Governor Edwards faced criticism from Republican legislators in Washington D.C. about the way he handled the August flooding. Emelie Gunn has more…
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Ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft are becoming more popular and a state lawmaker wants to regulate this growing industry. Michelle Southern has the story..
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”
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Republican lawmakers criticized Governor John Bel Edwards’ handling of the deadly August flood during a Congressional hearing in Washington D.C. today. The chairman of the panel, Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, couldn’t believe the governor didn’t know how many people were still displaced.
The legislators also questioned Edwards over the complaints regarding the Shelter at Home Program and the quality of work that was done to help flood victims get back into their homes. Edwards says he gives his administration a grade of B-plus for handling the flood recovery. But Michigan Congressman Paul Mitchell disagrees.
South Carolina Congressman Tom Rice questioned the Governors’ handling of the storm before it started flooding.
Chaffetz also criticized the state for how it has handled the 1.6 billion dollars that Congress has appropriated to help flood victims.
Edwards says they have done all they can do to move the process as quick as possible and they are still waiting of the federal government to make the money available so the state can use it.
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A measure that would place statewide regulations for services like Uber and Lyft has been filed for the upcoming legislative session. Currently, each parish decides the rules for how ride sharing companies should operate. Jackson Representative Kenny Havard says his bill would eliminate confusion.
If signed into law, Louisiana would be the 40th state to implement statewide rules. Havard says under this proposal, ride sharing companies would be required to keep records of every trip and drivers will have to go through a background check before they are hired by the ride sharing service.
Both Uber and Lyft are in support of the legislation because they believe it would help them expand their services across the state. Havard says this bill would also make payment rates the same in each parish.
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There’s been talk of raising the gasoline tax by as much as 17 cents a gallon in the upcoming legislative session. Franklin Representative Sam Jones believes that’s too much of a hike, but he says the state needs to invest more in transportation infrastructure.
Jones has filed a bill to increase the state’s gasoline tax by an additional seven cents, but he says that’s negotiable. He says the state’s current 20-cent gasoline tax is not addressing the state’s 13-billion dollar backlog of transportation needs.
Cut 11 (09) “the megaprojects”
Expanding I-49 south and building new bridges in Baton Rouge and Lake Charles are among the megaprojects lawmakers are looking to fund. Jones is hopeful there will be bipartisan support for raising the gas tax, as long as it ensures the money will be used to improve roads and bridges.
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Former St. Tammany and Washington Parish District Attorney Walter Reed was today sentenced in federal court to 48 months in prison for his conviction on fraud and money laundering. Loyola law professor Dane Ciolino says Reed got off a lot easier than many people thought.:
A jury convicted Reed last May on 18 counts ranging from conspiracy to fraud for using campaign contributions for personal use. U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon said the reason for the lighter sentence was because the case was outside the mainstream of fraud. Ciolino says it sounds like the judge may have felt Reed’s attorneys had a good case…:
Cut 14 (08) “federal criminal one”
Reed will remain free on an appeal bond. Ciolino says typically criminals file appeal only as a formality on trivial matters. He says it’s extremely unusual that a defendant would get bail pending appeal…:
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