Governor John Bel Edwards laid out his legislative agenda to lawmakers on the first day of the 2019 legislative session. Edwards spoke for nearly 40 minutes during a joint session of the House and Senate and said his top priority is to give teachers a one-thousand dollar increase in pay…
cut 11 (06) “…teachers deserve more”
Edwards is also seeking a 500-dollar increase in pay for school support workers and he wants to see more money put into the classroom, increasing the public school education budget for just the second time in the last 10 years.
But House Education Chairman Nancy Landry is not on board with that proposal….
cut 15 (10) “…urgency there”
Landry says she’d rather see an increase in funding for early childhood education.

Congressman Clay Higgins didn’t hold back in a video filmed just steps away from the charred remains of the St. Mary Baptist Church.
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”

A Houma man is facing one count of second-degree murder and several other charges for allegedly setting fire to a person’s vehicle and the blaze spread to the victim’s home and upstairs unit of a two-story garage. State Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says 37-year-old David Mason has been booked for the March 31st incident.
Cut 4 (09) “…of criminal conspiracy.”

The 2019 legislative session is underway at the State Capitol. Since it is a fiscal session, lawmakers can debate tax bills and there is a proposal to increase the state’s gasoline tax. Americans for Prosperity State Director John Kay helped defeat a similar proposal in 2017 and he says anti-tax crusaders will be back to stop this year’s push…
cut 11 (11) “…enough”

There is widespread support to give teachers a one-thousand dollar pay raise. And Republicans also want to allocate more money for early childhood education. House Education Chairman Nancy Landry says additional dollars would help working families pay for high quality daycare…
cut 16 (10) “….critical time period”
The session will conclude in early June.

Southwest Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins has released a video message for the person or persons that have set fire to three historically black churches in St. Landry Parish….
cut 7 (10) “….or the other”
The three fires are considered suspicious, but investigators have stopped just short of saying the fires are linked. The F-B-I is now assisting in the investigation.

Back to the legislative session, lawmakers will need to set up the rules for Louisiana residents to participate in online fantasy sports betting. Voters in 47 of the 64 parishes have voted to allow fantasy sports betting in their parish, but River Ridge Representative Kirk Talbot says the legislation that needs approval would include geo fencing, so that players can’t play fantasy online sports in parishes that voted against it…
cut 9 (10) “…kings”

There was no holding back for Congressman Clay Higgins as he released a video message aimed at those responsible for the recent fires that destroyed three historically black churches in St. Landry Parish. The FBI has recently announced they are joining in on the investigation. Higgins says the punishment will be severe.
Cut 6 (07) “…of the law.”
Higgins filmed the video just steps away from the charred remains of the St. Mary Baptist Church.
A Houma man is in jail after an investigation by State Fire Marshal deputies and the Houma Police Department into a vehicle fire that left one man dead. Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says 37-year-old David Mason is accused of intentionally setting the blaze.
Cut 3 (10) “…families were asleep.”
___________________________________
Last fall voters in 47 out of 64 parishes approved online fantasy sports betting, and now lawmakers are tasked with figuring out how to regulate the game in the session that kicks off today.
River Ridge Representative Kirk Talbot says they plan on copying the laws passed in other states, but are considering one change…
Cut 8 (07) “ sports”
Talbot says the legislation will include “geo fencing” that tracks a users location, and blocks their access to the game once they cross into one of the 17 that denied legalization.
Fleetwood Mac has canceled their May 2nd appearance at Jazz Fest. the 70s pop stars were filling in for the Rolling Stones, who had previously cancled.

The 2019 legislative session gets underway at noon. It was very contentious at the State Capitol last year as lawmakers struggled to pass a budget, because of a huge deficit. This year the budget is in better shape, but political analyst Bernie Pinsonat doesn’t expect the process of approving a new budget will go smoothly…
Cut 7 (11) “…should be cut”
One of the focal points of the legislative session is pay raises for teachers and school support staff. House Education Chairman Nancy Landry expects the pay hikes to go through, because there is bipartisan agreement that teachers do not get enough.
Cut 14 (11) “…right now.”
Landry says she’ll also look to increase state funding for early childhood education.

A Houma man is in jail after an investigation by State Fire Marshal deputies and the Houma Police Department into a vehicle fire that left one man dead.  Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says 37-year-old David Mason is accused of intentionally setting the blaze and now faces a litany of charges following the March 31^st incident.

Cut 4 (09) “…of criminal conspiracy.”

The investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are expected.
There was no holding back for Congressman Clay Higgins as he released a video message aimed at those responsible for the recent fires that destroyed three historically black churches in St. Landry Parish.  Higgins filmed the video just steps away from the charred remains of the St. Mary Baptist Church says the responsible party has succumbed to evil and will be caught.

