In his latest column, Jeremy Alford says that lawmakers—after surviving a bitterly-fought speaker’s election on Jan. 11 and one of the bloodiest special sessions in recent memory—are limping toward the Monday, June 6, finish line to conclude their ongoing regular session.
“Yet it’s not a true finish line,” Alford opines. “It’s more of a portal into another special session that begins almost as soon as the regular session end—with 30 minutes to spare. The quick breather sends a strong signal from Gov. John Bel Edwards, who wants lawmakers to again address tax issues.”
Alford notes Rep. Rob Shadoin, R-Ruston, took to Facebook to express his feelings about the extraordinarily brief break, saying: “Well, I just thought we were going to get to come home on June 6. But Noooooo!” He later added: “I promise I still practice law but my business is on life support!! Thank you all for the privilege of serving during this contentious and historic time.” Shadoin’s post drew reactions from other lawmakers expressing similar feelings.
Most lawmakers, when they were qualifying for office last year, knew 2016 was going to be politically painful, at times regrettable and altogether draining, Alford says. They knew their day jobs would have to take a backseat. But he says few could have predicted the subsequent marathon that started like a sprint and will rage on until June 23 at midnight, when the second special session adjourns.
“This is noteworthy only because the House and Senate usually wrap up their annual workload after two or three consecutive months at the Capitol. When the second special session ends in late June, lawmakers will have been in Baton Rouge, on and off, for roughly six months,” Alford says.
Conservative legislators previously appealed to Edwards to hold off on a special session until later in the fall, Alford notes.. Their thinking, he says, was that additional revenue may be on the way, given the $2.7 billion in tax changes adopted over the past year. Plus, corporate tax collections, as of the end of April, have hit a cumulative net figure and are no longer in the red.
“Edwards countered that a $600 million hole in the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 demands immediate attention, not a wait-and-see approach,” he writes. “In the end it was Edwards’ call to make and now there are small pockets of lawmakers falling in line. And if he largely pushes tax changes that require just 53 votes in the House, rather than a supermajority of 70, Edwards will only need small pockets of support for his foundation.”
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
