Will Governor John Bel Edwards third special session of the year be successful? The debate will center on renewing a half penny sales tax that supporters say can prevent cuts across state government. The proposal came up seven votes short of passing in the House earlier this month. Shreveport Representative Thomas Carmody says the governor needs to reassure Republicans the money will be spent responsibly….
cut 13 (07) “…have nothing”
The 10-day special session begins Monday.

Democrat Renee Fontentot Free has entered the Secretary of State race. A special election will be held in November. She works in the Attorney General’s office as the Director of the Public Protection Division and she also once worked in the Secretary of State’s office…
cut 14 (09) “…very gratifying”

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has lifted a feeding ban it had in effect since January after extensive testing in East Carroll, Madison and Tensas parishes have yet to detect chronic wasting disease among the deer population. State wildlife veterinarian, Doctor Jim LaCour why the ban was put into effect..
cut 5 (13) “….licks, mineral sites”
Louisiana is on alert for C-W-D after a deer was found dead from the disease in Mississippi just a few miles from the Louisiana border.

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”

Governor John Bel Edwards announces a Texas-based company will open a techonology center in New Orleans that will employ 350 workers. Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson says Accruent says is a software and information technology firm that focuses on digital integration in real estate…
cut 10 (12) “….in the market”
Accruent is already hiring and they plan to be fully staffed by 2020.

The state is returning two-point-three million dollars from its Unclaimed Property program to a north Louisiana resident….
cut 4 (07) “….know about”
That’s State Treasurer John Schroder who says this is the largest amoung ever returned to one person in the program’s history. The average is claim is around 900-dollars.

Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says the budget signed by the governor for next fiscal year doesn’t contain enough money for the state to operate the federally-funded food stamps program in 2019. Walters says if additional funding is not raised in next week’s special session, one-thousand staff members who help distribute food stamps will be laid off in January and some 45-hundred businesses that service food stamp recipients will also feel the impact….
cut 14 (11) “….DCFS”
Louisiana distributes one-point-four billion dollars in federal food stamps every year to low-income households.

The National Hurricane Center tells us they are monitoring a tropical disturbance in the Caribbean Seat that has low chance of tropical formation this week. The weather system is approaching the Gulf of Mexico, but at the moment seems like a bigger concern for Mexico than the United States.

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.”

The third special session of 2018 will begin next Monday. Governor John Bel Edwards is still looking for a fix to the fiscal cliff. The governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff Richard Carbo says after the legislature failed to replace a large portion of the 1.4 billion dollars in temporary taxes that expire June 30th, they had no choice but to give it one more try….
Cut 14 (11) “unfunded”

The Department of Children and Family Services warns that unless more funding is approved, 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”

The Louisiana Department of Treasury announces it has returned two-point-three million dollars to a north Louisiana resident. It’s the largest amount returned in the history of the Unclaimed Property Program. State Treasurer John Schroder says the money was from unclaimed oil royalities from a deceased relative. He says they also collect old bank accounts, insurance proceeds, utility deposits and other business funds…
cut 5 (10) “..our webiste”

A tech firm out of Austin, Texas, announces plans to open an office in New Orleans, which will lead to 350 more jobs in the Central Business District. Accruent plans to begin commerical operations later this month and the first has already started hiring.

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.

This year’s special session trilogy is set to begin its final chapter June 18th. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 2 (31) ” I’m Matt Doyle”

Governor John Bel Edwards announced this morning that Austin, Texas, based Accruent will bring 350-jobs to New Orleans as the tech company plans to open an office in the city’s Central Business District. Accruent has already started hiring and is expected to reach full employment in New Orleans by 2020.

Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser is looking at alternative ways to promote the state’s new tourism slogan, “Feed Your Soul,” as the state agency could be impacted by budget cuts. Nungesser says he’s talking to LSU, about having a Feed Your Soul logo visible along the sidelines at Tiger Stadium and also looking towards the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board to assist with marketing efforts as well …
Cut 13 (08) “…in Louisiana”

The state department of transportation reports there are 800 accidents every year just west of Baton Rouge on interstate 10. The DOTD has taken multiple measures to ensure the safety along this stretch of highway. Spokesperson Rodney Mallett says it also comes down to the responsibility of drivers….
Cut 5 (10) “…and for others”
Mallet says that 77 percent of the 800 accidents are from people not paying attention.