A 14-3 vote in the House Transportation Committee has defeated a resolution aimed at reducing billboards in Louisiana. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”
A constitutional amendment is on it’s way to the House floor that would let Louisiana voters decided whether or not the state constitution protects abortion rights. The law would not outright ban abortion, and thus is unlikely to be challenged in federal court, but it may create a legal framework to outlaw the procedure if the US Supreme Court ever undid Roe vs. Wade.
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Lawmakers are seeking to bring back sales tax holidays. They were accidentally suspended for seven years when legislators crafted new tax laws last June. Monroe Representative Jay Morris’ measure would benefit consumers by reinstating a tax holiday for back to school shopping, hurricane preparedness and hunting supplies
Cut 6 (08) “…for the like.”
The school supply sales tax weekend would occur in August, hurricane preparedness would be in May and the second amendment sales tax weekend would take place in September.
The Senate Ag Committee approved and expanded a bill that would require “truth in labeling” for food products like Almond “milk”, “riced” cauliflower, and “sugar” substitutes. Louisiana rice industry representative Scott Franklin says the “substitute” industry is well aware that they are misleading the public, and they’d have trouble selling their product if it was labeled properly.
Cut 11 (12) “…here”

Campaign numbers for the 2019 governor’s race have been updated. Jeff Palermo looks at what the candidates are reporting…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo.”  

A Pineville man has been charged with 100 counts of first degree rape. On April 1^st, Rapides Parish Sheriff’s deputies received a complaint of possible criminal sexual conduct involving juveniles. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in the early 1970s and continued into the 80s. On April 9^th, the suspect, 71-year-old Harvey Joseph Fountain, was located and taken into custody. The investigation is on-going.

The Senate Ag Committee approved and expanded a bill that would require “truth in labeling” for food products like Almond “milk”, “riced” cauliflower, and “sugar” substitutes.
It’s legislation brought by Delhi Senator Francis Thompson who says while most of these “fake” products are not made in the Bayou State, they shouldn’t be outlawed, just forced to be upfront about what’s in the package.
Cut 10 (11) “…not true.”
Legislation has advanced to the House floor that seeks to lower auto insurance rates. Louisiana reportedly has the second-highest average auto insurance rates in the nation and River Ridge Representative Kirk Talbot says his bill would create a legal environment that would reduce the costs for insurance companies…
Cut 3 (11) “…costs up.”

The House Transportation Committee voted 14-3 to turn back an effort to prevent new highway billboards in Louisiana. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”

The Rapides Parish Sheriff’s office has charged 71-year-old Harvey Joseph Fountain of Pineville with 100 counts of first-degree rape as he is accused of criminal sexual conduct involving minors. Deputies say the allegations against Fountain date back to the early 1970s. A tip into the sheriff’s office on April 1st sparked the investigation.

Legislation is heading to the House floor that supporters of the bill say will help reduce auto insurance rates, because it would make changes to the state’s legal climate when it comes to crash payments and litgation. The House Civil Law committee approved the legislation on a five to two vote. Shreveport Representative Sam Jenkins voted against it, because he believes insurance companies can do more on their own to lower rates…
Cut 5 (10) “…that side”

And heading to the Senate floor is a bill that would require “truth in labeling” for food products like Almond “milk”, “riced” cauliflower, and “sugar” substitutes. Ag Commissioner Mike Strain says it’s the government’s job to keep advertisers honest and prevent products from tricking customers.
Cut 9 (11) “…responsibility”

The Senate ag committee approved legislation that would require truth in labeling for food products. It goes after products that label themselves as Soy milk or Almond milk, which is not really milk. Cauliflower rice is also getting more popular, but Louisiana Rice Industry representative Scott Franklin says it’s not rice…
cut 11 (12) “…here”
The legislation heads to the Senate floor for more discussion.

