Over 900 bills and resolutions have been filed for the legislative session that begins today and there are several measures dealing with the legalization of sports betting. Metairie Senator Cameron Henry says a big question is whether lawmakers will agree to allow residents in approved parishes to place bets on their phone

Cut 12 (10)   “…bet online” 

President Biden’s American Jobs Plan calls for 115 billion dollars in funding for repairing the country’s decrepit roads and bridges. State Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson says if passed that means failing bridges in north Louisiana could get some TLC…

Cut 10 (11) “…representation.” 

Republicans have attacked the two trillion dollar proposal saying too much of it goes towards non-infrastructure spending.

Palmetto residents are picking up the pieces after a deadly EF 3 tornado touched down Saturday morning in the St. Landry Parish village. Parish President Jesse Bellard ays he’s encouraged by the efforts and outpouring of residents from nearby towns assisting with clean up and feeding those as they worked through debris. As for tornado damage, he says this is with the worst he’s ever seen.

Cut 5  (10)  “…completely.”

A 26-year-old woman who fell off her jet ski and was not found until the next day is listed in critical condition at a hospital in Covington. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries spokesperson Adam Einck says authorities searched for the woman starting Friday night and discovered her jet ski around 1030 Saturday morning. Thirty minutes later they found her…

Cut 7 (08) “…her alive.”

An EF3 tornado ripped through the village of Palmetto in St. Landry Parish early Saturday morning, claiming one life, and damaging 25 homes. Parish President Jesse Bellard (Bell-ard) encourages those with storm damage to report it to Damage.LA.Gov so the state can access the destruction and possibly receive funding.

Cut 4 (08) “…assessment.” 

The St. Landry Parish Foundation is also collecting funds to assist with sending the body of the one fatality back to his family in Mexico.

Louisiana could be in line for billions of dollars in federal “infrastructure” aid under President Biden’s over two trillion-dollar American Jobs Plan. Biden says Louisiana is in need, giving the state a D+ grade on the Infrastructure Report Card. State Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson doesn’t dispute that appraisal.

Cut 9 (10) “…years.”

A New Orleans lawmaker files legislation requiring college university employees who fail to properly report incidents of “power-based violence” such as sexual assault, harassment, and domestic violence to be terminated. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle.” 

The mishandling of previous sexual misconduct cases at LSU will be an issue in the legislative session that starts today. New Orleans Representative Aimee Freeman has a bill that would require the firing of any university employee who fails to report sexual misconduct and abuse allegations…
cut 28 (11) “…student”
Freeman says cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, and harassment will be reported to that school’s Title Nine coordinator and the Title Nine coordinator will report the school’s chancellor.

Governor Edwards will kick off the 2021 Legislative session at 6PM with a speech at Southern University’s Mumford Stadium. Edwards will push for legislation to close the state’s gender pay gap, which he says remains among the worst in the country, and he wants to end discriminatory practices in setting auto insurance rates.
cut 11 (05) “…record.”

Residents in the St. Landry Parish village of Palmetto are rummaging through the damage from an EF3 tornado that ravaged at least 25 homes early Saturday morning and claimed one life. Parish President Jesse Bellard (Bell-ard) says the tornado touched down on Bolden Road just off Highway 359.
Cut 3 (11) “…storm.”
The twister also sent seven people to the hospital.

A 26-year-old woman who fell off her jet ski and was not found until the next day is listed in critical condition at a hospital in Covington. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries spokesperson Adam Einck says the search began Friday night in the Tchefuncte River…
cut 6 (08) “….next morning”
Einck says around 10:30 on Saturday morning the woman’s jet ski was located and St. Tammany Parish deputies found her about a half-hour later.

The 2021 legislative session begins today and at 6 o’clock tonight, Governor John Bel Edwards will deliver a state of the state address at Southern University’s Mumford Stadium. Tax reform will be a dominant issue, but Edwards says any changes to the tax code should be revenue-neutral and he does not believe it will be a good idea to reduce taxes…

Cut 10 (10) “..tax.”

Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat expects the session to be dominated by debate over how to allocate billions in federal pandemic aid. There are several controversial culture war topics on the docket including trans issues, marijuana legalization, prison labor, and teaching about systemic racism, but ultimately…

Cut 4 (11)“…happens”

Republican House Speaker Clay Schexnayder wants to simplify the tax code to make it easier for small businesses and citizens to operate. Schexnayder says the sales tax would stay the same…

Cut 13 (09) “…part of it.”
Schexnayder says the state is missing out on a substantial amount of revenue from internet sales.

There’s a bill calling for the automatic termination of any higher education employee who fails to properly report incidents of “power-based violence” to the campus Title Nine coordinator. New Orleans Representative Aimee Freeman says her legislation is in response to LSU’s failure to properly handle incidents of sexual misconduct.

Cut 7 (11)  “…terminated.”

Power-based violence is defined as dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking.

Governor Edwards will kick off the 2021 Legislative session at 6PM with a speech at Southern University’s Mumford Stadium. Edwards will push for legislation to close the state’s gender pay gap, which he says remains among the worst in the country, and to end discriminatory practices in setting auto insurance rates.

Cut 11 (05) “…record.”

A bill is filed that would result in automatic termination of any post-secondary employee who fails to properly report incidents of “power-based violence” to the campus Title Nine coordinator. STAR legal director Morgan Lamandre says under this law if you receive knowledge that someone has committed an act of power-based violence, you must report it.

Cut 9 (11) “…radar.”

Current policy often only requires Title Nine reporting if employees are informed of a victim who is involved with the school.

There’s a number of hot-button issues up for debate in this year’s legislative session but a political analyst doesn’t expect many of them to get far. Matt Doyle has more…

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”

LSU says it does not suspect foul play in the disappearance of Kori Gauthier. The freshman from Opelousas has been missing since Wednesday. Her abandoned car was discovered early Wednesday on the I-10 Mississippi River Bridge. So far, a search of the nearby levees has yet to locate her.

Lawmakers return to the State Capitol today for the 2021 legislative session. Last year’s session was disrupted because of the coronavirus pandemic, so there are a lot of issues that legislators will attempt to tackle. House Speaker Clay Schexnayder says he’s pushing a tax reform bill that he says will simplify the state’s tax laws and help attract businesses…
cut 15 (10) “…really good”
Governor John Bel Edwards says he’ll support tax reform as long as it doesn’t reduce the amount of tax revenue going into the state’s coffers. And Edwards is once again asking legislators to raise the state’s minimum wage…
cut 12 (13) “…into law”

A bill that will be heard in the legislative session calls for the automatic termination of any university or college employee who fails to properly report incidents of “power-based violence” to the campus Title Nine coordinator. New Orleans Representative Aimee Freeman says her legislation is in response to LSU’s failure to properly handle incidents of sexual misconduct.
Cut 7 (11) “…terminated.”
Power-based violence is defined as dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking.

Last November, most parishes approved a ballot item that would allow for legal sports betting. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says legislators will use this session to pass the rules and taxation for sports betting to finally be legal…
cut 5 (10) “….government”
The biggest argument will be about the scope of legalization, will it just be limited to the casinos or can you also place bets on your phone?

Governor John Bel Edwards will address the Legislature from Southern’s campus at 6 PM today to kick off the 2021 legislative session…
Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says there will be a lot of discussion during the session about how to spend over three billion dollars in federal coronavirus aid. Pinsonat says do you use it to pay down debt or fund new services or construction…
cut 6 (05) “….riches”

The mishandling of previous sexual misconduct cases at LSU will be an issue in the legislative session that starts today. New Orleans Representative Aimee Freeman has a bill that would require the firing of any university employee who fails to report sexual misconduct and abuse allegations…
cut 8 (11) “…student”
Freeman says cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, and harassment will be reported to that school’s Title Nine coordinator and the Title Nine coordinator will report the school’s chancellor.

