernandez as you are not allowed to just relieve yourself off the side of a bridge…:

cut 14 (05)  “emergency purpose”

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It’s the last day of the regular session, and political analyst Clancy Dubos looks at what passed and what didn’t. Halen Doughty has more…

CUT 1 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”

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Legislation to require pet stores to keep records of breeds’ names and addresses, along with licensing information is on the governor’s desk to be signed into law. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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The number of Louisiana homes at risk of storm surge damage has gone up by over 40-thousand since last year, according to CoreLogic. Jeff Palermo has more…

Cut 3 (29) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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State lawmakers have approved a 26-billion dollar budget for next fiscal year that does not fully fund the TOPS scholarship program and hospitals that provide care for the poor and uninsured. House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry says the spending plan is not perfect, but they can address gaps in the budget in a special session that begins tonight…

cut 4  (04)  “is a priority”

Because of a 600-million dollar revenue shortfall, the budget also contains cuts to public schools, universities, prisons and child welfare programs. Henry says under this plan TOPS would be funded at 48-percent…

Cut 5  (05)  “18-hundred dollars” (2x)

The senate approved the budget on a 35-2 vote, but the vote was much closer in the House, 63 “yeas” and 38 “nays”. Baton Rouge Representative Barry Ivey voted against it, because health care and higher ed are underfunded…

Cut 6 (06) “less than 50-percent”

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The regular session must conclude by 6pm tonight. Political analyst Clancy Dubos says Governor John Bel Edwards had a hard time getting key pieces of his legislative package through the legislature, like the bills for equal pay for men and women and increasing the minimum wage.

CUT 7 (11)  “of representatives” 

Dubos says there were some victories for the governor. He says the budget lawmakers passed is close to the one he first proposed. Also, a bill that increases the age to 18 for which a person can be tried as an adult was approved.

Cut 8  (12)  “change as well” 

Dubos says the governor is feeling pressure to veto a bill that gives patients the ability to see a physical therapist without a doctor’s referral. He says a strong majority of lawmakers voted for the bill, but Edwards is hearing from the opponents of the measure.

Cut 9 (09)  “his allies”

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A bill that would require pet stores to keep records of breeders’ names, addresses, and licensing information is on the governor’s desk to be signed into law. Alicia Haefele with the Louisiana SPCA says also included under this legislation is that no pet under 8-weeks old can be sold in a store. She says these regulations are to make ensure pet stores are held to certain standards.

Cut 10 (07) “cared for”

Haefele says these regulations do not apply to animals up for adoptions from shelters. She says another big part of this legislation is pet stores are required to keep records on their dogs and cats for at least two years.

cut 11 (10) “its owner”

Haefele says the main target of this legislation is to stop puppy mills from selling sick puppies who have been living in unsanitary conditions.

cut 12 (09) “potential owner”

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The number of Louisiana homes at risk for storm surge damage has increased since last year, according to CoreLogic. Senior hazard risk scientist for CoreLogic, Tom Jeffery says that has a lot to do with new homes being built along the coast.

Cut 13 (07)  “about everywhere”

According to CoreLogic, last year there were just over 760-thousand hones at risk in Louisiana, and that number has grown to over 800-thousand. CoreLogic’s report says the cost to rebuild all those homes would be $184 billion. Jeffery says despite the danger, he doesn’t see construction slowing along the coast anytime soon.

cut 14 (12)  “those areas”

Almost 7 million homes along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts are at risk of potential storm surge damage this year. Florida has the most homes at risk, followed by Louisiana. Jeffery says the potential for storm surge is one of the most dangerous things about hurricane season.

Cut 15 (08) “of life”

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The Ragin Cajuns are one win away from advancing to the Super Regionals after UL Lafayette easily defeated Arizona 10-3 yesterday afternoon. Sophomore left-hander Gunner Leger won his 7th game of the year as he threw five innings and allowed three runs…

Cut 16  (13)  “great job”

At the plate, Stefan Trosclair drove in three runs and hit a home run. Kyle Clement scored three times. Brian Mills and Brenn Conrad each drove in two runs. Robichaux is well-rounded effort…

Cut 17 (07)  “timely hitting” 

(The Cajuns will face Arizona at 1 PM. UL Lafayette needs one win to advance, Arizona needs two.)

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LSU starting pitcher Alex Lange struck out 10 hitters to help lead the Tigers to a 4-2 win over Rice. The victory puts the Bayou Bengals into the championship round of the Baton Rouge regional. Lange threw eight plus innings and only gave up two runs. Coach Paul Mainieri says it was an impressive outing from his sophomore…

Cut 18 (12) “their numbers”

Not an even rain delay could slow down Lange. The game was halted for about an hour in the 6th inning, but Lange returned to put a couple more zeros on the scoreboard…

Cut 19 (12) “locked in” (2x)

LSU’s offense came in the 1st inning on an inside-the-park grand slam by Greg Deichmann. The Tigers first baseman smoked a ball down the right field line and it got stuck underneath a bullpen bench, which allowed the three base runners and Deichmann to come on home…

Cut 20 (12) “kept running””

(LSU will play the winner of today’s game between Southeastern Louisiana and Rice at 7 PM.