For his agenda, Edwards games tax cut impact

Looks like Louisiana’s Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards is going for broke in his quest to turn back the clock on the state’s fiscal practices.

Edwards attempt to forestall right-sizing of state government hinges on finding new revenues to support a bloated state sector. Trumpeting budget deficit after budget deficit best accomplishes this objective. Thus, any organic creation of new revenues – i.e., a larger tax haul without raising rates or scrapping exceptions – puts a dent in this plan as it reduces the deficit, relieving pressure on instituting permanent new revenue sources – particularly his preferred progressive income taxation especially on corporations or fewer exceptions where the bulk of newly-unshielded dollars would come from transactions disproportionately undertaken by higher-income entities.

Thus, his administration has tried to throw cold water over the beneficial impact tax cuts passed the Republican-led Congress and signed into law by GOP Pres. Donald Trump would have on the projected fiscal year 2019 budget for Louisiana. Reviewing those changes, and only partially, the Edwards Administration said it would mean a boost of $200 million to $250 million for FY 2019. That covers only individual income tax collection; the Administration has abjured from estimating the impact that corporate tax cuts would produce, so the figure could go much higher.

Decision could trigger enormous LA fiscal change

Hold on to your hernia belts, a potential court decision either could make Louisiana state budgeting more intractable or become a catalyst for badly needed change.

After years of sifting through legal minutiae, a state district court finally will hear on the merits a suit brought by the Public Service Commission against the Legislature for sweeping money from dedicated funds that provide revenues for PSC operations. Past special appropriations bills have yanked millions of dollars from coffers set up to hold money for the PSC.

Statute can be interpreted to support either side. For example, R.S. 45:1177, in setting up the Utility and Carrier Inspection and Supervision Fund, states that “[t]he monies in this fund shall be used solely for the expenses of the operations of the commission” and “[i]f the amounts contained in the fund provided for in this Section are in excess of that necessary to fund the operations of the commission, then that excess shall be retained in such funds,” or pretty standard boilerplate for a dedicated fund.

LA mayors oddly treat Farrakhan with honor

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan Tour across north Louisiana left equal parts outrage and head-scratching over the action by the mayors of the area’s central cities.

Farrakhan decamped to Louisiana to view the Dec. 15 graduation of his granddaughter at Grambling State University. He blew into Shreveport the prior day, whereupon the city corralled some on-duty police officers and escorted him from the airport to the city-owned Hilton Hotel.

Plans to escort him to the city limits the next day on his way to Grambling apparently never materialized. Allegedly, he also received such services to a restaurant where a private function occurred, but city attorney William Bradford denied any such authorization existed.

Holding cards, Barras deflects Edwards' bullying

While he didn’t exactly treat Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards as if Louisiana’s chief executive didn’t exist, Republican House Speaker Taylor Barras did make clear who called the shots over the state’s fiscal year 2019 picture and beyond.

Late last year, Edwards declared he wanted consensus with the Legislature by Jan. 19 on a package to reduce a projected budget deficit of around $1 billion, a gap mainly driven by the disappearance of temporary taxes. With that in hand, he said he then would call for a February special session to implement such a plan. The Legislature cannot raise taxes in even-numbered years during the regular session that begins in March, and having a special session after the regular session’s end in June would leave little time to produce a comprehensive solution.

In making this demand, Edwards hopes to avoid continued singular association with tax increases. By rushing the Republicans who control the Legislature into signing onto this agenda by refusing to call a session for revenue-raising, he can deflect blame for reelection purposes by reminding that a permanent, income tax-raising solution and perhaps broadening the sales tax base to negate a nagging budget deficit came in bipartisan fashion.

