Legislators OK $24.5 billion budget in final minutes

What happened in the Louisiana legislative session this year includes some widely publicized actions and some not so widely publicized. Here are a few, compiled from legislative reports:

In the final few minutes of the session, legislators reached an agreement about how to close a $1.6 billion shortfall without devastating cuts to public colleges and health care services. The House and Senate passed a package of tax bills estimated to raise more than $700 million to help finance the spending plans, and created a tax credit on paper to satisfy the governor and avoid his veto.

The Student Assessment for a Valuable Education, the “SAVE” fund, pushed by the governor, helped balance the budget, and gave Jindal the ability to claim he didn’t support a net tax increase, per his pledge to Grover Norquist, founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform. The SAVE fund represents pass-through money for higher education realized from new taxes and tax credit reductions. In short, the fund is not extra money for higher education or tuition reductions for students.

• Increases in TOPS will no longer be automatic when tuition is increased. Only the Legislature will be able to grant increases in TOPS awards amounts.

• Voters will decide if tuition increases have to be approved by a 2/3 vote of the Legislature via a proposed Constitutional Amendment that will be on the October ballot.

• The tax credits to companies that film movies in the state have been capped at $180 million a year. Solar tax credits were also lowered; as well as credits Louisiana residents can take for taxes paid to other states.

• The Louisiana Civics Initiative requires all high school students in the state entering 9th grade this fall to take the same test given by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to naturalized citizens. Students must correctly answer 60 of the 100 questions to earn a passing grade and the score will be noted on the student’s transcript. The good news, for students anyway, is that passing is not a requirement for graduation, as some legislators wanted. And, those seeking naturalization must earn a higher score, 90 percent or better.

• Recreational marijuana remains illegal to possess or use, but the Legislature authorized the lessening of penalties for possession of small amounts. The Legislature also authorized the dispensing of medical marijuana, to patients with conditions like cancer, glaucoma and cerebral palsy. The medical marijuana will be available only from heavily regulated distributors. Technically, the state legalized medical marijuana in previous sessions, 1978 and 1991, without provisions for access.

• When it comes to Common Core, the debate continues. The legislature passed a compromise that moves the discussion to the beginning of next year, when there will be a new governor and new faces in the Legislature. Both sides are counting on the new faces being on their side.

• Victims of domestic violence can get special consideration from landlords. Victims will be able to break a lease to escape abusers and in some situations, landlords will not be able to evict victims. Those who are found to be abusers by the courts can be evicted immediately.

• Elementary school students may get instruction in firearm accident and prevention and safety. One suggested course for this instruction is the Eddie Eagle Gunsafe program sponsored by the NRA. An amendment to prevent the use of real guns in the lesson failed. The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Blake Miguez, R-Erath, who has appeared in three seasons of “Top Shot,” a cable network reality show based on shooting competitions.

• Prosecutors in the state got some exemptions for carrying concealed weapons, which are already given to district attorneys and retired district attorneys. Attempts to add lawmakers to the exemption failed for the second consecutive year.

• The cost to title a new car is now $50 more. The fee will increase from $18.50 to $68.50, beginning July 1. The increase is predicted to bring in more than $60 million annually.

• Taxes on cigarettes were increased by 50 cents a pack and taxes were added to products like cigarettes, pipes and cigars. Other tobacco products like chewing tobacco and snuff are exempt from the tax increase. This increase is predicted to increase state revenue by more than $1 million next year.

• A portion of La. Highway 24 over Bayou Terrebonne in Gray has been named the “Northpark Bridge.”

• Changes were made in the state’s Enterprise Zone program and retailers, restaurants and hotels are no longer eligible for certain tax credits.

• Employers can now conduct drug testing on hair samples. Previous law allowed urine tests only. The testing must be conducted by laboratories certified by the College of American Pathologists.

• In May, the governor issued an executive order called the “Marriage and Conscience Order,” after a legislative committee defeated a bill that would have protected state contractors who refuse services to same-sex couples, doctors who refuse to treat same-sex couples and businesses that refuse accommodations to same-sex couples from discrimination claims. The governor’s order grants those protections.

• Any money left over from state contracts funded through the general fund is now going to a designated fund for higher education, called the Higher Education Financing Fund. All contracts of $40,000 or more have to be reviewed by the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, and if deemed necessary, amended. Passage of this legislation came after three years of failed attempts by Rep. Dee Richard, no party, of Thibodaux.

• Interest earned from the Deepwater Horizon Economic Damages Collection Fund has been dedicated to higher education. This is money gained by the state in claims against BP. These funds are to be allotted to the State Board of Regents and are not intended to “displace, replace or supplant funding for higher education.”

• The amount of severance tax exemptions on oil production from horizontally drilled wells has been reduced from 100 percent to varying amounts, based on the price of oil as set by the Department of Natural Resources.

• Farmers will able to use drones on their property as long as they get an operator’s license, once they have taken a safety class. Drone activity will be monitored by the Agriculture Commission.

• In future years, Senate leadership will be elected by secret ballot, because some senators felt the governor had too much influence over the selection of its leadership.

• Among legislators serving in their final legislative session is Rep. Gordon Dove, R-Houma, who has been in the Legislature since 2003.