New Orleans hosted the first offshore oil and gas lease sale in 2021 today. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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A 17-year-old convicted and sentenced to life without parole for killing an East Baton Rouge deputy is getting out of jail after nearly 58 years in prison. More from Dave Brannen.

Cut 2 (38)…I’m Dave Brannen.”  

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The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held the first Gulf oil and lease sale of 2021 in New Orleans today. President Biden placed a moratorium on new oil and gas development on federal land and waters, but a 13-state lawsuit led by Attorney General Jeff Landry resulted in a nationwide injunction against the executive order

Cut 3 (10) “….lease sales.”

Landry says today’s sale is a win for the hundreds of millions of Americans who rely on affordable and dependable energy…

Cut 4 (12) “…the most.”

Landry says today’s lease sale is welcome news but he’s still looking for the Biden Administration to take public action on developing the five-year lease program and without that plan, energy prices will continue to increase…

Cut 5 (12) “..the supply.”

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Drivers in Louisiana won’t be getting a break anytime soon on the cost of getting from here to there. Tim Waldenback, co-founder of Zutobi, an online driver’s education platform, says in a report just issued that insurance premiums will help keep the state as the most expensive in the nation to operate a vehicle in 2031.

 cut 6 (09) “…years as well.” 

Fuel prices will also keep the Bayou State as one of the most expensive for travel by motor vehicle.

Waldenback says he sees no indication that fuel costs will reverse course significantly over the next decade, keeping the state on track for wallet-draining prices at the pump, more so than any other state in the U.S.

Cut 7 (09) “….in 2031.”  

Insurance rates are expected to average close to 33-hundred dollars a year by 2031, with the overall annual costs to own and operate a vehicle in Louisiana to just over 71-hundred dollars a year, a more than 800 dollar increase compared to now.

The report put out by Zutobi is based mostly on the use of combustion engine vehicles, which Waldenback says may change as more and more electric vehicles hit the road.

Cut 8 (09) “…a large role.”

He says it currently costs nearly 63-hundred dollars a year to own and operate a vehicle in Louisiana, or about 800-less than the projected costs for 2031.

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A 75-year-old Louisiana man who has spent about 58 years of his life in prison for the shooting death of an East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputy when he was 17 was granted parole today by the Louisiana Parole Board.  Kerry Myers, Deputy Director of the Louisiana Parole Project, says the release of Henry Montgomery, follows a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that mandatory life sentencing without parole for juveniles was cruel and unusual punishment…

Cut 9 (08) “…of his life.”

Montgomery had originally been sentenced to death for the murder of Deputy Charles Hurt.

Myers says Montgomery’s case opened the door for many other such cases involving juveniles to be reviewed.

Cut 10 (09)  “…an automatic release.”

The Louisiana Parole Board had reviewed Montgomery’s parole request two times previously before granting it today.

Myers says the paroling of Montgomery is similar to thousands that have occurred nationwide and dozens in Louisiana.

Cut  11 (09)  “…of that change.”  

Montgomery’s death sentence for killing Deputy Charles Hunt was tossed on fair trial challenges, his retrial ending in a sentence of life without parole that was eventually deemed cruel and unusual punishment because he was 17.

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A cold front will be crossing into the state tonight and tomorrow. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the chances of scattered showers will persist today and tomorrow.

Cut 12 (08) “…artic air.”  

Keim says expect highs Thursday in the 60s in northern parishes and in the 70s in the southern parishes. He says the cold air will continue to barrel into the state and as for Friday, you might want to have a jacket handy.

Cut 13 (09) “…coastline.”

As for Friday afternoon and evening, Keim says we should have ideal weather for playoff games but don’t worry it will warm up again as we continue this oscillating pattern of mild and cold temps.

Cut 14 (05) “…cool air.” 

The leader of the Louisiana House is expressing disappointment at the failure of Constitutional Amendment 1 on Saturday.  More from Dave Brannen.

Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Dave Brannen.”

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A task force established to come up with solutions to Louisiana having the highest auto insurance rates in the country finds that rates are on the rise again. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (30)…I’m Jeff Palermo.”  

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Louisiana House Speaker Clay Schexnayder is reacting to the voter rejection of Amendment 1 on Saturday that would have set the wheels in motion for the state to have a centralized tax collection system.

Cut 3 (09) “….it go down.”

The state currently has 54 tax collection entities making it complex for businesses and individuals to maneuver through and is seen as unconstitutional by experts following a Supreme Court ruling in 2018.

Schexnayder was pleased to see Amendment 2 that favorably addresses lowering state income taxes pass, but believes Amendment 1 would have been a plus for the state too.

Cut 4 (11) “…into our state.”

A federal lawsuit was filed Monday against the state’s complex system of tax collections.

Schexnayder says he doesn’t believe state lawmakers are about to throw in the towel on having Louisiana adopt a single tax commission, rather than the flurry of ones dotting the state now.

Cut 5 (05) “…through this time.”

The legislature could take another run at the issue when it meets in the spring.

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In 2020, when lawmakers approved legislation that changed how the courts would handle lawsuits involving car accidents, supporters said it would lead to lower auto insurance rates. But Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said during a task force meeting on Affordable Automobile Insurance that rates are actually going up

 cut 6 (06) “…through october” 

The 2020 tort reform legislation will lead to more jury trials, resulting in lower damages paid out to plaintiffs and the measure also caps certain medical expenses. River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says the law went into effect this year and it has to have an impact on rates

Cut 7 (08) “….later on.”  

Donelon says auto insurance rates stayed relatively flat from 2018 to 2020, but they are on the rise this year and an increase in traffic fatalities over last year is a potential cause…

Cut 8 (10) “…distracted driving.”

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Attorney General Jeff Landry has filed another suit against the Biden Administration, concerning vaccine mandates. Now he’s challenging the legality of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, mandating all employees be vaccinated at facilities that receive CMS funding.

Cut 9 (09) “…CMS bucket.”

The mandate requires full-time and part-time employees, along with volunteers and contract employees at healthcare facilities that receive CMS funding be vaccinated, otherwise that funding could be withheld.

The Attorney General’s office which also investigates Medicaid fraud in the state, Landry says the CMS vaccine mandate hits too close to home for his office.

Cut 10 (07)  “…be vaccinated.”

Landry says the mandate is unconstitutional and could impact the state’s budget if federal monies are withheld from agencies that do not follow the vaccine mandate. He says this will also create healthcare employee shortages.

Cut  11 (11)  “…want to do.”  

Landry joins colleagues from 10 other states in filing the lawsuit against the CMS vaccine mandate.

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Senator Bill Cassidy is lauding the signing of the trillion-dollar-plus infrastructure bill by President Biden on Monday.

Cut 12 (11) “…improve internet access.”  

Cassidy says when he ran for office he said he would work to find real solutions to problems facing our families and he says the infrastructure bill will deliver to improve the lives of people in Louisiana.

Senator Cassidy says he would have preferred a Republican been tapped to oversee the administration of the infrastructure bill, but he spoke positively today about the naming of Mitch Landrieu for the post.

Cut 13 (11) “…can only help.”

The one-point-two-trillion-dollar bill was signed into law Monday by President Biden and will funnel funds to help improve the nation’s roads and bridges and other infrastructure needs.

The dramatic increase in gasoline prices is drawing the ire of Senator Bill Cassidy who points the finger of blame at the Biden administration for not putting Americans back to work in our American energy sector, instead turning to OPEC for help.

Cut 14 (05) “..increase their production.” 

Cassidy says he doesn’t see policies coming from the White House to address the high price of gasoline that’s climbed from a dollar-85 last year to three-15 now, as well as what are expected to be significantly higher home heating costs this winter.