The legislative session ends on Thursday night at midnight and 284-million dollars in revenues have been approved as a result of changes to tax laws. Governor John Bel Edwards has pushed for 600-million dollars in the hopes the state can avoid making cuts to the budget.

Senate President John Alario says he wants to revive a piece of legislation that would reduce the amount of tax deductions a person receives if they itemize on their state income tax forms. The proposal would generate an estimated 88-million dollars. It’s an effort supported by the governor, but such a proposal has already been dismissed by the Louisiana House.

If 284-million dollars is all that could be raised, cuts will occur to higher ed, various health care services and the TOPS program to name a few. How much of the revenue raised in this special session should go to TOPS versus hospitals that provide care for the poor is a major debate right now.

Governor Edwards has established a task Force to develop ways Louisiana can safely lower its prison population and reduce inmate housing costs. Corrections Secretary James LeBlanc says Louisiana incarcerates more residents per capita than anywhere else in the world and this task force will come up with recommendations that the legislature can approve in 2017…:
CUT 3 (07) “some sense”
LeBlanc says more programs at the local level can help reduce the recividism rate and lower the jail population.

The governor has signed a bill into law that raised the age threshold for victims of sex trafficking from 18 to 21. Before this law, victims between 18 to 21 could have been arrested for prostitution. Executive Director of Project 41 in West Monroe, Lindsey Nadler, says the public can also get involved in the fight against human trafficking…
cut 11 (10) “…is key”