LA. SPECIAL SESSION -- Louisiana lawmakers will convene in Baton Rouge for the beginning of the Special Session… the reason: Addressing the looming $648 million-dollar state budget shortfall. Governor Edwards vetoed the House Bill – 1 which prompted for the special session. Lawmakers have until June 4th to come to some agreement on how to solve the state’s financial woes. Governor Edwards told Public Radio WRKF that he’s open to consider any options.
"In order to get to $648 million, there's a lot of ways, and I'm very flexible about that and I’ve made that statement clear," Edwards said.
There's a number of ways to replace the so-called $648 million dollar "fiscal cliff" that occurs when the one-cent sales tax expires come June 30th.
But the options on the table this time around aren't much different than they were a few months ago when Republicans and Democrats in the House couldn't agree on how to fix the shortfall. Rep. Lance Harris (R-Alexandria), chairman of the House Republicans, says he's not willing to consider making changes to individual income tax deductions in order to raise money since federal tax changes mean that many in Louisiana will already be paying more in state taxes. Instead, he and other fellow Republicans would prefer to keep a portion of the one-penny sales tax in place that's expiring June 30.
"Is it going to be permanent, is it going to be temporary? Those are the questions we'll be answering," said Harris.
Is there a compromise in the making? Last Friday Edwards said he's willing to extend up to half of that penny as part of a compromise, which would raise more than $400 million. House Democratic leader, Rep. Robert Johnson (D-Marksville), says his party
is open to that as well, but like the Governor, they favor making tax changes permanent, in order to bring some stability to the state's budget. Johnson said "I don't think Democrats want to see anything temporary because we're going to be back in the same situation we're in right now."
And so the clock’s ticking as La. Lawmakers have two weeks to figure out how to replace the $648 Million Short-fall.