The Advocate column, Jan. 7, 2018

Students should know that exercising free speech comes with consequences
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/jeff_sadow/article_b2c48f76-f102-11e7-afe1-078ccf72b129.html

Links:
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_746aa25a-ecee-11e7-adef-e33841df12c2.html
http://jeffsadow.blogspot.com/2017/10/bench-protesting-students-to-teach-life.html

Ganja enforcement change to keep LA grounded

Maybe Louisiana will find itself a bit more grounded as a result of a change in federal marijuana enforcement policy.

This past week, the Pres. Donald Trump Administration announced it would not turn as blind of an eye toward legalization of ganja use in the states. The previous administration essentially had told attorney generals not to prosecute usage in states that decriminalized this. Now, orders have gone out unbinding prosecutors to that.

That means states which, under their law, have decriminalized possession of small amounts of weed, their citizens face increased chance that the federal government will bring them up on charges. Where medical marijuana use has legal status, technically those who use it in any form have a greater risk of arrest for that.

Disasters can't compensate for poor N.O. rule

The only problem is, you can’t count on a disaster occurring every five years or so to cover up mistakes made in governing.

New Orleans proceeds with its infrastructure rebuild after the hurricane disasters of 2005. Given $2.4 billion to accomplish this, about a sixth of that should commence this year, albeit on a pace that would see the last of it completed just before two decades have passed since Hurricane Katrina struck.

The money, gifted by the federal government, has not flowed into the city without controversy. The inspector general’s office of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the distribution, concluded that $2 billion worth of the damage came not from the flooding, but from decades of neglect, and recommended taking back those funds. But the city looks likely to catch a break as it appears that federal officials will ignore that counsel.

Latest LPSC vote answers, raises questions

The first big issue handled by the post-election Louisiana Public Service Commission may have signaled the future direction the body might take.

Last month, the PSC adopted much more free market-friendly regulations regarding hauling hazardous waste. Under the old rules, barriers to entry restricted the number of certified haulers so that only 13 could have licenses to haul any kind of waste. New rules will require review for financial stability and an evaluation of capability and do not allow, as under the old rules, current holders essentially to have a veto power over the granting of licenses and also removes a process that was prohibitively expensive.

Prompting the move, the Legislature passed Act 278 last year, which the new PSC regulations essentially track. However, that law presented a constitutional question, since Art. IV Sec. 21 allocates power over “common carriers” to the PSC. R.S. 45:162 provides a definition for that which includes hazardous waste transport, a point that came up in the House of Representatives debate over the bill. Yet it passed it overwhelmingly in bipartisan fashion, and the Senate did the same.

The Advocate column, Dec. 31, 2017

Cedric Richmond votes a big help to Dems, a big hurt for Louisiana
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/jeff_sadow/article_45cc32d8-eb59-11e7-9557-8b5d0a016e2b.html

Links:
http://www.nola.com/national_politics/2017/12/gop_tax_plan_louisiana_delegation.html
https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=22&cd=02
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-new-trump-tax-calculator-what-do-you-owe-2017-10-26
https://smartasset.com/taxes/income-taxes#Y7sAD2H8Jp
http://revenue.louisiana.gov/Publications/AR(15-16).pdf
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/democrats-cant-stop-lying-about-the-gop-tax-bill/article/2644003
https://capitalresearch.org/article/dishonest-fact-checkers/

LA state parks must become more self-sustaining

Another year, another set of budgetary difficulties for Louisiana’s state parks and historic sites. But, rather than depending upon taxpayers, policy-makers could help themselves out on this issue.

The Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism has braced itself for more budget cuts to parks in fiscal year 2019. This has led to shorter operational hours (and some sites open only by appointment) and deferred maintenance at the 22 parks and 19 historic sites. Already, parts of many stay closed, and some amenities that generate revenue have fallen into disrepair, creating a vicious cycle where the agency finds it harder to raise money to fix these things.

Yet, to some degree, CRT officials and lawmakers bear the blame for such problems by promoting an inefficient model. In 2012, the Legislative Auditor released a report that included suggestions on better running the operation. Five years later, at best only lukewarm implementation of these has occurred.