💸 Hide your wallet! Louisiana’s 3rd Special Session of 2024

Before discussing the special session, I’d like to say that I hear you. Our announcement on social media only noted that a special session would be taking place. We didn’t reveal its purpose. I’ll leave it to your imagination whether that was accidental or intentional.

What happened next should instruct every elected official in Louisiana. The public’s initial reaction was something like this: “Hooray! We’ll finally do something about Louisiana’s out-of-control insurance rates!” Unfortunately, I was responsible for correcting the poor souls whose priority had yet to be addressed. The news on that front can be summed up in one word: “later.” The chatter is another special session will be called to address insurance rates just ahead of the 2025 regular session.

Something we need

This is the “tax reform” special session. It includes a second bite at the recent failed attempt to call a constitutional convention. Readers might remember the 2024 regular session when Louisiana’s freshly minted Congressman-elect, Cleo Fields, refused to take the matter up in the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee, of which he’s the chairman.

The critical bill for this session is HB7, by Ways & Means Chairman Julie Emerson. That instrument would move much of Article VII out of the Constitution and into statute. Doing so would allow two-thirds (2/3) of the legislature (House and Senate) to un-dedicate all the protected categories accumulated over the decades without the need to go to the voters each time. If successful, we will no longer be forced to raid higher education and healthcare when there is a budget shortfall.

However, as evidenced by December’s approved constitutional amendment, Louisianans love dedicating funds. This is probably because nobody trusts the legislature to do the right thing. One only needs to turn back a page or two of Louisiana’s legislative history to find glaring evidence of our legislature’s untrustworthiness. It was only last year that Shake-down Schexnayder and “Blank” Page Cortez effectively committed aggravated arson against the state’s treasury. We addressed this in our article: This could never happen, but it happened. This dynamic duo and their great friend John-Bel Edwards torched $1.8 BILLION in state resources on their way out. Are you glad they’re gone? Brace yourself because some of their co-conspirators remain in the legislature.

Extending JBE’s “temporary” tax

Possibly, the single most unpopular bill in this session is Neil Riser‘s HB9, which would extend JBE’s .45¢ sales tax. The fiscal note on this bill reveals that it will take an additional $500 million out of taxpayers’ pockets every single year in perpetuity. It also expands sales tax into numerous service categories, like another bill I’ll get to in a moment.

That tax started with JBE calling one special session after another, wearing down legislators, to address a “fiscal cliff.” Strategically, the fiscal cliff talking point strikes fear into the hearts of legislators and has proven quite effective. This is especially true when the governor’s mansion has one-on-one private meetings to convince legislators that every bad thing that happens (things under the direct control of JBE) would be blamed on that legislator.

Thanks to Republican legislative approval, JBE’s “temporary” tax made Louisiana the highest-taxed state in the country. As HB9 shows, another Republican, Neil Riser, intends to continue it permanently. He doesn’t even have JBE’s good sense to hide this under the guise of a “temporary” tax. As written, HB9 extends the .45¢ sales tax indefinitely – forever and ever, amen. Allow me to translate this into plain English: any lawmaker who votes for this garbage is openly prioritizing the bureaucracy ahead of the businesses and families of Louisiana. If that wasn’t clear enough, they’re more interested in continuing to find “$306 million in supplemental spending” than giving you some financial breathing room.

The Netflix tax

In case you thought, “That was then, and this is now,” the current legislature found $93 MILLION in “supplemental” spending earlier this year. Yes, the same legislature that just blew (at least) $100 million on pork is now lamenting about another “looming fiscal cliff.” Over ten percent of that pork ($11.2 million) went to a non-profit in Democratic Party stronghold, New Orleans. They spent every penny and want you to reach into your pocket to bail them out again.

