Small businesses oppose increasing the state’s gasoline tax. Dawn Starns, State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business, says they surveyed their members and 73-percent oppose a gas tax hike. Starns says everyone wants to see better roads but….
Cut 3 (09) “they have”
Lawmakers are expected to take up bills that would increase the gasoline tax by at least seven-cents a gallon.

A survey of Louisiana residents finds about half of the state’s adult population have an unfavorable opinion of the federal health care law, the Affordable Care Act. Doctor Michael Henderson, with the LSU Public Policy Research Lab, suspects the 51-percent disapproval rating has more to do with politics…
cut 14 (11) “…the A-C-A”

The House Ways and Means Committe began disussing tax bills that have been filed for this session. St. Francisville Representative Kenny Havard has a measure that would lower personal income taxes and make up that revenue by raising taxes on businesses…
cut 11 (08) “…the road”
Changing Louisiana’s tax laws are a major debate, because one-point-three billion dollars in temporary taxes expire next year.

A Thibodaux man is in hot water with his wife and the law. Thibodaux Police Corporal David Melancon says 33-year-old Junius Boyd hit his girlfriend with a shovel handle at an Easter Egg hunt, after she first attacked him with that weapon…
cut 7 (12) “…defending yourself”
Boyd and the women were arrested. Melancon says the altercation took place in front of Boyd’s wife and child.

An LSU poll finds that just 42-percent of state residents have a favorable opinion about the Affordable Care Act, but that’s up 11-percent from the last time they asked residents about the A-C-A. Michael Henderson, with the LSU Public Policy Research Lab, suspects people are more educated about the A-C-A…
cut 13 (10) “…have improved”

An Easter Egg hunt in Thibodaux turned violent when 25-year-old Florence Robinson showed up with a shovel handle and started using it against her ex-boyfriend’s vehicle. Corporal David Melancon says 33-year-old Junius Boyd got a hold of the weapon and started hitting Robinson. Melancon says both people are facing charges, but it’s even worse for Boyd…
cut 8 (12) “…was involved”

There’s a split opinion in the business community over whether the state should increase the state’s gasoline tax to pay for better roads. A coalition of business groups are supporting it, but Dawn Starns, state director of the National Federation of Independent business, says a majority of small businesses oppose a gas tax hike. Starns says those who support it are engineers and architechs who would see a boom in their business with this hike…
cut 4 (10) “…to juggle”

Several buildings and vehicles were hit by a small caliber bullets in Washington Parish early this morning. Chief Deputy Mike Haley says at least 13 houses and nine vehicles have bullet holes in them. He says it’s not known who is responsible or why they were doing it…
cut 16 (08) “…at this time”
He says at this time they believe the shots were fired from a pickup truck.

Most Louisiana residents approve of Medicaid expansion, according to an LSU survey. Director of the LSU Public Policy Research Lab, Dr. Michael Henderson says 72 percent of respondents for the 2017 Louisiana Survey approve of the expansion. He says the approval rating for the Affordable Care Act has increased over the past few years…:
Cut 12 (10) “more favorable”
He suspects this is because more people are learning about the ACA.

Attorney General Jeff Landry is once again suing Governor John Bel Edwards, and this time it’s over money. The AG’s office says the state is taking ownership of an escrow account with settlement money that Landry says is supposed to be for the Department of Justice’s use. Edwards’ responded saying the money does not belong to the DOJ and he’s more than willing to defend that in court.

73% of small businesses in the staet oppose a gas tax hike. Dawn Starns, State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business, says their survey indicated owners don’t feel increased revenue would actually go towards roads. She says state government needs to do more with what they have available to them…:
Cut 5 (08) “transparency”
She says most small businesses don’t feel that they have a traffic problem and don’t think additional revenue would benefit them.

The House Ways and Means Committee began looking at various tax proposals today that will be discussed over the next several weeks. Jackson Representative Kenny Havard is pushing legislation which he says is the most sensible approach of alleviating the tax burden on residents, and asks businesses to pay their fair share…:
Cut 10 (08) “that’s unfair”
A vote was not taken on Havard’s proposed legislation. There are over 140 tax bills filed in the House.

