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Last Day, Last Chance

This is the final day of the second special session, and it must end by midnight tonight.

“We’re going to ask you to come in for 9 a.m.; be prepared to stay the day,” Senate President John Alario warned the upper chamber last evening. “More than likely we’ll be in and out with some long recesses in between.”

Much of the action since Monday has been behind the scenes, prompting several Senate members to express their frustration over not being able to come up with the funding Louisiana needs.

“You know, I wish that we could completely get there. I think it’s going to be very difficult,” Slidell Sen. Sharon Hewitt said.

Shreveport Sen. Greg Tarver was ready to march across the building.

“We need to go over to the House and tell them to support these measures!” he exclaimed.

Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne tried to cheer them up, and on.

“You’ve raised a significant amount of money thus far. You have other – one other – proposal to consider before the sun sets on the session,” Dardenne reminded the Senate Finance Committee. “You’re not finished yet.”

That one proposal is Rep. Jack Montoucet’s HB 50. It scales back capital gains deductions, and the Senate plan is to add an amendment  that would also eliminate the itemized deduction for state taxes paid. Both things combined could put another $100-million into the budget.

Senate President Alario indicated it could be first on today’s agenda.

“I know we’ve got a couple of bills we will be able to take up early in the morning, and some conference committee reports that are coming about,” Alario said just before the Senate adjourned Wednesday evening.

The holdup is -- and has been – the House. Since they voted down an itemized deduction bill Sunday, there have been more than a few meetings trying to get some House members to reconsider their rejection of the idea. Yet many still agree with conservatives like Rep. John Schroder.

“I think we have enough money, and that’s about as far as I’m going,” Schroder told WRKF.

That leaves us all with the Senate President, who said, “We’ll kind of wait on the House to see what kind of decisions they make, but we’ll try to –hopefully – be able to finish in a reasonable time.”