A government watchdog group is concerned the call for this special session is too broad. Collen Crain reports legislators will attempt to approve new Congressional and Supreme Court district maps, make changes to campaign finance laws and switch to a party primary system for all elections.
Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Colleen Crain.”
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The special session to redraw the state’s congressional districts gets underway this afternoon, and the governor wants lawmakers to address a dozen other issues too. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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North Louisiana is seeing winter precipitation this morning, while the entire state will experience below freezing temperatures Jeff Palermo has the story…
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Jeff Palermo”
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If it was up to Governor Jeff Landry, he would not have called a special session a week after a new Legislature was sworn in. During an appearance on the Moon Griffon show, Landry says a mid-January special session is needed because a federal judge set a January 30th deadline to redraw a Congressional district map with two majority-minority districts, instead of one..
Cut 4 (12) “..do it”
Five of the six Congressional districts have white majorities. Republicans fought for this map when it was approved in 2022, but a federal judge ruled it violates the Voting Rights Acts, because a third of the state’s population is Black. During an appearance on the Moon Griffon Show, Landry says legislators will draw a map with a second majority Black district…
Cut 5 (12) “…control the outcome.”
Lawmakers have until September 23rd to complete their redistricting work. Landry says after that they’ll turn their attention to a special session that will attempt to lower the crime rate…
Cut 6 (06) “…to work on.”
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This afternoon, Louisiana lawmakers convene a special Legislative session to address the court-ordered redistricting of Louisiana’s congressional map and there are several other complicated issues on the agenda. The special session must conclude on January 23rd. Council for a Better Louisiana President Barry Erwin says legislators do not have a lot of time…
Cut 7 (12) “…campaign finance.”
Erwin says it takes at least five days to pass a bill and with an eight-day special session, he’s concerned some lawmakers are trying to tackle too much, including Governor Landry’s proposal to move from jungle primaries to closed party primaries….
Cut 8 (10) “…new lawmakers.”
The special session was called because a federal court ordered the Bayou State to redraw Louisiana’s congressional districts to include a second majority-black district by January 30th. Erwin understands the need for a special session now, but maybe legislators should just focus on redrawing the Congressional map…
Cut 9 (10) “…would look like.”
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The special session gets underway this afternoon for lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional district map after the current six-district map with one majority Black district was ruled unconstitutional because the courts believe there should be two majority Black districts. LA-Politics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford says it’s anybody’s guess what will happen this time around…
Cut 10 (07) “…or not.”
During the brief session scheduled to end a week from tomorrow, lawmakers will also, at the request of the State Supreme Court, redraw the state’s judicial districts, which Alford says a second Black majority district could be added to that map as well.
Cut 11 (12) “…make of.”
Governor Landry issued a proclamation that outlined twelve additional items for lawmakers to debate during the special session. Alford says among them is changing from open primaries to closed party primaries elections.
Cut 12 (08) “…gum up the works.”
The topics on Landry’s agenda are all related to elections, ranging from campaign finances to amendments to the state code related to the implementation of elections.
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The entire I-20 corridor is under a winter storm warning as snow, sleet and freezing rain is expected to fall through the afternoon hours. Ryan Knapp is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Shreveport….
Cut 13 (14) “..sleet accumulations”
There’s a chance for freezing rain for entire the state. It will be very light for south Louisiana. Knapp says central Louisiana could see one to two-tenths of an inch of freezing rain…
Cut 14 (11) “..heavier impacts.”
And it will be cold for the next few days. Highs for north Louisiana will be in the mid to upper 20s today. Central Louisiana will see highs near the freezing mark. Mid-40s for south Louisiana today. Cameron Kowalski with the National Weather Service in Lake Charles says tomorrow will be the coldest day for south Louisiana…
Cut 15 (11) “…the coast”
Kowalski says this storm system will also produce northerly winds of 20 to 25 miles per hour which is why there is a wind chill advisory for nearly the entire state…
Cut 16 (12) “..single digits”
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The seventh ranked LSU women’s basketball team’s 16-game winning streak ended yesterday with a 67-62 defeat to unranked Auburn. It was a back and forth game that saw 17 lead changes and seven ties, but LSU shot just 42-percent from the field. Coach Kim Mulkey says Auburn’s defense was disruptive…
Cut 17 (15) “…came at us”
The loss drops LSU’s record to 16-2, 3-and-1 in the SEC. It was the first conference win of the year for Auburn. After the game, Mulkey spent a long time in the locker room with her team. She says they talked about what they could have done better…
Cut 18 (23) “…accountable.”
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The LSU men’s basketball team also lost in Auburn this past weekend as the Bayou Bengals trailed by as many as 28 points in the second half before falling to 16th ranked team in the country 93-78. Coach Matt McMahon says Auburn is an elite team with no weaknesses…
Cut 19 (19) “…in transition”
LSU turned it over 17 times and shot jut 42-percent from the field. Trae Hannibal came off the bench and scored 18 points in a losing effort…
Cut 20 (12) “…stay together.”
LSU hosts Ole Miss on Wednesday.