BATON ROUGE - Former lawmaker Jeff Arnold won't be making decisions about property tax breaks for businesses on the state board that oversees such things, after senators refused to confirm him for the position.

The Senate rejected seven appointments to boards and commissions made by Gov. John Bel Edwards, including Arnold's nomination to the Board of Commerce and Industry.

Arnold, a Democrat from New Orleans, was term-limited earlier this year and ran unsuccessfully for a Senate seat.

Also rejected by the Senate for a position on a New Orleans-area flood protection board was Metairie lawyer Jack Capella.

The Senate has a tradition of refusing to accept board and commission appointees if one senator objects in closed-door discussions, so as little as one legislative objection could have kept the men from gaining confirmation.