Louisiana session reaches halfway mark with unclear tax path
BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's legislative session is reaching its midpoint with no clear direction on what approach lawmakers will take on rewriting state tax laws, if they can reach agreement at all.
The two-month session hits the halfway mark Tuesday. It must end by June 8.
Gov. John Bel Edwards' pushed a tax overhaul, saying it's needed to stabilize Louisiana's finances and deal with the expiration of $1.3 billion in temporary taxes in mid-2018.
But the Democratic governor's main revenue-raising proposal, to charge a new tax on businesses' gross receipts, failed to gain any traction.
House Republican leaders haven't rallied around a specific package of proposals. On Monday, the House Ways and Means Committee started advancing a long list of tax measures to the full House for consideration, while negotiations continue.