Negotiations have begun this week in advance of next week’s special session, with parties involved hoping to get a deal in place before Monday to avoid another dramatic last second finish to what will be the last session of the fiscal year. The half-cent sales tax that came close to passage last session had a six year sunset, but Senate President John Alario says in a perfect world, he’d like to see a permanent tax plan put in place to give the state some fiscal predictability.

Cut 5  (11) “more stable”

The session begins June 18^th.

Small business optimism has reached its highest level in 34 years.  That’s according to the National Federation of Independent Business, who surveys its members regularly. NFIB state director Dawn Starns credits the tax reform legislation approved last December…

Cut 6 (11)  “…at the end of the year.”

Two Acadiana men are under arrest in connection to the murder of a St. Martinville teenager. Twenty-five-year-old Brandon Boutte of St. Martinville was charged with Obstruction of Justice and Second Degree Murder in the death of 19-year-old Simone Robin. St. Martin Parish Sherriff’s Spokesperson Major Ginny Higgins says Robin’s trailer was set on fire Saturday, and her body was found later that day on a levee in St. Landry. Higgins says arson investigators discovered the attempt to destroy Robin’s home was not completely successful.

Cut 10 (10) “be determined”

Twenty-two-year-old Toby Boutte was also charged with one count of accessory after the fact of second-degree murder.

And here’s commodities.

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services warns that unless more funding is approved in the special session, that the food stamps program will be shut down. Walters says 64 percent of people who receive SNAP benefits are either children, disabled, or the elderly, with another 27 percent being the working poor who a earn paycheck that’s not enough to feed their families.

Cut 13 (10) “their children” 

The feds currently pump 1.4 billion dollars in federal SNAP dollars into the state every year, which Walters says ends up being spent at one of 4,500 businesses like grocery stores and gas stations. The Secretary says that kind of economic loss would ripple throughout Louisiana’s economy.

Cut 14 (11)  “DCFS”

The department is currently set for 34 million dollars in cuts.

A new state law allows Louisiana public school teachers up to 30 days of paid leave for the adoption process. Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds sponsored a package of bills promoting adoption after seeing families tackle the hurdles of the process during his campaign.

Cut 6 (09)  “…related to financial loss”

A North Louisianian got a huge surprise when the state’s Treasury Department informed them that they were owed 2.3 million dollars as part of the Unclaimed Property Program that returns uncollected money from estates to the next of kin. State Treasurer John Schroder says he’s never seen anything like it.

Cut 3 (06) “in Louisiana”

A record setting amount of money was returned to a North Louisiana resident as part of the state’s Unclaimed Property Program. Jeff Palermo has the story.
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”
A new state law allows Louisiana public school teachers up to 30 days of paid leave for the adoption process. Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds sponsored a package of bills promoting adoption after seeing families tackle the hurdles of the process during his campaign and says he wanted to see the burden put on families eased by the new legislation.
cut 8 (10) “…has been removed.”
The change also applies to school social workers and school psychologists.

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services warns that unless more funding is approved in the special session, that the food stamps program will be shut down. The money on SNAP cards comes from the feds, but the state has to foot much of the administrative bill, and the current budget leaves no money for it. Secretary Marketa Walters says one in five Louisianans are at risk of going hungry.
Cut 12 (10)   “about it”

A crash leaves a Eunice man is dead after fleeing from police at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour on State Highway 383.  Shortly after 7am this morning, a Kinder police officer observed a Ford Mustang commit a traffic violation.  The driver, 26 year old Aaron Charlot, chose not to stop and later lost control of his vehicle.  The vehicle traveled into a ditch and became airborne.  Charlot was not wearing a seatbelt.

The state is warning that unless more revenue is approved in the special session, the food stamps program will shut down.  Matt Doyle has more…

CUT 2 “I’m Matt Doyle”

More details are emerging from a Denham Springs incident that left two people dead this weekend.  The initial call that came in was for a home invasion, but it is now believed that this was not a random act.  Investigators with the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office have now identified the victim at 36 year old Beaux Bailey.  The second death is the suspect in the case, 37 year old Ted Bourn of Tupelo, Mississippi.  Both died as the result of gunfire exchanged between the two men.

More tech jobs are coming to Louisiana with the recent announcement that Accruent, a company that focuses on real estate digital integration, will be coming to New Orleans.  Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson says the tech center is expected to bring in 350 jobs into the Big Easy.

Cut 11 (13) “…high paying jobs”

A new state law allows Louisiana public school teachers up to 30 days of paid leave for the adoption process. Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds sponsored a package of bills promoting adoption after seeing families tackle the hurdles of the process during his campaign. Edmonds says that families that have a new baby via natural delivery have maternity leave, but it’s important that adopting families have a similar opportunity to bond with a child.

Cut 7 (10)  “…for those families”

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services warns that unless more funding is approved in the special session, that the food stamps program will be shut down. The money on SNAP cards comes from the feds, but the state has to foot much of the administrative bill, and the current budget leaves no money for it. Secretary Marketa Walters says people who receive SNAP benefits don’t have the income to feed their family. She says the loss of this program would be a disaster.