But it gets better. Democrat Ken Brass proposes HB8, which would charge additional sales tax on digital services like Netflix. According to the bill’s fiscal note, it would take another $40 million out of the economy (your wallet) to pay more government bureaucrat salaries. But wait, there’s more! The fiscal note is only responsible for predicting what amount of money to be generated for the state. However, this bill also includes local taxing authorities (like your school board, police jury/parish council, and sheriff’s office). We’ll use a simplified estimate where the state is approximately 4.5¢, and the local is approximately 4.5¢. That means we’re looking at a grand total of $80 million out of taxpayer pockets! The state government may not be getting all of that, but you’re absolutely paying all of that.

$1.8 BILLION in new taxes from a single bill?!

If Brass’s Netflix tax doesn’t anger you enough, HB10 by Republican Mark Wright (the Republican Majority Leader, for crying out loud) would require you to pay an additional $1,764 MILLION in new taxes! That’s almost two billion (with a B) dollars a year! This uses the same trick as Brass’s bill. The fiscal note for HB10 says it’s “only” $882 MILLION in new taxes, but it also allows local taxing authorities to charge the same tax! Remember, the state isn’t obligated to tell you what the locals will charge.

They may even say the local charge is optional, so you must take that up with local taxing authorities. However, we all know what the locals will do. They roll forward millages to the maximum every single chance they get. Livingston Parish Schools just increased their property taxes on the entire parish of Livingston from $15 million to $20 million, or thirty-three percent (33%), without a vote of the people – because they could. That’s the real-world example of how “maybe they won’t do it” turns out. It’s more for them and less for you every single time.

Buying off “the competition”

This “local too” tactic is smart for the tax men. It sidelines the Municipal and Police Jury Associations and the Association of Educators by buying them off. These organizations are among the state’s most powerful lobbies, constantly pleading with the legislature for more money. This begging is usually rewarded with capital outlay, supplemental spending bills, and increases to the Minimum Foundation Program (or MFP), the core of K-12 state funding. Ken Brass‘s HB8 and Mark Wright‘s HB10 divide the plunder among local taxing authorities. That benefits these three influential organizations. Do you think they will step forward and fight against “free” money for their clients? How about not charging a new tax they can levy against you? “Unlikely” is the understatement of the year.

Oh, and just in case Neil Riser‘s HB9 can’t get the job done, “Republican” Majority Leader Mark Wright‘s 140-page HB10 also makes JBE’s .45¢ tax permanent. If you were wondering which of JBE’s tax-and-spend co-conspirators were still in the legislature, Neil Riser and Mark Wright are on that list. Last year, while this group openly mocked fiscal conservatives, their vote to “bust the cap” effectively emptied our state’s treasury. It’s the primary reason we find ourselves in this fiscal pickle. Now, Mark Wright wants to make up for his misdeeds by creating $1.8 BILLION (with a B) in new taxes. How about “no.”

Whose side are they on?

We’ll continue following and providing more bill summaries during this special session, but here’s the summary of bills we’ve covered so far.

• ✅ HB7 by Ways & Means Chairman Julie Emerson would un-dedicate funds and empower our legislature to make spending decisions.
• ❌ HB9 by Republican Neil Riser extends the .45¢ sales tax forever, for $500 MILLION a year in new taxes.
• ❌ HB8 by Democrat Ken Brass would tax your Netflix membership and other digital services for $80 million yearly in new taxes.
• ❌ HB10 by House Majority Leader Mark Wright to “expand the base” would tax your HVAC and plumber repairs (among many other things) and cost you $1.8 BILLION in new taxes annually.

All this talk of fiscal cliffs and shortfalls is getting as old as being called a “bigot” by the Left. In at least the last decade, we’ve seen the “fiscal cliff” talking point become the most effective tool for raising taxes. This made-up talking point has scared legislators into forcing you to pay more. When someone dares to bring up cutting expenses (like you and I will have to do with our household budgets if this junk passes), the answer is always the same: “later.” Much of the blame for this problem could be laid at the feet of term limits. But that’s an article for another day.

Triage: First, we have to stop the bleeding. The government has been demanding blood transfusions for so long that it’s quickly running out of blood donors. Regardless of how much we pour in, the bleeding will continue until someone is willing to apply bandages and pressure. If something isn’t done to curb spending soon, a future legislative session will be forced to set aside the bandages for a tunicate.

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