House to debate governor’s tax plans to rebalance budget

The Louisiana House Ways and Means Committee moved forward 32 bills that could potentially increase taxes.

His bill advanced out of committee, but six Democrats and two Republicans did vote against it, citing deeper cuts to public schools and human services.

The measure strikes at the governor’s efforts to shield K-12 education from most cuts, and approval came despite opposition from education officials who said the plans could damage classroom instruction and jeopardize spring standardized testing. The House will begin evaluating those bills on Thursday. He said he’s not heard any detailed suggestions for deeper reductions that won’t force shutdowns of safety net hospitals, health care services for the disabled and college campuses.

“We lost a member of our body this afternoon”, Barras said, calling for a moment of silence for Edwards. “We did the best we could in the most thoughtful way we could”.

The Democratic governor recommended another $30 million in reductions, along with tax hikes.

The cuts would be made over four months, before the financial year ends June 30. Those proposals head to the Senate.

Higher education leaders estimated 2,000 students attended Wednesday’s rally, which featured chants of “No more cuts!”

The school aid reductions are part of a $117 million list of spending cuts crafted late Tuesday that caught key lawmakers and the education community off guard. “That’s the political reality of where we are”.

Edwards is proposing a state sales tax hike, increased taxes on businesses, changes to individual income taxes and boosted taxes on cigarettes and alcohol to help balance Louisiana’s budget.

“We don’t enjoy cutting human services, but that’s not the position we’re in as a state right now”, said Rep. Henry.

“What you saw today was a procedural punt to the House floor”, said Stephen Waguespack, president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, which opposes several of the measures advanced by the committee.

“There’s a lot of talk around the state about how many contracts we have and who they are going to”, Harris said. But Republicans, particularly in the House, are reticent about some of the proposals.