The majority of Louisiana small business owners oppose an increase to the state’s gasoline tax. Jeff Palermo has more…:
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

Meanwhile, the House Ways and Means Committee began a series of meetings today looking at various tax proposals that will be discussed over the next several weeks. Jackson Representative Kenny Havard is pushing legislation that would reduce taxes on individuals but increase taxes on businesses…:
Cut 9 (10) “do something”

An Easter egg hunt with numerous children in attendance turned violent when a Thibodaux man’s ex-girlfriend showed up armed with a shovel handle. David Melancon with Thibodaux Police says 33-year-old Junius Boyd was at the event in Peltier (Pel-chay) Park when 25-year-old Florence Robinson arrived, just hours after the two ended their relationship…:
Cut 6 (10) “his arm”
He says Boyd then got out of the vehicle and starting hitting Robinson with the shovel handle. They both face aggravated battery charges.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development officially released the $1.6 billion in flood recovery funds appropriated by Congress. The state is now asking each homeowner who received flood damage to fill out a survey at restore.la.gov to determine their eligibility for federal assistance.

There’s a report former LSU running back Leonard Fournette is meeting with the Cincinnati Bengals. It looks like the Bengals are interested in drafting a running back as they’ve also met with Florida State’s Dalvin Cook and Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon. The Bengals have the ninth overall pick in the first round.

Former LSU track star Cyril Grayson has signed with the Seattle Seahawks, even though he hasn’t played in a football game since 2011. Grayson is a four-time NCAA track champion and participated in LSU pro day last week. He impressed Seattle enough that the Seahawks decided to sign him to a standard rookie deal.

Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro tells the Baton Rouge Advocate he’s interested in signing a contract extension with the Black and Gold.

And Louisiana Tech head football coach Skip Holtz has agreed to a five-year, three-point-five million dollar contract extension. He’s led the Bulldogs to three straight bowl victories.

LSU’s Eric Walker is the SEC Pitcher of the Week. Walker threw a four-hit shutout in the Tigers two to nothing series clinching win over the Razorbacks. Walker has extended his scoreless inning streak to 16 innings. Coach Paul Mainieri says Walker has shown a great ability to command all of his pitches…
cut 18 (18) “….glove a lot”
Tonight the Tigers face the Cajuns in the Wally Pontiff Junior Classic in Metairie. Freshman Matthew Beck will make hsi first start on the mount, the Cajuns will send freshman right-hander Jack Burk to the bump. He’s been impressive. Burk is 2-3 with a 2.23 ERA.

Also tonight, Nicholls is at Tulane, ULM hosts Louisiana Tech and McNeese State will host Alcorn State.

Small businesses oppose increasing the state’s gasoline tax. Dawn Starns, State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business, says they surveyed their members and 73-percent oppose a gas tax hike. Starns says everyone wants to see better roads but….
Cut 3 (09) “they have”
Lawmakers are expected to take up bills that would increase the gasoline tax by at least seven-cents a gallon.

The film tax credit program will be under a microscope this session, and LSU Economist Dr. Loren Scott has conduced another study indicating the return on investment isn’t there for the state’s budget when it comes to movie incentives. He says Louisiana is subsidizing about 30 to 35-percent of the cost of making a film…:
Cut 29 (05) “your favor”
The film tax credit program is currently capped at 180 million dollars.

The federal government has granted Louisiana access to start dispensing 1.6 billion dollars to flooded residents. Deputy Chief of Staff for the Governor, Julie Baxter Payer..::
Cut 14 (11) “appropriated”
The next big step for the state is to hire a contractor who will manage the Homeowner Assistance Program.

A Thibodaux man is in hot water with his wife and law enforcement. Thibodaux Police Corporal David Melancon says 33-year-old Junius Boyd hit his girlfriend with a shovel handle at an Easter Egg hunt, after she first attacked him with that shovel handle…
cut 7 (12) “…defending yourself”
Boyd and the women was arrested. Melancon says the altercation took place in front of Boyd’s wife and child.

The federal government has made available the money for Louisiana to distribute the one-point-six billion dollars appropriated by Congress to help homeowners rebuild from last year’s floods. Julie Baxter Payer, deputy chief of staff for the governor, says federal restrictions have been placed on who receives the money first…
cut 15 (09) “…flood insurance”
Payer says the state is close to hiring a contractor that will oversee the home rebuilding programs.

