A move to install cameras in nursing homes cleared a House panel this morning. If approved by the entire legislature, you could check on your loved ones at any time. Jim Shannon has more.
Cut 1 (29 “I’m Jim Shannon”

Turkey Creek Police Chief Robert Glenn Leggett is in serious condition after he was stabbed in the face while attempting to make an arrest in Evangeline Parish. The sheriff’s office says 24-year-old Zackery Deville stabbed Chief Legett with a knife during a struggle. Deville has been charged with attempted first-degree murder.

Harvey Representative Rodney Lyons legislation to give certain autism patients the opportunity to take prescribed medical marijuana received approval from a House committee today. The Democrat from the New Orleans area says there are a lot of families struggling with an autism patient and medical marijuana could be their answer to a better life…
cut 14 (05) “…lot better”
Approved marijuana pharmacies are expected to open later this month. Under current law, only patients with cancer, AIDS, seizure disorders, Chron’s disease, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis can be prescribed medical marijuana.

A large portion of the state is under a tornado watch until 9 PM tonight and there’s also a flash flood watch in effect until tomorrow morning for central and north Louisiana. Matthew Duplantis is a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Shreveport….
cut 4 (08) “…to form”

On a 9-4 vote, a House committee approved legislation to allow Autism patients with certain conditions to have the ability to use prescribed medical marijuana. The Louisiana Chapter of American Academy Pediatrics opposes the legislation. President and Doctor John Vanchiere says more testing needs to be done to see if medical marijuana is safe for children to use…
cut 13 (09) “…other medications”
Despite the oppostion, the measure heads to the House floor.

There was also opposition in House Natural Resources to a bill that would make it more expensive to purchase recreational hunting and fishing licenses. Erath Representative Blake Miguez…
cut 11 (10) “…year or two”
But the bill advances to the House Floor on a 12-3 vote.

A bill to give families the option to put a surveillance camera inside a room at a nursing home is heading to the House floor. Lucy Titus testified in favor. She says her 92 year old mother mysteriously had a black eye when she went to visit her. She says had a camera been in the room, she would have known what happened.
Cut 8 (11) “in pain”
Nursing home operators oppose the legislation, but they did not speak in committee on the issue.

A large section of Louisiana is under a tornado watch until 9 PM tonight. The watch box extends from Lake Charles to Monroe, covering up a large portion of central Louisiana. Matthew Duplantis with the National Weather Service in Shreveport says stay alert…
cut 5 (10) “…and evening”
A good portion of the state is also under a flash flood watch until tomorrow morning.

Nursing home owners opposed it, but a bill that would allow families to install surveillance cameras inside a nursing home room was approved by a House committee today. New Orleans Representative Helena Moreno says the resident and if there’s a roommate would have to sign a waiver, before the cameras can be installed…
Cut 7 (08) “nursing home”
Moreno says her legislation provides an extra set of eyes on a loved one who is in a nursing home.

The House Natural Resources Committee approved a bill requested by the the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to increase the cost of a hunting license to 20 dollars and fishing licenses to $13.50. LDWF Secretary Jack Montoucet says the current fee just doesn’t pay for what the department needs going forward.
Cut 9 (10) “ground zero”
The measure now moves to the House floor.
Legislation cleared the House Health and Welfare committee that would allow certain autism patients to have the ability to receive a prescription for medical marijuana once it comes available in Louisiana. Louisiana Mothers Advocating for Medical Marijuana spokesperson Katelyn Castleberry says some of the current drugs on the market are unsafe for autism patients…
cut 12 (12) “…children alive”

Eightteen parishes from southwest Louisiana to central and north Louisiana are under a tornado watch until nine o’ clock tonight. The watch area covers Lake Charles, Alexandria and Monroe. Matthew Duplantis with the National Weather Service in Shreveport says the entire state needs to be on the alert for servere weather for the next 12 hours…
cut 5 (06) “…the area”
There’s also a flash flood watch for a good portion of the state until tomorrow morning.

A bill that would have reshaped the way TOPS is administered was killed yesterday. The Senate Education Committee defeated the measure to make TOPS a flat four-thousand dollar annual award and provide additional stipends for students who perform well on the ACT. LSU Student Body Vice President Rachel Campbell says reducing TOPS award amounts for some students is not the way to build a strong economy……

Cut 11 (08) “and TOPS.”

