The House Appropriations Committee approved a series of bills today aimed at reducing or cutting down on number of state contracts, which supporters say will save the state some much needed dollars. Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy says there’s a 29-million dollar contract to help the state build a website for food stamp recipients. Other examples Kennedy named include contracts for tutoring students and providing adult education to prisoners. Kennedy says the governor should bring in his cabinet secretaries today and demand they cut at least 10-percent of their contracts
Kennedy says there are dozens if not hundreds of contracts that the state spends money on that are NOT needed. Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne says an examination of state contracts is underway and they plan to eliminate some of them in the coming weeks as part of their cost cutting plan
Tuesday could be a pivotal day in the special session that’s been called to eliminate a $900 million deficit this fiscal year. The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to vote on various proposals to increase taxes, including a measure that would increase the state sales tax from 4-cents to 5-cents. Jeremy Alford, publisher of la-politics-dot-com, says the sales tax bill is a key revenue raising measure that the Edwards administration is pushing for.
Alford says many republicans could vote for an increase in the sales tax, but they want the governor to commit to some long-term spending cuts.
The committee has also heard bills that would increase taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, rental cars, phone lines, internet sales and hotels. Alford says the committee may vote on just a few of these proposed taxes.
Whatever tax measure pass out of the Ways and Means committee will go to the House floor, where it will need 70 votes for passage to the senate.