Louisiana Lawmakers Wrap Up 2015 Legislative Session

Lawmakers wrap up work during the 2015 legislative session, going down to the wire on the budget bill.

Governor Bobby Jindal issued a statement on the end of the session:

I’m proud that we came together this session to pass a balanced budget that protects higher education and healthcare without a tax increase. I’m also proud that we took back local control of education from the federal government and put us on a path to get out of Common Core. Lastly, I’m proud that we protected religious liberty through an executive order after legislators determined they wouldn’t take a vote on the merits. It’s been a great session and I’m proud of the legislators’ hard work.

 

Lawmakers approved the SAVE tax credit, which is needed to prevent Governor Bobby Jindal from vetoing revenue generating bills.

An agreement was reached on next year’s $24 billion dollar budget that would prevent deep cuts to higher education and health care. One of the ways the House and Senate came together to balance the budget was to agree to a 50 cent increase on the state’s cigarette tax. Tax breaks were also minimized as were business subsidies.