www.thecentersquare.com – By Emilee Calametti | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-05-12 15:49:00
House Bill 660, proposing to increase trailer registration fees for truckers in Louisiana, advanced in the House Committee on Transportation, Highways, and Public Works. The bill would raise fees for trailers from $10 to $15 and light trailers from $3 to $4.50 annually. Despite concerns about increased costs for truckers, sponsors argue the hike is necessary due to inflation and to fund rural road maintenance, as funds haven’t increased since 2002. The bill passed with six in favor and three opposed but was recommitted to the appropriations committee due to financial considerations. Opponents prefer broader funding like a gas tax.
(The Center Square) — A bill that could increase trailer registration fees for truckers advanced in the House Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works on Monday.
House Bill 660 would raise registration fees for trailers and sub-trailers from $10 to $15, and light trailers would increase from $3 to $4.50 per year.
The bill advanced, but due to a fiscal note, has been recommitted to the appropriations committee.
Despite the bill being advanced, opposition was strident about keeping costs down for truckers.
According to the bill sponsors, the increase is needed to keep up with inflation and the cost of maintenance when it comes to upkeep on rural roads.
“I understand that we do need the funds. I do understand that the issue at hand is the revenue that comes in, but at this time, I cannot go along with this increase… These people are hurting, and it’s just no way that I can go along with this,” said Rep. Rodney Schamerhorn, R-Hornbeck.
New Orleans Democrats Rep. Delisha Boyd and Sen. Gary Carter introduced the bill. Carter clarified in the meeting the importance of the increase despite cost concerns.
“We haven’t increased it since 2002, so you think about just ordinary inflation, then you think about the extraordinary inflation that we have,” said Carter.
According to Boyd, these are the only funds dedicated to maintaining rural roads. She also said the increase is annual.
“I don’t think it gets any plainer that we need maintenance support, Rep. Tammy Phelps, D-Shreveport, said during discussion. “If we keep pushing the can down the road, when it just comes to all of our roads, like we have before, we won’t have any roads to maintain.”
A representative from the Louisiana Motor Transport Association spoke in opposition to the bill, noting to Phelps that many truckers support a gas tax that spreads across everybody instead of affecting only truckers.
“Just in the last 18 months or so, the state of Louisiana has had to put millions of dollars, I believe it’s 10 or so million, into state general funds in order to keep up with the maintenance and cost that this particular fund can handle,” said Carter.
HB660 was advanced with six in favor and three opposed during Monday’s meeting.
Emilee Ruth Calametti currently serves as Staff Reporter for The Center Square covering the Northwestern Louisiana region. She holds her M.A. in English from Georgia State University and an additional M.A. in Journalism from New York University. Her articles have been featured in DIG Magazine, Houstonia Magazine, Bookstr, inRegister, EntertainmentNOW, AOL, MSN, and more. She is a Louisiana native with over seven years of journalism experience.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article reports on House Bill 660 and presents the positions of both supporters and opponents in a balanced way without promoting a particular ideological viewpoint. It cites representatives from both parties, provides factual information about the bill’s content, and includes direct quotes reflecting different perspectives on the issue of trailer registration fee increases. The tone is neutral and focuses on the legislative process and the fiscal context rather than advocating for or against the bill, indicating adherence to neutral, factual reporting rather than an ideological stance.
The Louisiana House leadership added $198 million to its budget plan to maintain teacher pay stipends for the 2025-26 school year, avoiding cuts after a March constitutional amendment failed. Teachers and support staff are set to receive $2,000 and $1,000 stipends, respectively. Funds were secured by delaying $92 million in state purchases, early retirement debt payments, cutting a tutoring program, a hiring freeze, and trimming Medicaid rolls. Additional funding supports domestic violence shelters and home assistance for seniors. However, this solution is temporary, and lawmakers aim to propose simpler ballot measures next year to fund permanent teacher salary increases.
The Louisiana House of Representatives leadership added money to its state budget proposal to avoid a public school teacher pay cut that was expected after a March constitutional failed to pass.
The House Appropriations Committee approved a budget plan Monday that contains $198 million to cover stipends for K-12 school teachers and school support staff. They are in line to receive $2,000 and $1,000, respectively, in the 2025-26 academic year.
