State police will be out in full force during Mardi Gras’ final days in New Orleans. Kelley Ray spoke with Senior Trooper Melissa Matey…
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A Mandeville lawmaker has filed legislation to make it easier to recall elected officials. Don Molino takes a look at the bill.
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Mandeville Representative Paul Hollis filed legislation that would make it easier for Louisianans to recall their elected representatives. Hollis says the bayou state makes it incredibly difficult to recall a politician in a densely populated district.
Currently, 33 percent of registered voters in districts with more than 100,000 voters must sign the recall petition before a special election is triggered. Hollis says his bill would lower that number down to 20 percent.
Hollis says the bill was inspired by a failed recall effort in St. Tammany.
Peter Galvin was sentenced to two years in jail in 2014 after grifting hundreds of thousands of dollars from the parish.
If passed, recall petitions would still require tens of thousands of signatures, which means more people participating than usually vote in statewide and parish elections. Hollis says it’ll still take a serious effort to unseat an official.
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There will be an expanded presence of state police troopers in New Orleans as Mardi Gras ramps up for the final weekend. They have committed 165 troopers to working the French Quarter and the metro area. Senior Trooper Melissa Matey says they will perform a variety of assignments…
Last year, troopers had to pull dozens of weapons off the streets. Matey says it’s something they will look out for…
Matey says citizens can utilize a special phone app called “See Send” if they suspect suspicious activity during the celebrations…
Other tips Matey gives include not to carry large sums of money, have a plan for your children and what they should do if they become separated from you in the large crowds and remove valuables from your vehicle while it is parked.
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The Humane Society of Louisiana is working to help in the adoption of 19 horses that will participate in Mardi Gras parades this week. HSL Director Jeff Dorson says the program started last year to ensure that none of the horses used in the parade would be sold for slaughter. Dorson is pleased at the success they have had working with Cascade Stables in helping find forever homes for these horses…
Dorson says with the response they received from not only Louisiana, they are hoping to make this a regular adoption event…
Dorson says applications for the adoption of the horses can be made online with all the information future owners may be looking for…
The Facebook page is New Orleans Mardi Gras Horses Available for Adoption.
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House Republicans are looking at renewing at least some or all of the temporary one cent sales tax as a way to address a looming one billion dollar shortfall. Houma Representative Tanner Magee…
But Governor John Bel Edwards says he will not support any plan that maintains the current sales tax rate which is currently five percent, one of the highest in the country. And Baton Rouge Representative Ted James says legislators promised to let the temporary sales tax penny expire when they voted for it in 2016.
Edwards and the Democratic caucus have made tax reform a centerpiece of their legislative agenda, and hope to shift the tax burden away from individuals by eliminating tax exemptions that specific industries currently enjoy. James says most of all though, sales taxes hit the working class hardest.
Magee says he supports renewing three quarters of the sales tax, and committing a quarter of those funds to TOPS. He says Louisiana’s sales tax is different from other states, in that it has a large pool of exemptions.