Governor Landry is backing legislation that would result stricter advertising standards for personal injury attorneys, but is the proposed law constitutional. Sean Richardson spoke with a legal expert…
Cut 1 (27) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”
_____________________________________________
The House Ways and Means Committee rejected a proposal to increase tax on tobacco cigarettes, but that same panel approves a state tax hike on vape products and e-cigarettes. Colleen Crain has more.
Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Colleen Crain.”
____________________________________________
A bill to ban speed cameras in Louisiana advances to the full Senate. If passed, prosecutors would be allowed to file malfeasance charges against government officials in cities that use them. Andrew Greenstein reports.
Cut 3 (33) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
______________________________________________________
The House Commerce Committee will soon consider a bill by Mandeville Republican Kim Carver to tighten rules on personal injury attorney advertising. Supporters, including Governor Landry, say it will reduce frivolous lawsuits and lower auto insurance costs. But critics, including LSU media law professor Will Mari, argue that the U-S Supreme Court has already weighed in on previous efforts.
Cut 4 (11) “…First Amendment protection.”
Mari notes that Louisiana already enforces stricter advertising rules than many states and calls HB430 largely redundant.
The bill also prohibits the use of slogans, and Mari says this is a red herring and says it would be like restricting restaurants from using catchphrases.
Cut 6 (08) “…hard to justify.”
______________________________________________________
The House Ways and Means Committee approves legislation to increase the state tax on vapes and e-cigarettes, but the same panel did not approve a bill to increase Louisiana’s tax on tobacco cigarettes. The vote against the cigarette tax hike was 7-to-4. But Vacherie Representative Ken Brass’s legislation to raise the tax on vapes and e-cigarettes passed on a 9-to-6 vote. Brass says a higher tax will result in a drop in usage for these harmful products.
Cut 7 (07) “…health care costs.”
Democrats on the committee voted for Brass’s bill, while Republicans were split. Bossier City Representative Dennis Hamburg knows there’s a large percentage of teens smoking vapes and e-cigarettes and if it costs more, it can reduce the percentage of minors using these products.
A representative from the American Lung Association testified and said one out of four middle school students and one out of three high school students are using tobacco products and a majority are vaping. Eric Weinzettle says for every ten-percent increase in prices, consumption will drop 13 to 22 percent among youth.
But Mandeville Representative Jay Galle’ is not a believer in those statistics.
Galle’ says if the sales tax is increased, he anticipates teenagers finding other ways to get their hands on vaping products.
Brass’s legislation could have a hearing in front of House Appropriations, before a vote on the House floor. It will take a two-thirds vote for the measure to advance to the Senate.
_______________________________________________________________
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously advances a bill that would do away with speed cameras in Louisiana. Under current law, all municipalities that use speed enforcement cameras in school zones need to have an agreement in place on how money collected would be split. However, the bill’s author, Monroe Republican Stewart Cathey, says some cities and towns are operating those cameras without such agreements. He told the committee that the speed cameras are nothing but a money grab.
Cut 11 (13) “…premium taxes combined.”
Cathey says one village’s revenue illustrates that point.
Cut 12 (15) “…from these things.”
Cathey says an unscientific study found that speed cameras were less popular than herpes. And he says it’s not just the general public that doesn’t like them – many local lawmakers aren’t too thrilled with them either.
Cut 13 (11) “…it doesn’t matter.”
If passed and signed into law, people in city government could be charged with malfeasance in office for allowing for the operation of speed cameras in their cities. The bill now advances to the full Senate.
_______________________________________________________________
The new secretary for the Louisiana Department of Health is actually a former secretary of that department. Bruce Greenstein (GREEN-steen) had previously served as LDH secretary from 2010 to 2013, during Bobby Jindal’s administration. During that time, he was indicted with lying to a grand jury under oath about his alleged involvement in the awarding of a cancelled Medicaid contract with his previous employer, Maryland-based CNSI, worth 200-million dollars. During a news conference on his first day back on the job, Greenstein was asked about the indictment, which was eventually dismissed.
Cut 14 (06) “…just simply accusations.”
The charges were dropped in 2015 by Jeff Landry, who at that time had just been elected Louisiana attorney general.
Cut 15 (08) “…it was dropped.”
CNSI sued Louisiana after the state cancelled the contract in 2013. It was settled three years later under the governorship of John Bel Edwards. Greenstein says he had nothing to do with the civil suit.
Cut 16 (05) “…from either side.”
______________________________________________________
The Pelicans formally introduce Joe Dumars as their new executive vice president of basketball operations. During his introductory news conference yesterday afternoon, Dumars said the only specific mandate he got from Owner Gayle Benson is to build a winner.
Cut 17 (16) “…nothing like that.”
Dumars played 14 seasons with the Detroit Pistons, winning two world championships, and he’s in the Basketball Hall of Fame. After his playing career, he spent another 14 seasons as an executive with the Pistons, building the team that won the 2004 championship. He then spent three seasons in the Sacramento Kings’ front office before moving to the league office three years ago. Dumars says a lot has changed in the game since his Pistons won the title 21 years ago.
Cut 18 (15) “…into something new.”
This past season, the Pelicans were ravaged with injuries, with the team losing almost 400 man games to injury. In fact, there wasn’t a single game all season long in which Head Coach Willie Green was able to assemble his best roster. Dumars says he wants to get to the bottom of the team’s injury troubles.