After 850 nursing home patients were evacuated to a warehouse in Tangipahoa Parish during Hurricane Ida, resulting in more than a dozen deaths, legislation to give the state more oversite powers have been proposed in this session. Baton Rouge Representative Barry Ivey asked if the legislation requires nursing homes to show proof of the ability to execute approved evacuation plans, for example, their finances and contracts for supplies. The bill’s author, Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds, welcomed Ivey’s input on the legislation.

Cut 5 (06) “…sir, thank you.”

HB 291 passed in the House with only one vote in opposition. There’s also Senate legislation that charges the State Fire Marshal’s Office with inspection of evacuation plans.

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The numbers on COVID infections in Louisiana are very encouraging. The latest figures show only 38 patients hospitalized statewide, with not a single patient currently on a chemical ventilator. LDH says vaccinations remain the best protection from COVID, and those who haven’t gotten their booster should do so.

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The Louisiana Senate has overwhelmingly approved legislation that would criminalize the act of prescribing, distributing, or administrating abortion pills without an in-person visit with a licensed doctor. Slidell Senator Sharon Hewitt says her legislation would apply criminal penalties to the distributor of the abortion pill, not the pregnant woman…

Cut 11 (12) “…abortion industry”

The bill moves to the House for its consideration.

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Baton Rouge Senator Regina Barrow will not move forward with a bill that would give judges the authority to sentence a convicted sex offender to surgical castration if the victim is under the age of 13. Barrow says she’ll study the issue and plans to file a surgical castration bill for child rapists next year. Baton Rouge area Senator Bodi White says he’s watched video that sex crime prosecutors have where young children are raped and he can’t wait to vote for this legislation…

Cut 14 (09) “…threw up.”

After 850 nursing home patients were evacuated to a warehouse in Tangipahoa Parish during Hurricane Ida, resulting in more than a dozen deaths, legislation to give the state more oversite powers has been proposed in this session.  House Bill 291 gives LDH the ability to reject questionable evacuation plans. Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds says Health and Welfare members repeatedly asked who approved a plan to evacuate patients to a warehouse where patients’ bedding consisted of mattresses on the floor.

Cut 4 (09) “…and rejected.”

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The numbers on COVID in Louisiana are very encouraging. The latest figures show only 38 patients hospitalized statewide, with not a single patient currently on a chemical ventilator. State Health Officer, Dr. Joe Kanter likes what he sees.

Cut 6 (06) “…this pandemic.”

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The Louisiana Senate has overwhelmingly approved legislation that would criminalize the act of prescribing, distributing, or administrating abortion pills without an in-person visit with a licensed doctor. Slidell Senator Sharon Hewitt says businesses located out of the state and the United States are selling abortion pills online and mailing them to women in Louisiana for them to take at home without physician oversight…

Cut 10 (10) “…for women”

The bill moves to the House for its consideration.

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Baton Rouge Senator Regina Barrow will not move forward with a bill that would give judges the authority to sentence a convicted sex offender to surgical castration if the victim is under the age of 13. Morgan Lamandre is the legal director for a group called sexual trauma awareness and response. Lamandre told the Senate Judiciary C Committee that surgical castration does not serve as a deterrent…

Cut 13 (11) “…more deadly.”

After 850 nursing home patients were evacuated to a warehouse in Tangipahoa Parish during Hurricane Ida, legislation to give the state more oversite powers have been proposed this session. Baton Rouge Representative Rick Edmonds’s bill overwhelmingly passed in the House.

Cut 3 approve the plan :10

In the Senate there’s a bill charging the State Fire Marshal’s Office with inspection of evacuation plans.

The Senate overwhelmingly approves legislation to criminalize the act of prescribing, distributing, or administrating abortion pills without an in-person visit with a licensed doctor. Bill author, Slidell Senator Sharon Hewitt says current law prohibiting such activity is unclear…

Cut 9 (12) “…in Louisiana.”

The bill moves to the House.

The House approves a bill requiring insurers that offer loss of use of coverage to provide two weeks of expenses to policyholders even if a mandatory evacuation isn’t called. The legislation is in response to Ida which rapidly intensified and didn’t allow for a mandatory evacuation, Metairie Representative Laurie Schlegel’s bill keeps them from denying such coverage in the future.

Cut 13 (10) “…(x2) be triggered”

A bill heading to the House floor would make it illegal under state law to refuse to rent or sell housing to a person because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Metairie Republican Representative Polly Thomas questions the need when it’s already illegal under federal law…

cut 5 (12) “….to be adequate”

The House approves a bill requiring insurers that offer loss of use of coverage to provide two weeks of evacuation living expenses to policyholders even if a mandatory evacuation is not called. Some companies did not pay expenses due to technicality over evacuations with Ida. Pollock Representative Gabe Firment worries that one area of the state could impact insurance rates in other parts.

Cut 14 (10)  “…and Monroe.”

Kenner Representative Joseph Stagni informed him it doesn’t create new coverage it only forces an insurance company to pay expenses of those who have the coverage.

A proposal to double the speeding fines on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge is heading to the Senate floor after it received approval from Senate Finance. Senate President Page Cortez’s legislation needed Finance approval due to the expense of additional speed limit signs and cameras to issue tickets…
Cut 11 (04) “…speed limit.”

A New Orleans wrestler becomes the first high-school athlete in the state to sign a deal for his name, image, and likeness. David Grubb has more…

Cut 2 (35) “…I’m David Grubb.” 