Senator Blade Morrish proposed the legislation as a way to lower the cost of TOPS for the state. It costs an estimated 290-million dollars. He says if the legislature is unwilling to overhaul TOPS then it will continue to struggle paying for it every year..

Cut 13 (10)  “this program.”

It’s still unclear if TOPS will be fully funded next fall as a budget.

Despite opposition from nursing home owners, a proposal that would allow for surveillance cameras in nursing home rooms has cleared a House committee. New Orleans representative Helena Moreno says her bill would allow an extra set of eyes on a loved one who is in a nursing home….

Cut 6 (09)  “back home”

Baton Rouge Senator Dan Claitor’s anti-hazing bill passed through the Senate and is on its way to the House. The bill would increase the possible civil penalties associated with hazing related deaths. The vote was 28-3.

And now, here’s commodity prices.

Legislation that would have raised the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $8.00 in 2019 and $8.50 an hour by 2020 died on the Senate floor last night. New Orleans Senator Troy Carter tried to make the case that raising the minimum wage would reward those who chose to work instead of living off of government assistance…
cut 16 (12) “…living wage’
The wage hike was defeated 21-17.

A Flash Flood Watch has been issued for much of north and central Louisiana until tomorrow morning. Shreveport National Weather Service forecaster Davyon Hill says several inches of rainfall are expected to fall in the next 24 hours…
Cut 3 (07) “Shreveport area.”
Hill says the good news is that once this rain moves out of our state, we’ll see great weather for our Easter weekend.

A bill that would make the TOPS scholarship a flat four-thousand dollar award amount, but provide additional stipends for students who achieve higher G-P-As and ACT scores was voted down by the Senate education committee. LSU students voiced their opposition, including Student Government President Stuart Locket…
cut 12 (07) “…at LSU”
LSU tuition is over seven-thousand dollars, so some TOPS students would have to pay over three-thousand dollars in tuition costs under the legislation that was defeated.

A bill advancing to the House floor would reduce the wait time from 72 to 24 hours for those couples who want to get married after getting their marriage license. Carencro Representative Julie Emerson says Louisaina’s long wait time is a rarity in state marriage laws…
cut 9 (10) “…effect Louisiana”

The House Health and Welfare committee is expected to hear legislation allowing medical marijuana to be used as a legal treatment for autistic patients. Kelley Ray has more.

Cut 1 (30) “I’m Kelley Ray.”

A bill to shorten the waiting period for getting married has advanced to the House floor. The legislation by Carencro Representative Julie Emerson would reduce the wait time from the time paperwork is filed to officially hitched to 24 hours from the current 72. Emerson says Louisiana has an abnormally long wait time.

Cut 7 (06)  “that regard”

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A bill seeking to make major changes to TOPS faced opposition from LSU students. The Senate Education Committee defeated the measure to make TOPS a flat four-thousand dollar annual award and provide additional stipends for students who perform well on the ACT. LSU Student Body Vice President Rachel Campbell says the proposed legislation would force some LSU students to leave the state…

Cut 10 (10) “looking back.”

Minimum wage increase, pay secrecy, and equal pay for women legislation all died on the Senate floor last night. The bills were a major part of Governor John Bel Edwards agenda. New Orleans Senator JP Morrell’s equal pay for women bill died 20-18. He says the best and brightest women in Louisiana are flocking to state’s that won’t pay them less for the same work a man does.

Cut 14 (12) “the world”

The House Health and Welfare committee is expected to hear legislation today that would allow medical marijuana to be used as a legal treatment for persons with autism. Louisiana Mothers Advocating for Medical Marijuana spokesperson Katelyn Castleberry says her two sons suffer from autism and they need better options made available for treatment…

Castleberry says even though marijuana has been used as a recreational drug for years, the medical benefits outweigh the stigma attached to it. Studies have shown that medical cannabis is quite effective for autism…

A major difference between medical and recreational marijuana is the medicinal type does not give patients a euphoric high. Castleberry says studies have found that medical cannabis could also help other medical conditions…

Cut 6 (11) “nervous system.”

Medical cannabis is going to be available later this year for patients with certain illnesses.

Minimum wage increase, pay secrecy, and equal pay for women legislation all died on the Senate floor last night. The bills were a major part of Governor John Bel Edwards agenda. New Orleans Senator JP Morrell’s equal pay for women bill died 20-18. He says the best and brightest women in Louisiana are flocking to state’s that won’t pay them less for the same work a man does.

