State lawmakers approved legislation that would provide a $500 tax break to gun owners for purchases of gun-safe storage devices. Teiko Foxx has more.
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In January the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources will have a new name. Brooke Thorington explains.
Cut 2 (30) “….I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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Among bills passed last week, was a measure to give a $500 tax break to Louisiana gun owners for purchases of safes, locks, and other gun storage devices. Bill’s author, New Orleans Representative Mandie Landry says her legislation mirrors a Virginia bill passed earlier this year.
53% of adults in Louisiana have guns at home, the 13th highest level among states, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, which measures only licensed weapons. Landry hopes her bill provides a layer of gun safety
Gun owners should keep receipts of purchases to receive a tax credit through the Department of Revenue. Landry says this is an effort to prevent gun-related accidents involving children and adults.
The bill awaits the governor’s signature.
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House and Senate leaders are facing criticism for cutting 100-million dollars from the Louisiana Department of Health’s budget. House Appropriations Chairman Jerome Zeringue says L-D-H’s budget is over 15-billion dollars and a majority of the Legislature believes they can handle this cut
But Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, who manages the state’s finances for the governor, says the 100-million dollar cut will be impactful…
Cut 7 (08) “…to the department”
Dardenne says they are looking into the possibility of the governor using his line-item veto power and taking the 100-million dollar cut to L-D-H out of the budget bill. Zeringue understands that’s a real possibility
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Louisiana’s largest military base Fort Polk officially changed its name to Fort Johnson today. The Army base in Vernon Parish has been named after World War I hero Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a Black U.S. soldier who fought in France in 1918 and 1919. Brigadier General David Gardner says Sgt. Johnson embodies the warrior spirit.
The process of renaming Fort Polk began in 2021 after the changes were mandated by Congress. The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act requires any and all Army bases with ties to the Confederacy in their namesake to undergo a name change. Gardner says today’s redesignated celebration in honor of Sgt. Johnson was well attended.
Sgt. Johnson served in New York National Guard’s 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment and was a World War I Medal of Honor recipient and posthumously received the Purple Heart in 1996. Gardner says all Fort Johnson signage will be prominently displayed.
Johnson became one of the first Americans to be awarded France highest award for valor. Fort Polk is one of nine army installations redesignated to remove its Confederate name.
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In January, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources will under go a name change. DNR spokesperson Patrick Courreges says the state agency will be known as The Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources because the agency’s role has expanded over the years and oversees much more than oil and gas now.
The department also oversees solar, and wind energy projects.
Another reason for the name change is the agency’s application for federal funds from the US Department of Energy. Courreges says some of those federal funds are funneled through DNR for rebates on energy-efficient changes to homes.
Another issue that prompted the name change, Courreges says DNR is often mistaken by those out of state as the wildlife agency for Louisiana.
Cut 14 (11) “…Fisheries does.”
The name change will be official when the next governor is sworn-in in January because the department will have to update its letterhead and more at the same time.