Acadiana Delegation legislative highlights

Lawmakers have returned home with the close of the regular session on June 23 with milestones under their belts, questions to answer to the constituents, and plans to make for the next session.

The Acadiana Delegation’s Chairman is Representative Jonathan Perry of Kaplan with Representative Simone Champagne of District 49 as Vice Chairman.

Rep. Perry commented, “As chair of the Acadiana Delegation, I am very excited and proud of the legislation which the members of the Delegation put forth during this session and the previous sessions. It has been a long and trying six months; however, ethics reforms, business tax relief and the repeal of Stelly are wonderful accomplishments for this group of legislators and the legislature.”

Several bills have an impact on the Acadiana area. Two in particular have favorable tax implications for residents:

SB87 provides for the repeal of the Stelly Income Tax, cutting over $300 million in personal income taxes and giving working families the largest tax cut in the state’s history.

SB520 prohibits an action to collect a tax applicable to moveables on certain purchases of certain manufactured homes between August 2005 and December 2006 used as residences in certain parishes which were impacted by Hurricane Rita, if the basis of such action is the date upon which a declaration of immovability is recorded in the conveyance or mortgage records.

Several appropriations have a direct impact on the region, but HB2 specifically provides $1.8 million payable from the general obligation bonds for bulk heading and dredging at the Port of Vermilion.

The following are some highlights that affect the region:

Act167 extends the office hours of the registrar of voters during the early voting period by requiring the Office of the Registrar to stay open until 6 p.m. rather than 4:30 p.m.

Act264 provides that no owner or manager of a restaurant which sells imported crawfish or shrimp shall misrepresent to the public, either verbally, on a menu, or on signs displayed on the premises, that the crawfish or shrimp is domestic.

HB958 unanimously supported requiring health insurance coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders in individuals under 17 years of age.

HB1150 overhauls the Louisiana Department of Labor in favor of coordinating workforce training programs under the umbrella of the Louisiana Workforce Commission. Such programs would be responsible for aligning technically-skilled labor with industry needs and over 100,000 skilled-labor job vacancies in our region and across the state.

SB26 provides for a $15 per month supplemental pay increase for eligible law enforcement officers and firefighters beginning in July 2009.