BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Time is dwindling and hope is fading for the Louisiana House to reach a tax deal to help close a vast budget gap, and negotiations ahead of Friday's scheduled tax votes seem to have yielded little agreement.
"The clock's running on us. The clock's not our friend," said Senate President John Alario.
The special session must end Wednesday, but it could end early if Republicans, Democrats and Gov. John Bel Edwards can't breach the stalemate. If negotiations collapse, lawmakers will have to craft a budget with deep spending reductions.
A $994 million hole looms July 1, tied to expiration of temporary taxes. Part of the shortfall will be offset with $302 million estimated from increased state income-tax collections caused by federal tax changes, leaving a hole of $692 million.
House members disagree on what tax types — and what amount of money — should replace the expiring taxes. House Republican leaders favor sales taxes, while Democrats, particularly the Black Caucus, prefer income taxes.
"I don't think there's support for anything, even that the sky is blue right now," said Rep. Tanner Magee, a Houma Republican.
House Speaker Taylor Barras said Friday's votes will be the "do or die" decisions on tax measures.
"We don't need to quit," said Sen. Francis Thompson, a Delhi Democrat.
But nearly all tax bills must start in the House, leaving senators little to do but watch the bickering.
Edwards called the special session, asking lawmakers to pass replacement taxes, saying without them, the TOPS free college tuition program, health care services and public safety programs would face deep cuts. Lawmakers will work on crafting next year's budget in the regular legislative session that begins March 12, with or without the replacement taxes.
"If we've got to cut $600 million-plus out of the budget, it's going to be heart-wrenching, and I'm not sure a budget passes in that scenario," Alario said.
The highest-dollar tax proposal on the House floor is a sales tax measure that would temporarily renew one quarter of an expiring 1 percent sales tax and temporarily eliminate some sales tax breaks, to raise nearly $300 million annually.
Louisiana's current state sales tax rate is 5 percent. It drops to 4 percent on July 1. The bill by Rep. Stephen Dwight, a Lake Charles Republican, would move the rate to 4.25 percent. But 0.25 percent of the tax would again be temporary, with an expiration date in mid-2021.
Only 38 of 105 House members voted for the measure. It needed 70 votes to pass.
But Barras said the bill remains "core to this debate."
"That's a long hurdle for them to go from that lopsided vote," Alario said.
Democrats in the House also want a vote on a proposal to lessen the itemized deductions allowed for middle- and upper-income taxpayers. The bill is estimated to raise $79 million.
-by AP reporter Melinda Deslatte
