Senate approves pension boost

BATON ROUGE (AP) — The Senate unanimously agreed Wednesday to boost pension payments by 1.5 percent for retired state workers, public school employees and others in the four statewide retirement systems. It would be the first cost of living adjustment for most of the retirees since 2008. The proposals (Senate Bills 16, 18, 19 and 21) head next to the House for debate. The dollars would come from better-than-expected investment gains for the retirement systems.
—The House voted 94-1 to toughen Louisiana’s penalties for heroin use and distribution. The bill (House bill 332) would require a mandatory two-year jail sentence for heroin possession and would double the minimum mandatory sentence for distribution and production from five years to 10 years. The measure, by Rep. Joe Lopinto, R-Metairie, moves to the Senate for debate.