Business groups are applauding the tax reform package approved by the legislature in the just-ended special session. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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Two bills have been approved by the Louisiana Legislature to make temporary pay raises for public K-12 teachers and support staff permanent, pending voter approval of a constitutional amendment in March.

Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

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Business groups are hailing the tax reform package passed by the legislature in the just-concluded special session. Will Green, the president and CEO of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, says the new tax structure will entice more companies into doing business here in Louisiana.

Cut 3 (13) “…income tax rate.” 

Green says now, thanks to the reform, Louisiana’s corporate income tax rate is lower than those in neighboring states.

Cut 4 (11) “…and for talent.”

And Green says Louisiana’s lower income tax rate will make it a more attractive state for people to move to.

Cut 5 (08) “…jobs and talent.”

As of January 1st, the income tax rate will be a flat three-percent with a 12-thousand-500-dollar standard deduction.

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The Louisiana Legislature approved two bills to make temporary pay raises for K-12 teachers and support staff permanent, pending voter approval of a constitutional amendment in March. The legislation allocates funds from protected education trusts to reduce nearly $2 billion in teacher retirement system debt. Prairieville Representative Tony Bacala (back-a-la)says this shift would free up approximately $287 million annually for local school districts, enabling a $2,000 raise for teachers and $1,000 for support staff.

Cut 6 (12) “…give pay raises.”

Bacala says both amendments allow surplus savings to fund early childhood education and address staff shortages.

Cut 7 (09) “…bigger raise.”

Bacala’s bill, which unanimously passed the House and the Senate requires school districts to use the savings created by the retirement debt payment in Emerson’s Bill to fund the permanent raise.

Cut 8 (12) “…on the local side.”

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Starting January 1^st, Louisiana residents will pay lower income taxes. It’s the result of the legislation approved by lawmakers in the tax reform special session. Governor Jeff Landry says the state’s three-tiered income tax system will be replaced by a flat three-percent tax and the standard deduction will be increased to $12.500 in 2026

Cut 9 (11)  “…working poor.”

To pay for the lower income taxes, legislators raised the state sales tax rate to five-percent, beginning on January 1^st. But Landry says in the end, Louisiana residents will pay less taxes…

Cut 10 (15) “…against you.”

Landry says another goal of the special session was to make the state more competitive, so it can attract more jobs and higher wages. The governor says that was accomplished with the Legislature’s decision to by eliminating the corporate franchise tax on businesses. He believes this special session fufills a campaign promise of growing Louisiana’s economy…

Cut 11 (14) “…Louisiana home.”

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Head coach Gary Goff didn’t win enough football games at McNeese and after three seasons he was fired today. The Cowboys went six and six this season after failing to win a game on the field last year. Jim Gazzolo covers McNeese for the American Press and says there were many who thought Goff won enough games this season to keep his job…

Cut 12 (11) “…little surprised.”

Gazzolo says two former McNeese players, Slade Nagle, who is an assistant coach at LSU and Kerry Josephy, who is the quarterbacks coach for the Chicago Bears are two possible replacements…

Cut 13 (08)  “…rally around.”

Goff was 10-and-23 and had one year left on his contract. He arrived in Lake Charles in 2022 after leading Valdosta State to the Division Two national championship game in 2021. Gazzolo says despite inheriting a program that was not in good shape, he didn’t win enough games fast enough

Cut 14 (12) “…up to that.”

Hosting Thanksgiving dinner will put less strain on your wallet this year. Colleen Crain reports.

Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Colleen Crain.”

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Is the tax reform package that the legislature overwhelmingly passed a good thing or a bad thing? Jeanne (ZHAHN) Burns reports it depends on who you ask.

Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Jeanne Burns.”

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LSU football won its first game in five weeks. Andrew Greenstein has this report from Tiger Stadium.

Cut 3 (36) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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This year, you can host a Thanksgiving feast for ten for relatively little money. Avery Davidson with the Louisiana Farm Bureau says the price of Thanksgiving dinner has gone down this year.

Cut 4 (11) “…was last year.”

