It looks as if Lafayette Congressman Charles Boustany is considering a run for the US Senate if Senator David Vitter is elected governor this year. Eric Gill reports…
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According to a new report, abortions in Louisiana have jumped in number since 2010, while nearly everywhere else they’ve gone down. Michelle Southern reports…:
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The state legislature will continue to have authority over tuition costs. Jeff Palermo explains…
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It appears that Lafayette Congressman Charles Boustany is considering a run for the US Senate if Senator David Vitter is elected governor this year. Boustany says that could be an option after this year’s statewide election, but right now he’s focusing on the job at hand…
cut 4 (10) “to our delegation”
Boustany currently sits on the US House Ways and Means Committee and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent months. Boustany says he’ll make a decision on his political future at a later time…
Cut 5 (08) “presents itself”
UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross thinks it’s a really strong possibility that Boustany would vie for Vitter’s seat…
Cut 6 (07) “frontrunner, initially”
Cross says other potential candidates could include Minden Congressman John Fleming and state Treasurer John Kennedy. If elected governor, Vitter will be able to appoint someone to replace him until the November 2016 election. Cross says whoever would receive that appointment would have a real advantage in that Senate election…
CUT 7 (07) “as the incumbent”
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A higher education tax credit that provides an offset to revenue generating bills, receives a cold shoulder from House members. The legislation is called the SAVE ACT. But democrats, like Amite Representative John Bel Edwards, says the measure makes no sense for the legislature to pass it
Cut 8 (10) “what are you assessing”
Even Shreveport Representative Alan Seabaugh, who was pushing the House to pass the SAVE Act, admitted the legislation was peculiar…
(Seabaugh eventually withdrew his attempt to add the SAVE Act to another bill.)
Cut 9 (08) “makes sense”
But without the SAVE Act, Jindal is expected to veto revenue generating bills that restore cuts to higher ed and health care. New Orleans Representative Jeff Arnold says there are other bills that could provide the offset needed for Jindal to keep his no tax pledge…
Cut 10 (09) “using this”
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According to a new report, abortions in Louisiana have jumped in number since 2010, while nearly everywhere else they’ve gone down. But Louisiana Right to Life Executive Director Ben Clapper says numbers of out of state women coming here to have an abortion are dramatically increasing…:
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Louisiana was recently honored by Americans United for Life as the top state taking steps to reduce access to abortion, but the study indicates the number of women ending pregnancies here is up 12 percent between 2010 and 2014. Clapper says Texas laws have closed one third of their abortion facilities and there is only one clinic in Mississippi.
cut 12 (10) “income”
Clapper says abortions for non-residents jumped by more than 1200 between 2010 and 2012. He says even though lawmakers have tried to make it harder to end a pregnancy in Louisiana, the five clinics here only sell abortions and all they care about is collecting the $450…:
Cut 13 (09) “off the procedure”
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A measure which would mean dramatic decreases in Louisiana’s tough pot possession penalties is headed to Governor Bobby Jindal’s desk. Metairie Representative Joe Lopinto says right now the sentence for one gram of marijuana and 60 pounds is the same which makes no sense…:
Cut 14 (08) “already”
The House voted 74-19 to approve amendments added to the bill on the Senate side. The proposed law would essentially end the possibility someone could be jailed 20 years for repeatedly getting arrested with only a small amount of marijuana. But Lopinto says the measure also increases penalties if you’re busted with a large amount of pot..:
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Jindal has told reporters that he would sign this bill. HB 149 is a compromise between legislators who have tried to reform marijuana sentencing and law enforcement lobby groups. Lopinto says we have some of the harshest marijuana penalties in the country and this is a smart bill that cleans up the books…:
Cut 16 (08) “make sense”
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The Houston Astros selected LSU shortstop Alex Bregman with the second overall pick in the Major League Baseball Draft. Bregman says it’s a dream come true to hear the MLB Commissioner call his name…
Cut 17 (16) ” grew up lovin”
Bregman was taken after Arizona picked Vanderbilt shortstop Dansby Swanson with the number one overall selection. Bregman has been a star shortstop for the Tigers the last three seasons, but some major league scouts believe he’ll make a better second baseman in the pros. Bregman says he’s not sure about that
Cut 18 (15) “play shortstop’
Bregman and the Tigers will play their first game in the College World Series on Sunday afternoon. He says it’s been quite a week so far, winning a super regional on Sunday and getting drafted on Monday night
Cut 19 (13) “really excited”