The 2nd special session of the year gaveled in yesterday at 6 PM with lawmakers returning to the Capitol with three main priorities per the call. Expect a lot of discussion about the rapidly dwindling unemployment trust fund and how to stop it from fully draining, and thus causing significant tax hikes on businesses next year. There will also be quite a few attempts coming out of the house that will seek to limit the governor’s broad authority to implement public health restrictions on businesses. Finally, lawmakers will seek to find some way to facilitate the post-Laura recovery in southwest Louisiana. But the issue that is likely to grab the most headlines will be the challenges to the Governor’s public health orders. Bills have been filed that seek to scale back the governor’s authority during an emergency. House Republican Mark Wright of Covington aims to limit the amount of time a state of emergency declaration can go without legislative approval. Wright proposes that any emergency declaration extended beyond 30 days should see more input than just the governor.
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Lawmakers are scrambling to find cash to fill the near-empty unemployment trust fund but it appears one possibility is now off the table, and that’s the Frontline Worker Rebate Program…
The 250 dollar Frontline Worker Rebate Program has processed about 65 percent of the over 240,000 applications received.
Louisiana Revenue Secretary Kimberly Robinson says they’re confident they will give away all of the money by the October 31st application deadline.
Eligible workers have to earn less than 50,000 dollars a year and have worked in a specifically listed frontline job for a certain amount of hours during the pandemic.