Gov. Jeff Landry pitched his tax overhaul plan to state lawmakers on Wednesday at the opening of a 20-day special session, and on Thursday morning the House Ways and Means Committee began taking up the bills. Landry is asking the Legislature to renew expiring sales taxes and expand the sales tax base to include everything from diapers, haircuts and home repairs. He is also 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 reports on what happens next: 

The House voted Wednesday by a two-thirds majority to adjust its rules to allow the Ways and Means Committee to hear the tax bills Thursday morning rather than one day later under normal procedures. Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro, who chairs the committee, expects to have additional hearings on Friday, Sunday and Monday. Legislative leaders would like the full House on Tuesday to take up whatever emerges from committee, and the Senate would then receive the House-passed measures on Wednesday.

Landry’s plan is facing opposition from anti-tax Republicans, who oppose it on principle, and some local officials and constituents who are concerned about declines in tax revenue and increased prices, respectively. Bridges explains that the Senate will also be an obstacle the governor needs to overcome. 

Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, has expressed concern about the lack of details from the Landry administration about the impact and costs of the governor’s plan. “I still don’t think there’s a consensus on what members are in favor of or are not in favor of,” Henry said. “There’s a consensus on getting something done. What we’re able to accomplish will be determined by public testimony and members addressing the concerns of their local governments and the business community.”

Louisiana has some of the highest rates of food insecurity in the nation, with 1 in 7 residents living in a food desert. While there are efforts to subsidize stores in these areas, many businesses close once their financial support expires. Ken Kolb, chair of the sociology department at Furman University and New Orleans native, writing in guest column for the Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate, explains why we need to invest in stores and their customers: 

We need a more balanced approach if we want affordable food retail to thrive. Aid for businesses should be matched with funds to improve the economic mobility of their would-be customers. Grocery stores will stick around once population incomes and density match their business plan. For that to happen, the community needs sustained investment in job training, public transportation and child care. In other words, providing people with the tools they need to get and keep better paying jobs. The economic resiliency of consumers will be the deciding factor if targeted stores stay open in the long term.

Dramatic changes are coming to the nation’s education system during a second Trump presidency, including the possible dismantling of the entire U.S. Education Department. States Newsroom’s Shauneen Miranda previews what could be in store, including funding changes for local school districts: 

Trump has proposed funding boosts for states and school districts that comply with his vision for education, including adopting a “Parental Bill of Rights that includes complete curriculum transparency, and a form of universal school choice,” according to his plan. He also wants to give funding preferences to schools who get rid of “teacher tenure” for grades K-12 and adopt “merit pay.” … He is also threatening to cut federal funding for schools that teach “critical race theory” or “gender ideology” and vowed to roll back updated Title IX regulations under the Biden administration on his first day back in office.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to enact massive new tariffs on importers. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Anthony McAuley examines the tariffs Trump implemented during his first term to preview what could come next for Louisiana ports and consumers: 

The tariffs of Trump’s first term resulted in a drop in volumes of cargo through Louisiana’s ports. For example, aluminum imports at the Port of New Orleans fell by half after the tariffs were imposed. Exports like soybeans, which Louisiana ships in large quantities via the Port of South Louisiana to countries including China, also declined by about 20% during the initial tariff period as trading partners retaliated. … Apart from the impact on ports and industries, average consumers in Louisiana and elsewhere in the U.S. would also pay a price, according to studies of the impact of Trump’s 2018 tariffs.

$742 million – Estimated decline in state revenue in the 2026-27 fiscal year that would result from Gov. Jeff Landry’s tax overhaul plan. (Source: Legislative Fiscal Office)