Collection:LPB

Genre: Newsmagazine

Place Covered: Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority

Date Issued: 1985-06-19

Duration: 00:26:16

Subjects: Politics | Government | Louisiana. Legislature | Louisiana Legislative Session, 1985 | Prevailing wage | STATE BUDGET | Education | SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION | Teacher pay raises

Contributors:

• Johnson, Ken Host
• Myers, Laura Reporter
• Rayburn, B.B. "Sixty" Speaker
• Dastugue, Quentin Speaker
• Reilly, Kevin, Sr. Speaker
• Aaron, Larry Speaker
• Gulledge, Bill Speaker
• Picard, Cecil Interviewee
• Bankston, Jesse Interviewee
• Hebert, Murray Speaker
• Swearingen, Lawson Interviewee
• Bagert, Ben Interviewee
• Brinkhaus, Armand Interviewee
• Epling, Carrel Interviewee

This episode of the series “Louisiana: The State We’re In” from June 19, 1985, features Ken Johnson hosting a daily legislative report on the 1985 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature. Johnson and Laura Myers first report on the day’s headlines. These stories include: State Senator B.B. “Sixty” Rayburn debating the repeal of the prevailing wage law; State Representatives Quentin Dastugue and Kevin Reilly debating amendments to cut the state budget; Larry Aaron of the Association for Disabled Persons and Bill Gulledge of the Motorcycle Riders Association testifying in the Senate Transportation Committee on the mandatory seat belt bill; an interview with State Senator Cecil Picard on the opposition to a bill including the Legislature in the open meetings law; an interview with Jesse Bankston of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) on a bill overturning BESE’s decision to increase classroom instruction time to 6 hours a day; State Representative Murray Hebert testifying on his bill legalizing greyhound racing; an interview with State Senator Lawson Swearingen on the proposed changes to the lemon law; and an interview with State Senator Ben Bagert on the ongoing debate on his right to know chemical bill. Johnson then conducts an in-studio interview with State Senator Armand Brinkhaus and Carrel Epling, the president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers. They discuss the status of Governor Edwin Edwards’ education reform package, including the bill changing the Superintendent of Education from an elective to appointive position and teacher pay raises.