In eight days from now, Louisiana's state legislators will begin debating tax reforms during a special legislative session. That three-week session will focus on tax cuts and a major rewrite to the state's tax code.
However, political analysts aren't certain that lawmakers will go along with all of Governor Jeff Landry's plan.
"Senators still have a lot of questions," Jeremy Alford, publisher of LAPolitics.com said. "Make no mistake: the Landry Administration is driving this train. They have set the agenda. They have set the call. Now we have to see what lawmakers want to do."
Alford told WWL's Tommy Tucker that this special session is a compromise with lawmakers who refused to go along with Governor Jeff Landry's plans for a constitutional convention or special session during the summer. Although Landry has strong support in the legislature, Alford notes that members of both the House and the Senate won't necessarily give Landry all of the reforms he wants.
Alford notes that many of the changes will come via a rewrite of Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution. That, he says, is going to create a lot of work--and a lot of reading--for legislators over a short period.
"Some of these bills are nearing 100 pages in length," Alford said.
According to Alford, legislators may not rush to pass all of Landry's agenda during the three-week session, saying that they have options if they want to spread out their work over a longer period.
"There have been sessions in the past where lawmakers did not finish the work they were supposed to get finished, and they simply called themselves back into session to continue that work," Alford said.
Any constitutional amendments approved by the legislature will go to voters for final approval. The special session must end by 6 p.m. on Monday, November 25.
