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Sales tax bill fails as special session adjourns
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UPDATE: The special session has officially adjourned Monday afternoon.
State Treasurer John M. Schroder has released the following statement regarding the special session:
"This special session was prematurely called and was a complete waste of taxpayer dollars. This is very disappointing that the Governor and the Legislature couldn't reach an agreement during the session on how to achieve financial stability. If we ever want to right-size government, we have to get serious about implementing true spending reforms and stop relying on temporary revenue measures to plug the budget."
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BATON ROUGE - Another debate over taxes, another rejected bill in the Louisiana House, with the special session edging toward failure.
For a second time, House lawmakers refused a sales tax bill that is considered a linchpin of any tax deal to help close a looming budget gap.
The vote seemed to suggest the budget-balancing special session likely won't raise any money.
Factions in the House and Gov. John Bel Edwards appear unable reach agreement on which tax types to use to offset the $994 million shortfall that hits July 1.
Only 33 of 104 representatives supported the sales tax proposal in a Sunday night vote. It needed 70 votes to pass. After that vote, the House adjourned until Monday.
The session, which costs an estimated $50,000-$60,000 a day, must end Wednesday.
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