A Chinese company announces plans to build a one-point-one billion dollar plant in Louisiana . Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson says he led a contingent to Wanhua’s (Wan-hwah)’s headquarters in China last month, where they completed final plans to move the project forward…
cut 6 (11) “…investments”
A final site choice within Louisiana will be made in the coming months.

It’s the first full day of the legislative session. Governor Edwards is pushing an ambitious tax plan that would increase taxes on businesses, but lower income taxes on 90-percent of taxpayers. But West Monroe Senator Mike Walsworth says lawmakers need to be cautious about lowering taxes for individuals and getting businesses to foot the bill…
cut 11 (10) “…to business”

Another study by LSU economist Dr. Loren Scott finds the benefit to Louisiana’s budget isn’t there when it comes to state’s film tax credit program. He says the return on investment from movie incentives was just 22% in 2016…:
Cut 7 (07) “million bucks”
Lawmakers are slated to discuss the film tax credit program in the current session.

At the start of the legislative session, Governor John Bel Edwards called for a bipartisan effort to repair the state’s annual problem of budget cuts, especially during the middle of a fiscal year. Ruston Representative Rob Shadoin hopes lawmakers can come together across party lines to do what’s best for the people…:
Cut 13 (07) “make progress”
But most Republicans don’t support many of the governor’s proposals to raise revenue but instead suggest reductions in state spending.

LSU Economist Dr. Loren Scott says, for the third time, one of the studies he’s conduced finds Louisiana is losing money from the film tax credit program. He admits that filming does create jobs…:
CUT 8 (08) “of jobs”
But he says the return of investment of film tax credits was just 22-percent in 2016.

A Chinese chemical company announces plans for a 1.1 billion dollar chemical plant to be constructed in Louisiana. Don Molino has more…:
Cut 1 (29) “I’m Don Molino”

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development has opened the line of credit for Louisiana to receive the $1.6 billion Congress appropriated for flood recovery. The Governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff Julie Baxter Payer says now is the time for flood victims to fill out the survey at restore.la.gov to see if they are eligible for homeowner assistance. She say the state should have a program manager in place in the next couple of weeks.

Today the House Ways and Means Committee begins delving into the Governor’s proposed tax plan. Halen Doughty has more…:
Cut 2 (29) “I’m Halen Doughty”

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office says a 17 month old was killed after being run over by a truck on a roadway in Slidell. The toddler is identified Koreyanna Kirsh. Detectives say the driver of the vehicle is 21-year-old Shae Fitzgerald. Authorities indicate no charges have been filed but the case is under investigation.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development officially released the $1.6 billion in flood recovery funds appropriated by Congress. Governor’s Chief of Staff Julie Baxter Payer says they are still working to get more money for victims…:
Cut 16 (11) “year’s flood”
The state is asking each homeowner who received flood damage to fill out a survey at restore.la.gov to determine their eligibility for federal assistance.

Great economic news for Louisiana as China’s Wanhua (Wan-hwah) Chemical plans to build a $1.1 billion plant here. State Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson says a project like this creates a multiplier effect in the number of jobs it produces…:
Cut 5 (12) “the community”
The exact location has yet to be determined.

HUD has finally released 1.6 billion dollars in flood recovery money. Jeff Palermo has more..:
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

A Chinese chemical company chooses Louisiana over Texas to build a 1.1 billion dollar manufacturing complex. State Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson says the project by Wanhua (Wan-hwah) Chemical Group will bring 170 new direct jobs to the state…:
Cut 4 (09) “a year”
The specific location of the site will be decided later in the year.

At the opening of the legislative session Monday, Governor John Bel Edwards urged lawmakers to compromise at the Capitol over the next two months. He wants to see the state’s tax structure changed to protect vital services and make sure TOPS is fully funded. Baton Rouge Representative Patricia Smith says the legislature has to do something to raise more revenue…:
Cut 12 (08) “can’t do it”
But Republicans are expected to push back hard against additional revenues saying instead the state needs to be more responsible with spending.

The film tax credit program will be under a microscope this session, and LSU Economist Dr. Loren Scott has conduced another study indicating the return on investment isn’t there for the state’s budget when it comes to movie incentives. He says Louisiana is subsidizing about 30 to 35-percent of the cost of making a film…:
Cut 9 (05) “your favor”
The film tax credit program is currently capped at 180 million dollars.