On a 98 to 2 vote the House passes a bill that would put a tax reform constitutional amendment on the November 2022 ballot. Lafayette Representative Stuart Bishop’s proposal would lower state personal income tax rates in exchange for eliminating the ability to deduct federal income taxes. Bishop says this effort is decades in the making…
Bishop says this bill will streamline our tax code.
The bill, considered to be the priority piece of legislation for Republicans this session, was almost tanked due to the controversy over comments about slavery made by former House Education Chairman Ray Garofalo. Those comments led the Legislative Black Caucus to threaten to block the bill, saying they’d withhold support if Garofalo was not removed as chairman. Ultimately Garofalo was removed.
Legislation banning the handheld use of a cellphone while driving passes the House 76-21. Breaux Bridge Representative Mike Huval says you can still make phone calls and send texts while driving, you’d just need to use a Bluetooth device to do it…
The bill heads to the Senate.
Legislation that would have increased state unemployment insurance payments starting next year is defeated in the House after it came under assault from lawmakers on the left and right. Conservatives were concerned it would incentivize people to stay home and collect instead of working. Democrats took issue with an addition to the bill that would have created a thousand dollar “return to work” bonus for those currently collecting unemployment insurance in Louisiana. The catch was that those who accept the bonus would be ineligible to collect unemployment for 24 weeks.