Legislative Black Caucus

June 22, 2018
June 22, 2018

The House stalls again

After a day of heated negotiations and long delays on Thursday, the House failed to pass any tax measures to replace expiring revenue and avoid the fiscal cliff.

Number of the Day

0.68 percent-  Louisiana’s population growth rate from 2007 to 2017. (Source: Pew Trust)
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June 21, 2018
June 21, 2018

Showdown in the House

Two-plus years of debates, multiple studies and three special sessions now come down to this: The Louisiana House will take up three revenue-raising bills today, each one renewing a different fraction of the temporary “clean penny” of sales tax that expires on June 30.

Number of the Day

$11 million - Remaining cut to local sheriffs’ funding for housing state prisoners, in budget plan passed by House Appropriations on Wednesday. (Source: Nola.com/TimesPicayune)
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June 12, 2018
June 12, 2018

The EITC is money well spent

The Legislature’s decision to expand the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit in Louisiana will help lower-income, working households receive a larger tax refund at the end of the year.

Number of the Day

$2,138 - Total cost of “summer learning programs” for the average Louisiana family - which amounts to 15 percent of median summer income. (Source: Center for American Progress)
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May 16, 2017
May 16, 2017

Deepening the budget hole

Rather than heeding the recommendations of experts who suggested reducing the proliferation of tax exemptions and credits, the House Ways & Means Committee is creating new tax breaks and extending old ones.

Number of the Day

8.9 -  Percent of discretionary federal grant dollars Louisiana would lose under President Trump’s 2018 budget blueprint. Programs funded with discretionary federal money include Community Development Block Grants, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants, and 21st Century Community Learning Centers.  (Source: The Pew Trusts)
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