For the record: The Executive Committee of the Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, better known as Visit Baton Rouge, voted unanimously at a special meeting Wednesday to oppose House Bill 1165, which is slated to be heard in the current legislative session that runs through June 4. The bill would allow Zachary to keep a 3% hotel occupancy tax currently going to the visitors bureau. The bureau gets all of its roughly $3.4 million annual budget from the 3% occupancy tax levied on hotels in the parish. Of that, the two hotels in Zachary generate about $70,000. Read a story about Visit Baton Rouge’s opposition to the bill in a Daily Report AM story from Wednesday here.
Setting it straight: Mayor Pro Tem Mike Walker, who is also running for mayor this fall, has clarified his position on House Bill 865, which concerns the governance of the Capital Area Transit System. “Yesterday during debate in the Legislature, it was stated that I had endorsed HB 865. This is absolutely not true. At no time have I come out in support of this legislation,” reads a statement Walker issued Wednesday. “What I am open to is an autonomous CATS that does not rely on city-parish government for a handout, but rather lives within its means, drastically changes its business model and fits within a regional traffic management solution for our parish. Additionally, many aspects of HB 865 are dependent on the proposed CATS property tax passing, and as I have stated on numerous occasions, I am absolutely opposed to this new tax increase.” The bill is scheduled to be heard in a Senate committee today.
Golden years: A number of current and former lawmakers from around the state will take part in a panel discussion on Wednesday called “The Facts, The Fiction, Political Myth, and the Financial Impact of the Public Retirement Systems.” Hosted by the League of Women Voters of Baton Rouge, the panel will include Senate Retirement Committee Chair Elbert Guillory, House Retirement Committee Chair Kevin Pearson, Democratic Caucus Chair John Bel Edwards, former House Retirement Committee Chair Butch Gautreaux, LA State Employees Retirement System Executive Director Cindy Rougeou, and retired State Employee/Civil Service Director and attorney Allen Reynolds. Members of the public are encouraged to bring their questions. General admission tickets are $27, and $22 for LWVBR members. The discussion begins at 11:30 a.m. at Drusilla Seafood, 3482 Drusilla Lane. Get your tickets here.
Today’s poll question: Would you support the hiring of North Texas men’s basketball coach Johnny Jones to be the next coach of the LSU men’s team?