Cut 13 (10) “their children” 

A new state law allows Louisiana public school teachers up to 30 days of paid leave for the adoption process. Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds, who sponsored it as a bill, says he wanted to see the burden put on families eased by the new legislation.

cut 8 (10) “…has been removed.”

A record setting amount of money was returned to a North Louisiana resident as part of the state’s Unclaimed Property Program. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

More tech jobs are coming to Louisiana with the recent announcement that Accruent will be coming to New Orleans.  Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson says the tech center is expected to bring in 350 jobs into the Big Easy.

Cut 9 (10)  “…multiplier effect with this.”

A third special session of 2018 will begin next Monday and once again legislators will be asked to replace expiring sales taxes in an effort to avoid deep budget cuts. During the second special session, lawmakers approved a budget that contains over 500-million dollars in cuts. Governor Edwards signed the spending plan, Deputy Chief of Staff Richard Carbo explains why….
cut 16 (07) “…to take

Your child can now go to school with a bulletproof backpack as a result of legislation that passed in the regular session. West Monroe Senator Michael Walsworth hopes a child never has to use a bulletproof backpack, but if a shooter comes on campus, it could save a student’s life…
cut 9 (10) “….the child”

A North Louisianan got a huge surprise when the Treasury Department informed them that they were owed 2.3 million dollars as part of the state’s Unclaimed Property Program that returns uncollected money from estates to the next of kin. Treasurer John Schroder says he’s never seen anything like it.

Cut 3 (06) “in Louisiana”

Schroder says the state has collected 83 million dollars this year, and has managed to return nearly 30 million of it.

A new state law allows Louisiana public school teachers up to 30 days of paid leave for the adoption process. Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds sponsored a package of bills promoting adoption after seeing families tackle the hurdles of the process during his campaign.

Cut 6 (09)  “…related to financial loss”

The change also applies to school social workers and school psychologists.

For the first time since its inception in 2001, the state may have to reduce enrollment to its taxpayer funded pre-k program. About 16-thousand students are enrolled in LA4. Superintendent of Education John White says state budget cuts are the reason for the reduction, but he hopes legislators will raise the necessary revenue to fully fund this program….

Cut 10 (09)   “…early childhood is one of them.”

Public school students can have a bulletproof backpack next school year as a result of a new state law. Republican Senator Mike Walsworth, who sponsored the bill, says it could protect students in the event of an active shooter on campus. But, if you are interested in obtaining one, you may need to act now to have one in time for the next school year.

Cut 7 (10)  “…the backpacks themselves”

Walsworth says even with a mesh backpack, you can purchase a kevlar plate to provide protection.

The state transportation department says 77 percent of the nearly 800 crashes annually along a notorious stretch of Interstate 10 just west of the Mississippi River are the result of drivers not paying attention. Kevin Barnhart has more.

Cut 1 (28)  I’m Kevin Barnhart“

The Louisiana Treasury Department returned 2.3 million dollars in Unclaimed Property toa north Louisianan in the largest property return in the department’s history. Treasurer John Schroder is encouraging people to come get their money, as the state is sitting on over 800 million in unclaimed property.

As expected, Governor John Bel Edwards will bring legislators back to Baton Rouge for another special session. It will start June 18 and must at 6 PM on June 27. It’s the third time this year the governor has called a special session for legislators to pass tax bills to replace a portion of the over 1-billion dollars in temporary sales taxes that are set to expire June 30th.

Edwards also signed a budget that will go into effect on July 1st. It contains over 500-million dollars in cuts.

A large group of Fiscal conservatives in the House have been pushing to reduce government spending and have been blocking the sales tax legislation

A Sabine Parish pastor was killed while jogging after he was struck by a pickup truck driven by a teenager. State Police Master Trooper Scott Moreau says the driver from Many was charged with careless operation and he was transported to a local hospital following the collision.

Cut 4  (07) “…dead on the scene.”

The man in charge of the state’s prison system says over 10-thousand inmates could be released unless additional revenue is not raised. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m I’m Jeff Palermo” 

US Congressman Garret Graves says legislation is getting close to passage that would allow local governments to take over flood protection and coastal restoration projects from the Corps of Engineers. He says it help clear a massive backlog of work.

cut 8 (11) “for decades.”

Governor John Bel Edwards has issued the call for the year’s third special session that will kick off June 18^th, at 4PM, and must wrap up by 6PM on June 27^th. The Governor also signed transparency legislation. One of the transparency bills is Louisiana Checkbook, which would create an online resource that allows Louisianans to drill deep into agency budgets, and track every expenditure.

Edwards also put pen to a legislatively passed budget that, if not funded, would result in a 30 percent cut to TOPS, a 96 million dollar reduction in higher ed, and cuts across the board to state agencies.

The Louisiana Department of Corrections is warning that unless additional tax revenue is raised by June 30th, thousands of inmates will be released. Corrections Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc:

Cut 13 (11) “four prisons” 

A CDC report reveals Louisiana has seen a massive spike in suicides since 1999. Connor Ferrill has more.

Cut 1 (28) “I’m Connor Ferrill”

Congressman Graves says Their close to passing the 2018  Water Resources and Development Act that would allow local governments to take over funds for the execution of protection projects from the Corps of Engineers. Congressman Graves says it’d be big for the state.

Cut 10 (10) “river region”