Gov. John Bel Edwards is expected to announce his call for a third special session for the Louisiana Legislature this afternoon.
“We’ve just got a little more work to do. It’s going to take a little more time,” Edwards said earlier this week following the end of this year’s second special legislative session.
In the session’s final hour, Rep. Walt Leger, the House’s top-ranking Democrat, pleaded with his colleagues to approve a sales tax bill backed by the Senate to raise about $500 million. House
Speaker Taylor Barras and House GOP leader Lance Harris opposed the measure, which raised more money than they supported, and the bill fell six votes short of the 70 needed to pass. Harris’ smaller sales tax bill to raise $400 million only got 38 votes a short time later.
Edwards had wanted to replace $648 million in temporary taxes expiring July 1. But the governor couldn’t win support for the full amount in the Republican-led Legislature, and backed the Senate proposal in the session’s final days.
