The failure of efforts to override Gov. Bobby Jindal’s veto of a tobacco tax renewal may have gotten the headlines, but the far more consequential bill debated by the House on Thursday was the phase-out of the personal income tax. The tax provides almost one-third of current general fund revenue. After a long debate and a crippling amendment, it was returned to the calendar. Rep. Hunter Greene, R-Baton Rouge, argued that the amendment was just a way for members to vote for an income tax repeal that would never take effect. “I think voters know when games are being played,” he says. When Greene attempted to remove the amendment, the House deadlocked, 46-46, with Democrats and Republicans on both sides. Greene returned the bill to the calendar, though members are likely to see it again before the session ends next week.
They said it: “I want to hope there weren’t any threats made. I want to hope Santa Claus is real.” —Rep. Ernest Wooton, No Party-Belle Chasse, on Gov. Bobby Jindal lobbying legislators not to override his veto of a tobacco tax renewal
(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)