House leaders found the money by delaying $92 million worth of government acquisitions, including the purchase of new state vehicles and equipment, for another year. Legislators also proposed paying off retirement debt for Louisiana State Police troopers early, resulting in an additional $25.5 million in savings that would be used to cover the teacher stipends.
House leadership will also sideline a “high-dosage” tutoring program for public school students that was put in place after the COVID-19 pandemic to find another $30 million for the stipend.
Their strategy also relies on a temporary state government hiring freeze and the elimination of state employee “work from home” benefits to produce at least $20 million in savings.
The Louisiana Department of Health would also lose $26.3 million in state funding under the House leadership plan. These savings will be achieved, in part, by removing people from Medicaid who have moved out of Louisiana or otherwise don’t qualify for the government health insurance.
The health department has recently started to check its Medicaid enrollment information against the state’s Office of Motor Vehicle database in order to cut coverage for people who no longer live in Louisiana.
The state also conducted an extensive Medicaid enrollment check during most of last year as part of a national effort to reduce Medicaid bloat from the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s unclear how much the ongoing OMV review will cover the same ground.
In addition to the teachers’ stipend, the House leadership also added funding to avoid cuts to domestic violence shelters and advocacy centers that provide services to children who are victims of crime. They also added approximately 750 more slots for seniors and people with disabilities to receive home assistance as well as tens of millions of dollars worth of lawmakers’ pet projects.
Teachers have been at risk of losing their pay stipend – given out the past two years instead of a permanent salary increase – after voters rejected a state constitutional amendment March that the governor pushed.
The amendment would have made dozens of changes to Louisiana’s tax and budget structure, a few of which were expected to produce enough savings to make the stipend a permanent part of teachers’ salaries. Nearly two-thirds of voters balked at the overall proposal, however, deeming it too complicated.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, said the majority of House members have told him in recent weeks that they wanted to find a way to keep the teacher stipend in place this year.
The leader of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the state’s largest teacher union, was encouraged by the budget change.
“We think this is a good first step,” LFT president Larry Carter said in an interview.
The solution is temporary, however. All of the funding McFarland has proposed to cover teacher stipends won’t be available again next year.
House leaders are hoping the stipend won’t be needed in 2026 because the state will have the resources to offer teachers and support staff permanent salary increases. They are pushing to put several segments of the amendment that failed in March back on the ballot next spring as simpler, individual ballot items. They include the constitutional changes needed to free up money for the teacher salary bump equivalent to the current stipend.
The Louisiana House is scheduled to vote on the budget proposal Thursday. The Senate will then take up the proposal, and the two sides must reach an agreement on the funding plan by June 12.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The content presents a balanced, factual reporting of the Louisiana House’s budget decisions, focusing on specific amendments, proposed funding for education, and other state programs. While it includes insights from various stakeholders, including a teacher union leader, it leans slightly toward the center-right due to the mention of Republican lawmakers’ stances and Gov. Jeff Landry’s priorities regarding private school vouchers. The content does not overtly promote a partisan ideology but presents the facts in a way that may resonate more with readers sympathetic to conservative fiscal policies and education reforms.
SUMMARY: Today in New Orleans is mild and comfortable with temperatures in the 70s and low humidity. Clouds are present but the weather feels pleasant. A few small showers are noted south of the city, with most rain activity occurring over the northern Gulf, linked to an upper low pressure system that also brings a slight chance of rain today. This upper low will move away tonight and tomorrow, leading to drier conditions. However, a significant warm-up is expected starting Thursday, with temperatures reaching the 90s through early next week, marking the first stretch of sustained heat this season.
Low humidity will make for a comfortable day despite a mix of sun and clouds.
wgno.com – SARA CLINE, Associated Press – 2025-05-12 11:50:00
SUMMARY: In 1999, Bobby Gumpright, struggling with addiction, falsely accused Jermaine Hudson, a Black man, of armed robbery in New Orleans. Despite two jurors doubting the story, Hudson was convicted by a 10-2 split jury—a practice rooted in racist Jim Crow laws, later deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Hudson spent 22 years in prison, missing life milestones, while Gumpright battled guilt and addiction. In 2021, Gumpright confessed, leading to Hudson’s release. Now friends, they advocate for Louisiana legislation allowing inmates convicted by split juries to seek retrials, symbolizing a fight for justice and redemption.
