Jeremy Alford/Lapolitics
Gov. John Bel Edwards met with members of the legislative leadership last week and hinted that his administration is moving away from a big push on the individual income tax.
Instead, the Edwards Administration is getting behind a new taxable gross receipts approach in concert with an elimination of the corporate and franchise taxes.
That far-reaching change — replacing a corporate tax on profit with one that targets sales — is expected to be the centerpiece of the governor’s regular session plan when lawmakers convene on April 10.
The blueprint was expected to be rolled out on Monday before the Baton Rouge Press Club.
However, the plan’s architects need just one more week of work for the final touches. That relocates the official debut of the plan to next Monday, March 27.
Edwards has also started meeting with rank-and-file lawmakers by delegation and will continue to travel the state in the coming days to visit with his former legislative colleagues on their respective turfs.
Meanwhile, the House Republican Delegation, which will undoubtedly set the pace for the regular session, met in Alexandria on Thursday. The meetings were held to determine what the conservative agenda will look like.
For now, business and industry is busy investigating the idea of taxable gross receipts.
The working model is based on what Ohio has in place — there’s a commercial activity tax there, for those with taxable gross receipts, that gets paid for the privilege of doing business in the state.
Regardless of how a business is organized, the system hits most in the retail, wholesale, service and manufacturing sectors. Businesses with less than $150,000 in taxable gross receipts are exempt in Ohio.
Lobbyists and lawmaker suspect other parts of the plan are coming together quickly as well.
There’s a lot of talk about giving municipalities and parishes greater flexibility to raise revenue.
Some are urging the governor to consider allowing the additional penny sales tax to fall off in 2018, as scheduled, and then create a mechanism that permits local governments to continue charging it, should they choose to do so. But where that concept goes from here is not certain.
Democrats are likewise rallying behind a plan that would make permanent the temporary suspension of certain sales tax exemptions that were enacted last year.
The administration is said to be a part of the talks involving this proposal, which signals another big fight ahead for the business lobby.
Other ideas being explored by the Edwards administration include a new policy that would force the Legislature to spend slightly less in its annual budgets than what revenue is forecasted to arrive in any given fiscal year.
Modifications to the state’s movie tax credit program are on tap as well, as are a number of other fiscal proposals.
The next top trooper
The retirement of Col. Mike Edmonson, effective Friday, reverberated throughout Louisiana’s political community last week — no matter how expected the announcement was.
Now attention and speculation turns to who will become the next superintendent of the Louisiana State Police, a position that brings with it an incredible amount of political leverage.
Gov. John Bel Edwards is said to be on the hunt for an interim superintendent at the moment.
Many are urging him to select an interim who will not be interested in pursuing the top job on a permanent basis, which seems to be his preference as well at the moment.
In fact, there are a lot of folks whispering in the governor’s ear and he has no shortage of suggestions to review.
There are some restrictions, though, beginning with a state law that prohibits the governor from conducting an external search.
Edmonson’s successor, by law, has to come from within State Police and they must be a graduate of the agency’s training academy.
Some lawmakers see an opportunity for change at State Police with no figurehead in place and a regular session scheduled to convene on April 10.
There have been informal talks about bills addressing accounting safeguards, term limits, the appointment process and more.
It’s all part of the typical knee-jerk reaction in Louisiana politics, most of which fades with time, but a part of it could surface in legislative debates soon depending on the mood of lawmakers.
Your Tuesday History: The Kingfish cooks (and filibusters)
On June 12, 1935, then-U.S. Sen. Huey Long launched into a 15-hour filibuster from the floor that was meant to slow down a bill backed by President Franklin Roosevelt.
The legislation sought to lessen the influence senators had over certain presidential appointments. In Huey’s eyes, that was no way to share the wealth or, rather, the power.
But there’s only so many things a politician can say over a 15-hour period. Even if you’re The Kingfish.
So, as a way to fill time, Huey recited his recipe for a proper “potlikker,” which is basically the broth that’s left in the pot after collards are cooked.
According to the Congressional Record, as delivered by Huey recited three main ingredients: turnip greens or mustard greens; water; and one pound of “sliced side meat.”
He continued, “When you have cooked the greens until they are tender and the turnips until they are tender, you take up the turnips and the greens, and the soup that is left is potlikker. That brings on the real question of the art of eating potlikker… You draw off the potlikker and you eat it separately from the turnip greens.”
They Said It
“It takes a strange person to be a politician.”
—Former Gov. Edwin Edwards, on last week’s LaPolitics Report podcast
“Two relatives have caught up with me: Uncle Sam and Father Time.”
—Edwin Edwards
“Huey Long wouldn’t have lasted 60 days in today’s political environment.”
—Edwin Edwards
For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Jeremy Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.