Eight bills were introduced into the Louisiana House Monday after the chamber convened is third special session on of the year – including five proposals to extend an expiring 1 cent sales tax by a half-penny.
The five all seek to broaden the sales tax extension from the the one-third of a cent now incorporated into the budget – House Bill 1 – that Gov. John bel Edwards says fails to adequately fund basic needs.
The governor maintains the additional $400 million generated by the one-third penny extension does not sufficiently plug a $648 million revenue shortfall from this year’s budget. He wants lawmakers to adopt a half-cent extension.
House Republicans disagree, and say there is more room for spending cuts in Edwards' budget.
While all five propose extending the sales tax by a half-cent, HB 4, sponsored by Rep. Stuart Bishop, R-Lafayette, extends the sales tax by a half penny for three years, .4 percent of a cent for two years, and then to a quarter-cent for two years before expiring in 2025.
Bishop’s proposal would generate an average of $453 million a year to the general fund.
HB 2, sponsored by Rep. Terry Landry, D-New Iberia, extends the expiring sales tax by 0.5 percent starting July 1 to generate an estimated $510 million in fiscal 2019 and $546 million a year afterwards, contributing about $2.7 billion to the state general fund over the next five years.
HB 2 applies a uniform sales tax base of 4.5 percent with 4.47 percent going to the state general fund, and 0.03 percent to the Louisiana Tourism Promotion District (TPD).
The half-cent sales tax would expire in 2025. A breakdown of the levy’s tax base, excluding motor vehicles and business utilities: $387 million; business utilities, 2 percent tax, $60 million; motor vehicle purchases, $49 million; removing about 100 exemptions, $14 million.
The bill has 34 co-sponsors, 31 Democrats and three Republicans – Patrick Connick, Marrero; Robert Shadoin, Ruston; Joseph Stagni, R-Kenner.
HB 3, sponsored by Rep. Kenny Havard, R-Jackson, essentially outlines the same proposal as HB 2, only it spells out 109 exemptions, including for the sales and use of steam, water, electric power or energy, natural gas, or other energy sources.
HB 8, both sponsored by Rep. Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, and HB 9, sponsored by Rep. Neil C. Abramson, D-New Orleans, all also call for extending the sales tax by a half cent for varying lengths with varying exemptions.
All five sales tax-related bills were referred to the House Ways & Means Committee.
HB 5, sponsored by Leger; HB 6, sponsored by Rep. Franklin J. Foil, R-Baton Rouge; and HB 7, sponsored by Rep. Patricia Smith, D- Baton Rouge, all add revenues to the three supplemental spending bills adopted in tandem with HB 1 during the second special session.
The three supplemental spending bill-related proposals were all referred to the House Appropriations Committee.
The House Ways & Means and Appropriations committees will both meet Tuesday starting at 9:30 p.m.
Representatives from the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), Department of Corrections (DOC), higher education and state civil services are expected to begin testifying in what could be several days off “the full appropriation process” before the Appropriations Committee.
House Republicans unsuccessfully appealed to Edwards to broaden the scope of the special session beyond the governor’s call that limits to purview only to expanding revenues through a sales tax extension.
Rep. Lance Harris, R-Alexandria, chairman of the House GOP Delegation, Speaker of the House Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, and Appropriations Committee chairman, Rep. Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, wanted the session to examine spending limits, government transparency and allow the legislative auditor a bigger watchdog role.