The Pelicans are hoping for another win tonight in Game Five of the playoff series. The Pels are in Phoenix and tipoff is at 9 PM, so fans might want to work in a nap today. The series is tied at two and two and game six on Thursday returns to New Orleans.

A bill to prohibit housing discrimination based on one’s gender identity or sexual orientation advances from House Commerce. A motion was made to kill the bill and it received a terse response from New Orleans Democrat Rep. Royce Duplessis, who pointed out that not one person who filed an opposition “red card” chose to come to committee and testify against the bill.

Cut 6 (09)  “…you can kill a bill.”

The bill now goes to the House floor.

Senate Finance approves legislation to double the speeding fines on the I-10 Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. Senate President Page Cortez wants to use cameras to issue speeding tickets based on how fast it takes a vehicle to get from one end to the other…

Cut 10 (05) “…the exits.”

The speed limit is 60 on the 18-mile bridge and vehicles that make it across faster than 18 minutes could receive a ticket in the mail.

The House approves a bill requiring insurers that offer loss of use of coverage to provide two weeks of evacuation living expenses to policyholders even if a mandatory evacuation is not called. The legislation is in response to Hurricane Ida which rapidly intensified and didn’t allow for a mandatory evacuation. Metairie Representative Laurie Schlegel’s bill will keep insurance companies from denying such coverage in the future.

Cut 13 (10) “…(x2) be triggered”

Brother Martin High School wrestler Richie Clementi is one of the best in the state and the New Orleans freshman just signed a four-figure name, image and likeness deal. His father Rich Clementi believes more student-athletes may be able to stick with sports like wrestling now because financial support is available.

Cut 9 (12)  “…overall process.”

The Louisiana House approves legislation that would require insurers to cover evacuation expenses, even if a mandatory evacuation order was not issued. Brooke Thorington has more…
cut 3 (34) “…..I’m Brooke Thorington’

That bill heads to the Senate for more consideration.

The number of COVID patients in the hospital is down to 38 and there’s only one COVID patient in Louisiana on a ventilator. Both of these are new lows for the pandemic. The state reported six more COVID deaths bringing the death toll to 17,229.

A House bill to make it illegal to refuse to rent or sell housing to a person based on gender identity or sexual orientation advanced out of the House Commerce Committee Monday. New Orleans Democrat Representative Aimee Freeman says her legislation mirrors existing federal law…:
Cut 4 (11) “…with federal law.”
There was a motion to defer the bill, but it failed and the measure made it out of the House committee without objection.

A proposal to double the fines on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge is heading to the Senate floor after it received approval from the Senate Finance Committee. Senate President Page Cortez’s legislation needed Senate Finance approval because it will cost the state to put up additional speed limit signs and cameras to issue tickets…
Cut 11 (12) “…off of it.”

The Louisiana House has approved legislation requiring insurance companies to cover evacuation expenses. This was an issue following Hurricane Ida as State Farm refused to cover the evacuation costs of its policyholders. Kenner Representative Joseph Stagni says he received numerous calls from constituents who were denied such expenses…
cut 15 (10) “…that is needed”
The bill passed on a 68-31 vote and heads to the Senate for further consideration.

A bill heading to the House floor would make it illegal under state law to refuse to rent or sell housing to a person because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Metairie Republican Representative Polly Thomas questions the need, when housing discrimination against LGBTQ individuals is already illegal under federal law…
cut 5 (12) “….to be adequate”

The Senate Finance Committee approves legislation that would double the fine for speeding on the I-10 Atchafalaya Basin Bridge between Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Senate President Page Cortez is seeking lawmakers’ approval to use cameras to issue speeding tickets based on how fast it takes a vehicle to get from one end to the other…
Cut 10 (05) “…the exits.”
The speed limit on the 18-mile bridge is 60 miles per hour for cars so vehicles that make it across the bridge faster than 18 minutes could receive a speeding ticket in the mail.

According to MatchPoint Connection, Brother Martin state champion wrestler Richie Clementi is the first Louisiana High School athlete to sign a name, image and likeness deal. It’s with Friendly Powersports Slidell and the undefeated wrestler says the endorsement deal allows him to concentrate on his sport…
cut 8 (12) “…..at tournaments”
Clementi says there’s the potential he signs multiple NIL deals.

A bill to prohibit discrimination in housing based on gender identity & gender preference advances out of the House Commerce Committee…
Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

Multiple reports say former state lawmaker and Louisiana Congressman Cedric Richmond is leaving his job as a top adviser to President Joe Biden. Richmond is the director of the White House’s Office of Public Engagement and is reportedly set to become a strategist for the Democratic National Committee.

Legislation that would double the fines for speeding on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge continues to make its way through the state Senate. The Senate Finance Committee approved the bill, as the legislation would use cameras to write speeding tickets and rely less on officers. Shreveport Senator Barry Milligan says one of his friends who was a police officer was killed after stopping a motorist on the bridge…
Cut 12 (11) “…the bill.”
The measure heads to the full Senate.

Brother Martin’s Richie Clementi is an elite high school wrestler and only a freshman. Clementi is 80-0 over the past two years, including winning the state championship in his weight class. Now, he’s the first high school athlete in Louisiana to sign a deal to compensate him for his name, image, and likeness.
Cut 7 (06) “…these deals.”
Clementi signed a four-figure deal with Friendly Powersports Slidell.