2018 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 178
BY SENATOR DONAHUE
A RESOLUTION
To present a budget plan that reflects the reduction of Louisiana's sales taxes, includes the
impact of federal tax policy, and provides funding established by a standstill budget
and includes priority programs.
WHEREAS, the official forecast for Fiscal Year 2017-2018 incorporates the
collections of an entire fifth penny in sales and use tax which, when combined with other
sources of revenue collections, support the Fiscal Year 2017-2018 state budget enacted by
the Legislature of Louisiana after three sessions of deliberations, and which budget currently
includes funds for the scholarships for the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, as well
as the delivery of services by the Louisiana Department of Health, and funding for the
medical schools and the public-private partnerships, all in accordance with Act 3 of the
Second Extraordinary Session of 2017, the general appropriations act for Fiscal Year 2017-
2018; and
WHEREAS, House Bill No. 1 of the 2018 Regular Session, the general appropriation
bill for Fiscal Year 2018-2019, does not contain full funding for eligibility categories for the
disabled and elderly under the Medicaid program, medical education, supplemental
Medicaid payments to the public-private partnership hospitals, the Taylor Opportunity
Program for Students scholarships, local housing of state prisoners, the district attorneys and
the assistant district attorneys, higher education base funding, and GO Grants; and
WHEREAS, the governor of Louisiana, in accordance with the Constitution of
Louisiana presented a Fiscal Year 2018-2019 executive budget allocating only those
revenues contained in the then current official forecast of the Revenue Estimating
Conference which totaled $8.6 billion; and
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WHEREAS, the standstill budget for Fiscal Year 2018-2019, as modified for the
inclusion of additional means of financing, would total $9.75 billion; and
WHEREAS, the governor identified approximately $995.4 million in expenditures
that did not receive funding in his executive budget that, if funded, would bring his budget
to $9.5 billion which is less than a modified standstill budget; and
WHEREAS, the programs and amounts which did not receive funding in the
executive budget are, as follows:
Program State Portion of Unfunded
FY 2019 Cost
LDH-Mostly Medicaid $ 656,612,820
TOPS Program $ 233,342,683
Local Housing/State Prisoners $ 40,408,330
District Attorneys/Assistant District Attys $ 26,314,182
Higher Education Base Funding $ 25,680,922
Go Grants $ 13,000,000
TOTAL $ 995,358,937
WHEREAS, if the Louisiana Department of Health does not receive the amount of
funding set forth above, many, if not all, of the public-private partnerships have indicated
that they will terminate their agreements with the state, which will eliminate their
responsibility to make lease payments to the state which will result in a loss of state revenues
and economic activity and cause fiscal instability; and
WHEREAS, since the time the Executive Budget was submitted to the legislature,
the Revenue Estimating Conference increased the official forecast by $346 million as a
result of changes in federal tax policies, thereby reducing the projected deficit for Fiscal
Year 2018-2019 to $650 million.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
can consider reducing the current collection of five pennies of sales and use tax by the state
to four and one-half cents, or some portion thereof, which would reduce the tax burden on
the citizens of the state and yet maintain a portion of the sales tax by generating
approximately $402 million of the original $806 million, and further closing the gap between
the estimated Fiscal Year 2018-2019 revenues and expenditures.
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Penny Cleaning-Existing Levies 4% Rate
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana shall
continue to work with the House of Representatives and the governor to identify additional
expenditure reductions in the standstill budget where possible and revenue reduction options:
Revenue Source Current Tax Paid Savings from Tax
Reduction
5
th
Penny $ 904 Million
Reduce Penny Tax by 3/4 $ 678 Million
Reduce Penny Tax by ½ $ 452 Million
Reduce Penny Tax by 1/4 $ 226 Million
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana may
consider sales and use tax exemptions and exclusions, currently provided by law, as follows:
Retain limited exemptions and exclusions on R.S. 47:302
2% sales tax levy (HB 25 2018 1
st
ES)
*MM&E is currently exempt from this levy
*Nonresidential utilities are taxable under this levy
$149 Million/year
Existing limited exemptions and exclusions on the R.S.
47:321 1% sales tax levy
*MM&E is currently taxable under the levy
*Nonresidential utilities are exempt
$29 Million/year
Existing limited exemptions and exclusions on the R.S.
47:331 1% sales tax levy
*MM&E is currently exempt from this levy
*Nonresidential utilities are exempt after nine months of FY
2019
$12 Million in FY 19
$49 Million in FY 20
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that standstill requirements shall be in effect for all
expenditures contained in HB 1, and the following reductions to Incentive Expenditures
below shall achieve a standstill budget for Fiscal Year 2019-2020 and thereafter, which
reductions shall be achieved through creating maximum expenditure authority for each
program until otherwise authorized, as follows:
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Maintain Standstill Incentive Expenditure
Budget
Limitation
on Program
Based on FY
2018
Savings to
further
replace
remaining
portion of
the 5
th
Penny
Atchafalaya Trace Heritage Area Development Zone
Cane River Heritage Tax Credit
Tax Credit for Rehabilitation of Historic Structures$61,587,240$16,412,760
Brownfields Investor Tax Credit $31,583 $8,417
Louisiana Community Economic Development Act
Port of Louisiana Tax Credits
Motion Picture Investor Tax Credit $142,124,400$37,875,600
Research and Development Tax Credit $6,316,640$1,683,360
Digital Interactive Media and Software Act $23,687,400$6,312,600
Louisiana Motion Picture Incentive Act
New Markets Tax Credit $789,580 $210,420
University Research and Development Parks
Industrial Tax Equalization Program $3,158,320$841,680
Exemptions for Manufacturing Establishments
Louisiana Enterprise Zone Act $31,583,200$8,416,800
Sound Recording Investor Tax Credit $157,916 $42,084
Urban Revitalization Tax Incentive Program
Technology Commercialization Credit and Jobs
Program
$78,958 $21,042
Angel Investor Tax Credit Program $1,579,160$420,840
Musical and Theatrical Productions Income Tax
Credit
$6,158,724$1,641,276
Retention and Modernization Act $3,947,900$1,052,100
Tax Credit for Green Jobs Industries
Louisiana Quality Jobs Program Act $78,958,000$21,042,000
Corporate Headquarters Relocation Program
Competitive Projects Payroll Incentive Program $315,832 $84,168
Louisiana Capital Companies Tax Credit Program
Procurement Processing Company Rebate Program $9,080,170$2,419,830
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Rebates for Donations to School Tuition
Organizations
$5,684,976$1,515,024
TOTAL $375,240,000$100,000,000
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana shall
endeavor to allocate all revenue adjustments recognized since January 1, 2018, in a manner
that ensures stability to the citizens of the state by funding eligibility categories for the
disabled and elderly under the Medicaid program, medical education, supplemental
Medicaid payments to the public-private partnership hospitals, the Taylor Opportunity
Program for Students scholarships, local housing of state prisoners, the district attorneys and
the assistant district attorneys, higher education base funding, and GO Grants.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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