The governor has signed a bill into law that increases the fine for texting and using social media while driving from $175 to $500 for a first offense. Don Molino has more…
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The northern part of the state is under a heat advisory until 7 o’clock tomorrow night. Emelie Gunn reports it’s hot across the entire state…
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The fines for texting or using social media while driving have been increased from $175 to $500 for a first offense, as a bill has just been signed into law by the governor. Major Doug Cain with State Police says they see this is a lot in crashes caused by distracted driving.
Drivers could pay a fine of up to $1,000 for a subsequent offense. Cain says state police deal with distracted driving accidents almost every day, and it’s something that’s entirely avoidable. He says using a cell phone while driving can be a deadly decision.
The fines more than doubled for minors who text and drive, and subsequent offenses could result in a 6 month suspension of their driver’s license. Cain says State Police do issue tickets for this offense, they are usually are made aware that a person is playing with their phone while behind the wheel, based on the driver’s actions.
The new law is now in effect.
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FEMA has released a smartphone app to help residents get prepared for potential natural disasters. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate says app is available in the iTunes store and on Google Play. He says it gives you a checklist to follow in the palm of your hand even if you lose cell service.
It also allows users to receive prescheduled safety and preparedness tips, including practicing a fire escape plan and updating emergency tips. Fugate says in today’s society everyone is always on their phone. He says many tools are built in to the app.
Whenever you have service, the FEMA app sends weather alerts for up to five locations across the nation, making it easy to follow severe weather that may be threatening family and friends. Fugate says the app will remind you to check your smoke detector and make sure you have emergency supplies prepared in the event of an emergency.
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A heat advisory is in effect for the upper half of Louisiana until 7 o’clock Thursday night. State Climatologist Barry Keim says summer has kicked off with a vengeance with temperatures reaching into the mid and upper 90s. He says on top of that, humidity levels are running high leading to high heat index values.
Keim says contributing to the extreme heat is the lack of rain the state will see this week. He says we’re going to have lots of sun baking us with heat index temperatures reaching a possible 108 degrees.
Keim says these high temperatures don’t necessarily mean we’ll see an extremely hot summer but at least for this week, stay inside. He says a high pressure system is giving us these sky high temperatures.
Cut 11 (10) “high temperatures”
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The Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs committee approves a bill that would make industries decide between taking an industrial tax exemption or receiving an inventory tax credit. The measure would generate an estimated 146-million in state revenues. Alexandria Sen. Jay Luneau says the state is struggling financially and can’t afford to give big businesses large tax breaks…
Jim Patterson with the Louisiana Association for Business and Industry spoke out against the legislation because he believes these tax incentives help our state’s economy.
But New Orleans Sen. Karen Peterson says it’s time to stop cutting from higher education, public schools and healthcare and come up with a real solution to our budget problem.
The measure is heading to the Senate floor, if the proposed law gets to the house, it’s not expected to get a warm reception.
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