New Orleans Senator Wesley Bishop is co-sponsoring a bill that would create a plan to better assist pregnant high school students. Halen Doughty has more…
CUT 1 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”
______________________________________
A north Louisiana lawmaker introduces the Pastor Protection Act which will be debated during the regular legislative session. Emelie Gunn has more…
______________________________________
The bill to raise the state’s sales tax by a penny has been signed into law by the governor, and it will take effect April 1. Jeff Palermo has more…
______________________________________
New Orleans Senator Wesley Bishop has filed a bill that will develop a plan to better support students who are expecting or parenting a child while in high school. He says it would establish the Louisiana Expectant and Parenting Students Act…:
Bishop says the number one cause of females dropping out of high school is pregnancy. He says the ultimate goal is to help keep students in school while pregnant and following birth…:
Bishop says pregnant girls have a harder time catching up in school when they have to miss classes for doctor’s appointments. He says the boys involved are also affected if they have to get jobs or take on additional hours to support the child and he’d like to see them have more help…:
Cut 6 (05) “this particular challenge”
_________________________________________________________
A bill has been introduced in the current regular legislative session to allow a religious organization or clergy member to refuse participation in a same sex marriage. Author of the Pastor Protection Act, Bossier City Representative Mike Johnson, says the bill simply protects an individual’s religious belief.
Johnson says we’re seeing courts and public officials around the country beginning to trample on the first amendment right of freedom of religion. He says this legislation is needed to ensure protection from the government.
Johnson expects this legislation to get a hearing within the next few weeks. It’s expected to receive opposition from lesbian and gay rights groups. He says other states already have a similar law and he’s optimistic about it passing here.
______________________________________
Schools in the LHSAA are not satisfied with the current state of affairs in Louisiana, so Paul Rainwater and others are proposing a new option, the Louisiana High School Sports Cooperative. Rainwater says it will take 60 schools’ commitments to form a new organization, which would be open to both public and private schools. He says this group would not have annual feels, outside of the initial fee to join.
Rainwater would be the Executive Director of the newly formed LHSSC. He says they are looking into the option of holding many of their championship events at LSU.
Rainwater says the LHSSC could be in place for the 2016-2017 school year, if things go smoothly. He says they have extended the offer to schools throughout the state. Rainwater says, at the end of the day, it’s all for the kids.
_________________________________________________________
The governor has signed into law a bill that raises the state sales tax by a penny beginning April 1. Gina Rachel, Treasurer for the Society of Louisiana CPAs, says people who are planning to make a big purchase might want to do it before the higher tax takes effect.
Rachel says some things like food for home consumption, gas, and prescription meds are still excluded from the state’s sales tax. She says shoppers will probably not even notice the increase when they make ordinary purchases.
Cut 14 (06) “additional penny”
Rachel says the legislature has also temporarily ended the sales tax exemptions companies received for utilities and equipment. She says this legislation will have a greater impact on businesses and they’ll have to figure out how this will affect them.