BATON ROUGE - Senators are advancing a bill that would force large manufacturing facilities to choose between two property tax breaks they enjoy, to boost revenue for the state's budget.

The bill by Republican Sen. Rick Ward, of Port Allen, would prohibit businesses from receiving both an exemption from paying local property taxes for their facility and from paying property taxes charged on inventory.

Ward said the measure would "level the playing field" for small businesses that don't receive the general property tax exemption for their facilities.

Groups representing large manufacturing facilities opposed the bill, saying it would discourage development.

The proposal would save the state treasury $146 million in tax break spending annually.

The Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs voted 7-4 Wednesday to send the bill to the full Senate for debate.