Three anti-hazing bills are on their way to the governor’s desk following last fall’s death of LSU freshman Max Gruver. Jim Shannon has more.
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Its been a record breaking week of unusual heat, but forecasts project a cooler weekend. Jeff Palermo has more.
He says one casino in particular is looking very promising now that it’s allowed to expand on land.
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Governor John Bel Edwards addressed the recent US Supreme Court decision to allow sports betting outside of Nevada on his monthly talk radio show. 32 states have legislation in place to allow the activities, including Mississippi, but Louisiana shot down similar legislation this session. Edwards didn’t oppose the idea.
But don’t expect to see Senator Danny Martiny’s parish by parish legalization legislation to pop up again during the special session that starts next week.
But Edwards did express some concerns about legislation he’s seen that would legalize the activity in Louisiana.
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Three anti-hazing bills are on their way to the governor’s desk following last fall’s death of LSU freshman Max Gruver. The house voted 88 to 1 in favor of final passage of house bill 78 otherwise known as the Max Gruver Act. East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore testified in favor of the measure to give the current laws more teeth.
cut 8 (10) “hazing violations”
Moore says a companion bill to force mandatory education for university fraternities and sororities should help stop dangerous hazing.
Cut 9 (07) “university people.”
Moore contends that the new law holds principals at the national level accountable for problems at the chapters.
In the new bill hazing that does not result in a death will still cost one thousand dollars and six months in jail.
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It’s been a record breaking week of intense heat, that’s turned the usually tolerable Louisiana spring into a hot, soupy mess. State Climatologist Barry Keim says a high pressure system is camping just off the coast, leading to a historic scorcher that’s taken down long time state records.
A cool front is moving over the area starting today, which Keim says will make things just a little more pleasant this weekend than they’ve been this week.
Cut 12 (10) “take precautions”
The unusual heat is peaking with summer right around the corner, leading to concerns that we could be in store for a second year in a row of record breaking heat, but Keim says this unusual weather phenomenon is not an indicator of any long term trends.
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The House approved Senate changes to the budget, that fully funds healthcare, but slashes higher ed, funding for state agencies, and cuts TOPS by 30 percent. The spending plan is now on its way to the Governor who has expressed opposition to the cuts. Metairie Representative Cameron Henry says the budget will identify what programs need to be funded with special session revenue.
But the Democratic Caucus opposed the passage of the budget, calling the cuts included immoral. They argued the legislature should wait until the special session, where revenue could be raised to fill the 648 million dollar budget gap to complete a budget. Caucus Chairman Robert Johnson:
Johnson says the budget passed is not feasible, and does not reflect a spending plan that the state could operate on.