Republican House Speaker Clay Schexnayder wants to simplify the tax code to make it easier for small businesses and citizens to operate. Schexnayder says the sales tax would stay the same…
Cut 13 (09) “…part of it.”
Schexnayder says the state is missing out on a substantial amount of revenue from internet sales.

The 2021 legislative session begins today and at 6 PM tonight, Governor John Bel Edwards will deliver a state of the state address at Southern University’s Mumford Stadium. Tax reform will be a dominant issue, but Edwards says any changes to the tax code should be revenue-neutral and he does not believe it will be a good idea to reduce taxes…
Cut 10 (10) “..tax.”
State lawmakers will have to decide how to allocate over three billion dollars in federal coronavirus aid that’s coming to Louisiana. House Speaker Clay Schexnayder says replenishing the state’s unemployment trust fund will be a priority…
cut 14 (10) “…accounts”
The session will last two months and end on June 10th.

A state lawmaker files legislation requiring college university employees to properly report incidents of “power-based violence” such as sexual assault, harassment, and domestic violence. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”

Governor Edwards will kick off this year’s regular legislative session at 6 PM this evening on the field at Southern University’s Mumford Stadium. Traditionally he’d open things up to a packed house at the state Capitol but due to COVID restrictions on indoor gatherings put in place by Governor Edwards the event will have to be done outdoors.

Edwards is expected to lay out his legislative agenda, including support for closing the state’s gender pay gap and rejecting any new tax cuts. He also plans to support any proposals to raise the minimum wage.

Cut 12 (13) “…into law.”

Republican House Speaker Clay Schexnayder says his priorities for the year will be tackling sales tax collection reform and restarting the state’s economy. The Speaker is, so far, feeling good about the odds of bipartisan agreement on both fronts…

Cut 15 (10)“…really good.”

There are a number of controversial culture war topics on the docket including trans issues, marijuana legalization, prison labor, and teaching about systemic racism, but ultimately political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says…

Cut 4 (11)“…happens”

Instead, the dominant issue will be how to spend the 3.2 billion dollars in federal aid allocated to us by the American Rescue Act.

Cut 6 (05) “…riches”

Also on deck, LSU scandal-inspired legislation. A bill is filed that would result in automatic termination of any post-secondary employee who fails to properly report incidents of “power-based violence” to the campus Title Nine coordinator. New Orleans Representative Aimee Freeman wrote it…

Cut 7 (11)  “…terminated.”

This fiscal session is set to run all the way into June.

A minimum of 13 percent of all new COVID cases in Louisiana are now believed to be the more deadly and contagious UK variant, and that number is multiplying rapidly every week. State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says that could put us at risk of a new wave, but the good news is our 13.4 percent of UK variant cases is much better than the rest of the county. The nationwide average is 27.2 percent, Florida is at 34.5 percent, Texas is at 25.2 percent.

Cut 8 (10) “…reduced.”

Senator John Kenney calls on all Louisiana residents to get vaccinated.

Cut 5  (15)  “…works.”

A constitutional amendment is filed that would end the “slavery exception” in the state constitution that allows inmates to be forced to work for just pennies an hour. Executive Director of Decarcerate Louisiana Curtis Davis, who spent 25 years at Angola, says the 13^th Amendment didn’t end slavery it codified it with a loophole allowing prison slave labor. He says if you refuse to work guards can use force against you.

Cut 13 (07)“…in those guns.”

House Democrats release their Come Back Stronger Louisiana agenda for the upcoming legislative session. House Democratic Caucus Chair Representative Sam Jenkins says K-12 and higher education teachers and staff are up for a pay raise that will bring them closer to the southern regional average.

Cut 10 (10) “…promise to our teachers.” 

The session starts Monday.