The bill, which would have required contractors who work with the state to pay women the same as men in the same position, was defeated 20-18.

The Democrat went after his fellow legislators, accusing them of favoring businesses owners over workers. He says businesses keep wages low by preventing employees from discussing pay, while simultaneously being allowed to ask employees how much they used to be paid at other jobs.

Cut 15 (12) “somewhere else.”

The pay secrecy bill would have prevented employers from retaliating against workers who chose to discuss pay with each other. .

Minimum wage, equal pay for women, and pay secrecy laws were all struck down in the upper chamber last night. Matt Doyle has more.

Cut 3 (32) “I’m Matt Doyle”

The House Health and Welfare committee is expected to hear legislation today that would allow medical marijuana to be used as a legal treatment for persons with autism. Louisiana Mothers Advocating for Medical Marijuana spokesperson Katelyn Castleberry says her two sons suffer from autism and even though marijuana has been used as a recreational drug for years, the medical benefits outweigh the stigma attached to it. Studies have shown that medical cannabis is quite effective for autism…

Cut 5  (10)  “to speak.”

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A bill seeking to make major changes to TOPS faced opposition from LSU students. The Senate Education Committee defeated the measure to make TOPS a flat four-thousand dollar annual award and provide additional stipends for students who perform well on the ACT. LSU Student Body Vice President Rachel Campbell says reducing TOPS award amounts for some students is not the way to build a strong economy……

Cut 11 (08) “and TOPS.”

Saint’s coach Sean Payton got asked for a hot take on the draft and didn’t hesitate to say there’s one quarterback he really admires, and that’s Louisville’s Lamar Jackson. Jackson shredded records and grabbed a Heisman while captaining the Cardinals. Payton waxed poetic about the gunslinger who just happens to be slipping into the late first round in many mock drafts.

Cut 20 (17) “can lead”

A bill seeking to make major changes to TOPS is facing opposition from LSU students.  Jeff Palermo has more

Cut 2 (33) “I’m Jeff Palermo.”

The House Health and Welfare committee is expected to hear legislation today that would allow medical marijuana to be used as a legal treatment for persons with autism. Louisiana Mothers Advocating for Medical Marijuana spokesperson Katelyn Castleberry says her two sons suffer from autism and they need better options made available for treatment…

Cut 4  (13) “to suicide.” 

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A bill to shorten the waiting period for getting married has advanced to the House floor. The legislation by Carencro Representative Julie Emerson would reduce the wait time from the time paperwork is filed to officially hitched to 24 hours from the current 72. Emerson says Louisiana has an abnormally long wait time.

The current 72 hour delay is in place to dissuade impulsive marriage decisions that may seem like a good idea at the time, but quickly lose their appeal with a full night’s sleep and a splitting headache the next morning. Emerson says the one day wait should still prevent those awkward situations.

Cut 8 (09)  “can do.”

Minimum wage increase, pay secrecy, and equal pay for women legislation all died on the Senate floor last night. The bills were a major part of Governor John Bel Edwards agenda. New Orleans Senator JP Morrell’s equal pay for women bill died 20-18. He says the best and brightest women in Louisiana are flocking to state’s that won’t pay them less for the same work a man does.

Cut 14 (12) “the world”

The House Health and Welfare committee is expected to hear legislation allowing medical marijuana to be used as a legal treatment for autistic patients. Kelley Ray has more.

Cut 1 (30) “I’m Kelley Ray.”

A bill to shorten the waiting period for getting married has advanced to the House floor. The legislation by Carencro Representative Julie Emerson would reduce the wait time from the time paperwork is filed to officially hitched to 24 hours from the current 72. Emerson says Louisiana has an abnormally long wait time.

Cut 7 (06)  “that regard”

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A bill seeking to make major changes to TOPS faced opposition from LSU students. The Senate Education Committee defeated the measure to make TOPS a flat four-thousand dollar annual award and provide additional stipends for students who perform well on the ACT. LSU Student Body Vice President Rachel Campbell says the proposed legislation would force some LSU students to leave the state…

Cut 10 (10) “looking back.”

Minimum wage increase, pay secrecy, and equal pay for women legislation all died on the Senate floor last night. The bills were a major part of Governor John Bel Edwards agenda.