Furthermore, that’s more than 12 dollars less than the national average. Davidson says that low cost is spurred in large part by a drop in the price of turkeys.

Cut 5 (14) “…$25.67 this year.” 

Davidson says part of the reason for our comparatively low price is the fact that it costs less to transport the goods to your local supermarkets.

Cut 6 (12) “…all come through.”

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After a hiatus of more than 20 years, Northwestern State University is restarting its rodeo program. Faculty advisor Dr. Michelle Morris, a professor of educational psychology, says a huge outpouring of support from the community led to the resumption of the program.

Cut 7 (05) “…are actively recruiting.”

One of the riders that the school recruited was McKenzie Davis, who had participated in barrel racing her entire life. Davis, an accounting major from Pollock, had previously been enrolled at LSU Alexandria. She says Northwestern State’s resumption of their rodeo program got her to transfer. 

Cut 8 (14) “…back to Northwestern.”

When Northwestern State ended their rodeo program in the mid-1990s, the school sold all the property that it had used for training. Morris says the community is stepping up in providing the school’s rodeo riders places to train.

Cut 9 (13)  “…can train physically.”

There are five rodeos in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association each semester, and the national finals are held in the summer.

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Is the overall tax reform package passed by the legislature good or bad for Louisianians? It depends on who you ask. Invest Louisiana director Jan Moeller says raising the state sales tax will hurt low-income workers

Cut 10 (11) “…up even higher.”

Louisiana’s sales tax rate is 4.45 percent. It will go up to five percent on January 1st and drop to 4.75 percent in 2030. Moeller is not a fan of this plan…

Cut 11 (11) “…them are temporary.”

On the other hand, Daniel Erspamer (ERS-pah-mer), the CEO of the Pelican Institute, calls it a great day for the people of Louisiana.

Cut 12 (14) “…here in Louisiana.”

Governor Jeff Landry originally proposed to tax 41 services that are currently not taxed., but that bill did not pass. Erspamer says the debate over sales taxes is not over yet.

Cut 13 (12)  “…up in April.”

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For the first time in more than a month, LSU is in the win column. The Tigers beat Vanderbilt Saturday night, 24-17, snapping a three-game losing streak. Adding to the turmoil of a three-game losing streak that took LSU out of playoff contention was the news days earlier that they lost the nation’s top recruit, quarterback Bryce Underwood, to Michigan. After the game, Coach Brian Kelly said he’s proud of how his team tuned out all the chatter and focused on the job at hand.

Cut 14 (20) “…this football team.”

LSU simplified its defense. Defensive End Bradyn Swinson, who assisted on four tackles and one sack, said that game plan paid off.

Cut 15 (10) “…probably ran today.”

In the week leading up to the game, Josh Williams, Greg Penn, Will Campbell and Garrett Nussmeier called a players-only meeting. Williams discussed the nature of the meeting after the game. 

Cut 16 (10) “…out for us.”

With the win, LSU improves to 7-and-4 on the season. They wrap up the regular season next Saturday at home against Oklahoma, then they’ll await their bowl destination.

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The Ragin Cajuns are one win away from a Sun Belt Western division championship with a 51 to 30 win over Troy on Saturday. Coach Mike Desormeaux’s team is now 9-and-2 overall and 6-and-1 in league play…

Cut 17 (20) “…part of it” 

Redshirt senior Chandler Fields made his first start of the season for the injured Ben Woolridge and threw for a career-high 323 yards and two touchdowns. Fields on his team’s big day…

Cut 18 (11)   “…excited about it.”

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Louisiana Tech fell to 4-and-7 on the season and will not go to a bowl game after losing to Arkansas 35-14. Coach Sonny Cumbie’s offense could only muster 43 yards in the first half and could not take advantage of two turnovers forced by the defense…

Cut 19 (21) “…overcome that.”  

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ULM’s losing streak is now up to five after losing to Arkansas State 28 to 21. The Warhawks have one more chance to reach bowl eligibility and they will need to beat the Cajuns this Saturday. ULM Coach Bryant Vincent…

Cut 20 (13) “…embrace that.”

Kick-off against the Cajuns is at 11 AM.