Regular Legislative Session Resumes

by | May 5, 2020 | Legislative Advocacy

Monday, May 4, marked the return to action for Louisiana’s State Legislature, with only four weeks to go before the Regular Session must adjourn on June 1. Given the condensed schedule, legislators will have to focus in on key priorities, particularly the State budget.

Here is some of the priority legislation 1A is engaged on:

Centralized Sales Tax Collection

  • HB 429 and HB 791 by Rep. Tanner Magee – This is a Constitutional Amendment and statutory companion to provide Louisiana-based businesses the ability to remit sales and use taxes to the centralized Remote Sellers Commission. Currently, only businesses without a physical presence in Louisiana – termed “remote sellers” – have this option. This puts an unfair burden on Louisiana businesses, who have to remit sales and use taxes parish by parish. Following discussion in the House Ways & Means Committee on Monday, this bill will be amended to address feedback from local government.

#FreeTheTranscript

  • HB 676 by Rep. Julie Emerson – This “Free the Transcript” bill is a key priority of 1A’s 55 by 25 educational attainment initiative this year. It would mitigate a major barrier for adult learners to return to school by prohibiting postsecondary institutions from withholding their transcript due to outstanding debt with the institution. This bill has become even more critical, as workers who have lost their jobs during the COVID-19 public health emergency may need to return to school to reskill or upskill to qualify for a different or better job. It has broad bipartisan support from the more liberal Louisiana Budget Project to the more conservative Pelican Institute. It is also one of the Louisiana Board of Regents’ legislative priorities.
  • The bill is scheduled to receive its first hearing in the House Education Committee on Wednesday morning, and 1A will be present to testify in support.

“ITEP Ready” Designation

  • HCR 4 by Rep. Beau Beaullieu – This measure would allow individual parishes to elect to be designated as “ITEP Ready” through a majority vote of each of the local taxing authorities who weigh in on ITEP applications. The designation would communicate that a parish provides automatic local approval of ITEP applications that have been approved by the Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry.

Liability Protections

    • HB 826 by Rep. Thomas Pressly – This is one of several bills that would help protect employers, healthcare workers, and others who operate in good faith from lawsuits and liability claims by employees, customers, or others who contract the coronavirus. The protections would not apply in the case of “gross negligence” or willful misconduct.

 

  • SB 359 by Sen. Bob Hensgens – This bill would limit the ability of local authorities to file lawsuits against oil & gas companies on matters related to State-issued Coastal Use Permits.

Tort Reform

  • SB 418 by Sen. Kirk Talbot – This bill, along with HB 9 by Rep. Ray Garofalo (pending amendments), would make common-sense reforms to Louisiana’s legal system to help lower auto insurance rates, including:
  •      Lowering Louisiana’s jury trial threshold from $50,000 to $5,000
  •      Ending the collateral source rule
  •      Removing the direct action statute
  •      Extending the prescription period for delictual actions (torts) from 1 year to 2 years           for motor vehicle accidents
  •      Eliminating the seat belt gag order
  •      Requiring a mandatory 10% rate reduction for personal auto insurance

Click here to respond to LABI’s call to action on some of these priority bills, and stay tuned for 1A’s new Weekly Legislative Update emails to be sent on Monday mornings.