Cut 5 (13) “…will be caught.”

The FBI has recently announced they are joining in on the investigation.

The 2019 legislative session gets underway today and since its a fiscal session, lawmakers can propose tax increases. There is a bill to increase the state’s gasoline tax, but it faces opposition from anti-tax groups like the Americans for Prosperity. State Director John Kay says before the state considers a higher gasoline tax, it should dedicate the current 20-cent gas tax completely to infrastructure and not use a portion to pay for salaries within the transportation department…
Cut 12 (10) “…just that″

Legalizing sports betting and a proposal to extend Harrah’s New Orleans Casino’s land license for another 30 years will also be hotly debated. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat…
Cut 8 (06) “…districts”
The session gets underway after noon today.

A Houma man is in jail after an investigation by State Fire Marshal deputies and the Houma Police Department into a vehicle fire that killed a man. Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says David Mason is accused of intentionally setting the blaze that resulted in the death of 39-year-old Wayne Winter, Jr.
Cut 3 (10) “…families were asleep.”
Rodrigue says Mason now faces a litany of charges following the March 31st incident.

The Louisiana Health Department has selected Asegua Therapeutics to provide the state with medication to treat Medicaid patients and prisoners who have hepatitis C. L-D-H Secretary Rebekah Gee says Asegua’s medication has an overall cure rate of 98-percent across all six main types of Hep C…
cut 5 (09) “…we can”
And Gee says less than three percent of Medicaid patients with Hep C were treated last year.

Lawmakers return to Baton Rouge today for a two-month legislative session with a statewide election right around the corner. Matt Doyle has the story…
Voicer 1 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle.”

There will be several hot topics up for discussion during this legislative session. They include a stronger restriction against an abortion, legalized sports betting, legalizing recreational use of marijuana, banning hand held cell phones while driving, raising the legal age to smoke and abolishing the death penalty.
A proposal to raise the gas tax to fund bridge and road repair and expansion is shaping up to have a heated debate. Louisiana Coalition to Fix Our Roads President Erich Ponti backs the proposal to raise the tax by six cents in the first year, and 18 cents total over 10 years.
Cut 10 (12) “…these projects”
But many are skeptical tax increase proposals will pass during an election year.

One of the focal points of the legislative session is pay raises for teachers and school support staff. House Education Chairman Nancy Landry expects the pay hikes to go through, because there is bipartisan agreement that teachers do not get enough.
Cut 14 (11) “…right now.”
Landry says she’ll also look to increase state funding for early childhood education.

The 2019 legislative session begins today at the State Capitol. Since it is a fiscal session that means lawmakers can debate tax issues and there is a bill to increase the state’s gasoline tax. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says the proposal by Baton Rouge Representative Steve Carter will start its legislative process in the lower chamber…
cut 9 (10) “….pass the Senate”
Americans for Prosperity State Director John Kay opposed a similar proposal in 2017 that failed to gain momentum and he says anti-tax crusaders will be back to stop this year’s push as well…
cut 11 (11) “…enought”
The session will gavel in at noon today and Governor Edwards will speak to legislators at 1 PM.

In the legislative session there seems to be widespread support to give teachers a one-thousand dollar pay raise. And Republicans want to see more money go towards early childhood education. House Education Chairman Nancy Landry says additional dollars would help working families pay for high quality daycare…
cut 16 (10) “….critical time period”

Louisiana’s supply of Hepatits C medication is about to drastically increase as the Louisiana Department of Health finalized a first in the nation deal with Asegua Therapeutics for “subscription model” access to the lifesaving treatment. LDH Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee says before the new arrangement, thousands of Hep C sufferers went untreated.
Cut 4 (10) “…drug.”
The “subscription model” will pay Asegua a flat fee every year for unlimited access to the medication roughly equal to the amount the state previously paid when ordering “a la carte”.

The 2019 legislative session gets underway at noon. It was very contentious at the State Capitol last year as lawmakers struggled to pass a budget, because of a huge deficit. This year the budget is in better shape, but political analyst Bernie Pinsonat doesn’t expect the process of approving a new budget will go smoothly…
Cut 7 (11) “…should be cut”
Governor John Bel Edwards supports an additional 39-million dollars in public school education funding. But House Education Chairman Nancy Landry is not on board with that proposal….
cut 15 (10) “…urgency there”
Landry says she’d rather see an increase in funding for early childhood education.

A bill that would raise the gas tax has advocates mobilizing for a legislative battle over the future of Louisiana’s roads and bridges. Matt Doyle has more.
Voicer 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

The state revenue department says they are collecting more revenue from internet sales tax collections as more remote sellers are voluntarily complying. From October to December, the state received one-point-four million dollars in online sales tax collections, double from the previous quarter.