Heading to the House floor is legislation that brings back sales tax holidays for back to school shopping, hurricane preparedness supplies and hunting gear. Haughton Representative Dodie Horton says it’s something the public wants…
cut 8 (10) “…school uniforms”
The House Transportation committee slammed the breaks on a resolution pushed by Jonesboro Rep. Jack McFarland aimed at reducing the number of billboards on Louisiana roadways. Louisiana’s trucking industry backed the effort, because McFarland says ads for crash attorneys are impacting the cost of doing business for truckers.
Cut 12 (11) “…as we drive”
Supporters also say the number of billboards are distracting and take away from Louisiana’s scenery. But Shreveport Representative Barbara Norton says placing a moratorium on billboards is the wrong way to address clutter…
cut 14 (13) “…not doing that”
The legislation was killed on a 14-to-3 vote.

The Senate Ag Committee approved and expanded a bill that would require “truth in labeling” for food products like Almond “milk”, “riced” cauliflower, and “sugar” substitutes.
It’s legislation brought by Delhi Senator Francis Thompson who says while most of these “fake” products are not made in the Bayou State, they shouldn’t be outlawed, just forced to be upfront about what’s in the package.
Cut 10 (11) “…not true.”
Legislation has advanced to the House floor that seeks to lower auto insurance rates. Louisiana reportedly has the second-highest average auto insurance rates in the nation and River Ridge Representative Kirk Talbot says his bill would create a legal environment that would reduce the costs for insurance companies…
Cut 3 (11) “…costs up.”
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Lawmakers are seeking to bring back sales tax holidays. They were accidentally suspended for seven years when legislators crafted new tax laws last June. The school supply sales tax weekend would occur in August, hurricane preparedness would be in May and the second amendment sales tax weekend would take place in September. Monroe Representative Jay Morris says businesses also like the sales tax holidays…
Cut 7 (12) “…out of state.”
The latest results from the 2019 Louisiana Survey show 70 percent support the state’s criminal justice reforms championed by Governor Edwards and passed by bipartisan majorities in the legislature.

The Senate Ag Committee approved and expanded a bill that would require “truth in labeling” for food products like Almond “milk”, “riced” cauliflower, and “sugar” substitutes.
Ag Commissioner Mike Strain says it’s the governments job to keep advertisers honest, and prevent misleading products from tricking customers.
Cut 9, 11 seconds, responsibility
Legislation has advanced to the House floor that seeks to lower auto insurance rates. Louisiana reportedly has the second-highest average auto insurance rates in the nation and River Ridge Representative Kirk Talbot says his bill would would lower the state’s threshold for requiring a civil trial to $5,000 from the current $50,000, take away the ability to sue an insurance company directly and extend the time limit to file a suit from one year to two…
Cut 4 (07) “…drive costs down”

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Campaign numbers for the 2019 governor’s race have been updated. Jeff Palermo looks at what the candidates are reporting…
Cut 2 (31) “I’m Jeff Palermo.”
Fundraising efforts are beginning to spread to help the three historically black churches that were torched in St. Landry Parish get back on their feet. A GoFundMe has raised 50,000 dollars of a 1.8 million dollar goal, Iberia Bank has promised to match donations up to 50,000 dollars along with an initial 6,000 dollar donation, and former Saints tight end Ben Watson has hit the trail to assist in fundraising efforts.

Today at the Capitol, lawmakers will be faced with a crucial question… just what exactly counts as milk? Matt Doyle has the story.

 Cut 1 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”

A Pineville man has been charged with 100 counts of first-degree rape. On April 1^st, Rapides Parish Sheriff’s deputies received a complaint of possible criminal sexual conduct involving juveniles. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in the early 1970s and continued into the 80s. On April 9^th, the suspect, 71-year-old Harvey Joseph Fountain, was located and taken into custody. The investigation is on-going.

Lawmakers are seeking to bring back sales tax holidays. They were accidentally suspended for seven years when legislators crafted new tax laws last June. Monroe Representative Jay Morris’ measure would benefit consumers by reinstating a tax holiday for back to school shopping, hurricane preparedness, and hunting supplies

Cut 6 (08) “…for the like.”

The school supply sales tax weekend would occur in August, hurricane preparedness would be in May and the second amendment sales tax weekend would take place in September.

The newspaper the Advocate that covers Acadiana, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting of Louisiana’s law that allowed non-unanimous jury verdict for felony cases. Advocate President Judi Terzotis says the staff put in tremendous amounts of effort to achieve the award.

Cut 13 (11) “…the Washington Post.”