BATON ROUGE, LA - The 2021 Regular Legislative Session opened Monday, April 12, at noon. Following what is dictated by the state constitution, this session is a fiscal session, meaning that discussion will once again turn toward the state budget and tax code. These budget talks are of particular importance this year, with the $3.2 billion in federal COVID-19 aid Louisiana received over the last year, and with the Governor’s $36.6 billion spending proposal announced in February. While the outlook for the state budget is trending upwards overall, the question of how to allocate funds is, as always, up for debate.
There is a large package of bills aimed at tax reform and modernizing the state’s overall tax structure, with the goal to reduce income tax rates and bring Louisiana more in line with what is being seen in other states. “This tax reform effort will fundamentally change the tax structure of Louisiana through a package of bills that will focus on stability, simplicity and predictability,” said Senate President Cortez. “We have an opportunity to create generational change for the future of Louisiana. Old policies keep us as a major outlier to businesses because of our complex and costly tax structure. This plan will not be easy to execute, it is bold, but it is worthy of our consideration.” This tax reform package does have backing from Speaker of the House, Clay Schexnayder, and House Republicans, and Governor Edwards agreed to support these efforts if the package remains “revenue neutral,” which is the stance he has taken with many of the tax related measures up for debate.
In addition to fiscal issues, lawmakers are allowed to file five bills unrelated to finances. Of the more than 900 bills filed prior to the opening of session, many aim to address hot topics both locally, and at a national level. Measures to address police tactics and restrictions to the governor’s power during emergency situations are among a few.
While the first day of session is typically opened with a speech from the Governor, Edwards has chosen, instead, to close today’s meetings with a “State of the State” address, where we can expect to hear more about his budget plan and overall stance on state spending.
As District 28 State Senator Heather Cloud (R-Turkey Creek) and her colleagues in the Legislature began their work, she said, “I look forward to tackling many important issues over the next two months,” Senator Cloud said. “From crafting our state budget to meaningful election integrity reforms, I will fight every day for the people of District 28.”
This session, as the state constitution requires in odd-numbered years, is a fiscal session focused on the discussion of certain tax and spending issues with limited consideration of other general issues.
Cloud pre-filed bills to address election integrity and, as Vice-Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, is focused on being good stewards of our taxpayer dollars, as she and her colleagues work to create a balanced state budget.
Senate Bill 219 requires each registrar in a parish with a publicly owned utility to canvass registrants living in the utility service area using customer information provided by the public utility.
Senate Bill 220 will require performance based auditing of our elections.
“Most Louisianans would be surprised to hear we haven’t had an actual audit of our elections in over 20 years,” Senator Cloud said. “This is one basic step we can take to ensure we have a safe and secure election system. As a victim of voter fraud, I believe election integrity is a fundamental principle we must work to protect.”
As vice-chairwomen of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Cloud will play an integral role in crafting Louisiana’s state budget.
“In crafting the state budget, we are tasked with looking for areas of waste that we can cut and re-allocate to more meaningful programs,” Sen. Cloud said. “The Completers Fund caught my eye in a recent committee meeting as one such opportunity. We do not need to spend $30 million to encourage students to finish college. Another area I will focus on is how money is being spent in Department of Corrections and making sure those dollars that are being allocated for educational and job training are being utilized for that purpose.”
For more information on the 2021 Regular Legislative Session and to view Senator Cloud’s bills, visit: https://www.legis.la.gov.
Image
Staff Report