Gov. Jeff Landry has called the Legislature into a special session beginning on Nov. 6 to overhaul Louisiana’s constitution and tax structure. Landry is asking state lawmakers to renew expiring sales taxes and expand the sales tax base to include everything from haircuts and lobbying services to Netflix and other digital goods. In exchange, he is demanding steep cuts to income taxes for corporations and individuals, and elimination of the franchise tax. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Tyler Bridges and Alyse Pfeil report:
The plan would keep a regressive system where poor people pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than the wealthy. … The plan would also make various changes to the state constitution, which would require voter approval on March 29. Landry’s special session call also includes items related to “crimes that are subject to special juvenile procedures,” to specialty courts and the state Supreme Court’s regulatory authority, and funding for fortified roof programs for policyholders of Louisiana Citizens, the state’s insurer of last resort.
Reality check: This tax overhaul effort is being rushed and is full of too many unknowns. The governor’s plan would reduce taxes for virtually all earners, but enshrine a system where low-income workers pay a higher percentage of their take-home pay in taxes than the wealthy. The proposed changes to the state’s corporate taxes would benefit multinational corporations and out-of-state shareholders most and be paid for by sales tax increases on Louisiana small businesses and their customers. Taken together, the proposals would cut state revenues by an estimated $740 million by the 2026-27 budget year – a far bigger revenue decline than the “fiscal cliff” they are intended to solve – which in turn would force the Legislature to make deep cuts to programs and services.
Budget cuts threaten dual enrollment courses
Dual enrollment courses, which allow high school students to take classes that earn them college credit, make higher education more accessible and affordable for families, especially ones with low incomes. But state leaders have told public colleges and universities to brace for up to $250 million in cuts next year because of a looming budget shortfall. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Elyse Carmosino explains:
It could impact “what we’re able to provide in terms of quantity,” said Jimmy Sawtelle, Chancellor of Central Louisiana Technical Community College in Alexandria. While Southern University does offer reduced rates to the 540 high schoolers who currently attend classes on campus, [Kyla] Pitcher said cuts to higher education may make those discounts unfeasible. Underrepresented populations “no longer having access to something that’s so beneficial, it worries me,” Pitcher said. For parents like Danita Bright, who want to help their children to attend college but aren’t sure how, dual enrollment has been a godsend. It’s “given me the platform to help my child go further,” she said. “Without it, I’d be totally lost.”
Reading is a rare bright spot for Louisiana
Louisiana is one of only three states where reading test scores have fully rebounded from pre-pandemic levels, but much more work remains. Compliance with a new state law that requires new training for teaching reading is lagging, with only 71% of teachers and 79% of administrators having taken the course as of May 1. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Patrick Wall sat down with state Rep. John Wyble, who is the former Washington Parish school board president and current CEO of the Center for Literacy & Learning, to discuss the importance of boosting literacy in a poor state like Louisiana:
We know it’s a workforce issue, it’s an economic development issue. We want to be able to disrupt generations of poverty — and we know literacy is that foundation. When you think of a child being literate, it’s not just reading the words on the page. It’s (reading) fluency, comprehension, being able to think critically. That’s a skill more and more needed in the workforce today — not only understanding what you read on the screen or paper, but then what you do with that information.
Wyble discussed a recent state law that requires third-grade students to be held back if they fail to pass a mandatory reading assessment:
When you really look at the law, you’re only addressing a small but critical percentage of students who are struggling the most. I think the conversation has taken the wrong lens — the detrimental effects for these students. But we look at it as we cannot allow our students not to receive all of the support, all of the interventions, and all of the instruction they need to become the best readers they can be.
Last on the “good lists;” first on the “bad lists”
Louisiana is the most dangerous state in the nation, according to a new report from WalletHub. It’s the second straight year the Pelican State has ranked at the bottom of the Safest States in America list. The Shreveport Times’ Greg Hilburn explains the factors that led to the dismal ranking:
The WalletHub report listed Louisiana as 50th in murders per capita and 46th in assaults per capita. But violent crime isn’t the only factor driving the state’s ranking as the least safe state in the U.S. Among other factors are Louisiana’s 47th ranking in losses from climate disasters per capital and 42nd in vehicle fatalities.
Louisiana also ranked second in the nation for the amount of greenhouse gas emissions released by major industries, ranking only behind Texas. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Mark Schleifstein explains how the state is going backwards on reducing pollution and emissions from planet-warming fossil fuels.
In Louisiana, climate change is expected to have an increasing role in land loss resulting from sea level rise, in flooding because of more intense rainfall and in more frequent drought conditions. On its current path, Louisiana would only see 89 million tons fewer emissions by 2050, or 62% of the goal of net zero emissions by that year set by former Gov. John Bel Edwards’ Carbon Initiatives Task Force in 2022. The task force was allowed to expire by Gov. Jeff Landry when he took office in January, and its action plan is now dormant.
Number of the Day
$590 million – Louisiana’s projected budget surplus from the 2023-24 budget year. Louisiana’s constitution requires Gov. Jeff Landry and legislators to direct half the money to the state’s rainy day fund and to pay down retirement debt, and the remaining amount must go to one-time projects. (Source: Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget)