HOUSE NOTES

Louisiana House of Representatives

Communications Office
2015 Regular Session
Week Six, May 22, 2015

The House, after concluding its 22nd

legislative day, adjourned for the Memorial
Day holiday weekend.
This week, the House passed the
General Appropriations Bill.
The House Committee on Ways and
Means will take up the Capital Outlay Bill on
Tuesday, May 26, then it will go to the House
Appropriations Committee for review.
Twenty House bills and 11Senate bills
have completed the process.
Seventeen House bills have been sent
to the governor for executive approval.
A brief description of a few of the bills
that generated public interest this week
follow. The bills are hyperlinked to the
current posted version of the instrument.
To search the full description of these
bills, including their amendments, visit Bill
Search on our website.
ABLE ACCOUNTS TAX EXEMPTION
*
House Bill 234, pending House final
passage, excludes from state income tax the
money deposited into special savings accounts
that finance qualified expenses of persons
with disabilities.
Qualifying expenses that are allowed
include assistive devices and services, K-12
and higher education costs including tuition,
health care including insurance premiums,
housing including rent or purchase, and
transportation including the purchase or
modification of vehicles.

The income tax exclusion under

HB234 is applicable to tax years beginning
Jan. 1, 2016.
ANGEL INVESTOR TAX CREDITS
*
House Bill 244, pending House final
passage, extends the sunset of the Angel
Investor Tax Credit Program to July 1, 2019,
allowing additional credits to be granted and
realized against state tax liabilities.
BAKERY PRODUCTS
*
House Bill 207, pending House final
passage, adds a state sales tax exemption for
bakery products sold at grocery stores,
bakeries and donut shops that furnish facilities
for the consumption of food on the premises.
Food sales by restaurants, drive-ins,
snack bars, candy and nut counters, private
clubs and sales made by an establishment not
specifically exempted elsewhere that furnish
facilities for the consumption of the food on
the premises are not exempt from taxes.
BEEF INDUSTRY COUNCIL
*
House Bill 760, pending House final
passage, reorganizes the membership and
terms of the Louisiana Beef Industry Council,
provides for the authority to levy certain
assessments with refunds and requires that the
state assessment be used to fund youth
activities.

CAR THIEVES
*
Senate Bill 250, pending the House
Transportation Committee, creates a pilot
program that allows some law enforcement
officers to scan license plates after a traffic
stop to crack down on uninsured motorists and
car thieves.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
*
House Bill 62, a proposed
constitutional amendment pending House final
passage, exempts fees charged by institutions
of higher learning from the two-thirds vote of
the legislature requirement.
*
House Bill 323, a proposed
constitutional amendment pending the House
Civil Law Committee, prohibits reductions of
appropriations to higher education if tuition
and mandatory fees are greater or lower than
the prior fiscal year. The governor may
reduce the appropriation to higher ed if the
legislature is in session and receives a twothirds vote of the members in each house, or a
two-thirds vote of the members of the Joint
Legislative Committee on the Budget if the
legislature is not in session.
*
House Bill 360, a proposed
constitutional amendment pending House final
passage, clarifies that the ad valorem
exemption currently allowed for Public
lands; other public property used for public
purposes be for Public lands; and other
public property owned by the state of
Louisiana or a political subdivision of the
state used for public purposes.
*
House Bill 411, a proposed
constitutional amendment pending House final
passage, gives the authority to set admission
standards at public colleges and universities to
management boards, rather than the Board of
Regents.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
*
Senate Bill 27, reported from the
Legislative Bureau, prohibits expungement of
a conviction for domestic abuse battery.
EMPLOYERS/DISABLED INDIVIDUALS
*
House Bill 508, pending House final
passage, defines a qualifying disability as
individuals with intellectual or developmental
disabilities or individuals with service
connected disabilities, and authorizes an
income tax deduction for taxpayers who
employ qualified individuals with disabilities.
Under the proposed law, the deduction
is 50% of gross wages paid to a qualified
disabled individual in the first 4 continuous
months of employment, decreasing to 30% for
each subsequent continuous month of
employment.
Also, the tax deduction program is
capped at 100 qualifying individuals per year,
and the mix of the 100 qualifying individuals
must be 50% qualifying disabled and 50%
qualifying individuals with a serviceconnected disability.
FIREARM ACCIDENT PREVENTION
*
House Bill 446, which passed 94-3,
authorizes firearm accident prevention and
safety instruction for elementary school
students based on the Eddie Eagle gun-safe
accident prevention program developed by the
National Rifle Association.
GRADE-SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS
*
Senate Bill 54, pending House referral,
would stop student suspensions from prekindergarten through the fifth grade for school
uniform violations.
LAW ENFORCEMENT DATABASE
*
House Bill 392, pending House final
passage, creates a training and hiring database

Page -2-

administered by the Louisiana on Law

Enforcement and the Administration of
Criminal Justice Commission to serve as a
central depository for all reporting information
regarding the name, position, certifications
related to training and qualifications, and hire
and separation from service dates of all law
enforcement officers.

from Feb. 1 through Nov. 1 of the same year.

HB167 also provides that no person
who has been convicted of a violation of the
prohibition on hunting at night shall be
eligible to hunt outlaw quadrupeds, nutria, or
beaver at night.
House Bill 167 passed the House, 8410.

MAJOR EVENTS FUND

*
Senate Bill 218, which passed the
House 84-8, establishes the Major Events
Incentive Program sub-fund within the
Mega-Project Development Fund, provides for
qualifications for payments from the dedicated
funds and authorizes the secretary of the
Louisiana Department of Economic
Development to enter into contracts with a
local organizing committee, endorsing parish,
or endorsing municipality. The treasurer shall
distribute monies to eligible entities at times
and in amounts determined by the secretary
and approved by the Joint Legislative
Committee on the Budget.
Examples of such qualified events
include the NFL Super Bowl, the NCAA Final
Four, the NBA All-Star Game, the X Games,
an NCAA Division I Football Bowl
Subdivision post-season playoff or
championship game, the World Games, a
national collegiate championship, an Olympic
activity, a mixed martial arts championship,
the Breeders' Cup World Championships, a
Bass Masters Classic, a National Motorsports
race, the Red Bull Signature Series, an NCAA
College Football Kickoff Game, the United
States Bowling Congress Tournament or a
national political convention.

STATE TRANSACTIONS
*
House Bill 638, pending House final
passage, allows any state agency, board or
commission to offer credit or debit card
transactions for the collection of fees.

NIGHT HUNTING/HOGS
*
House Bill 167 limits the taking of
outlaw quadrupeds, nutria and beaver on
private property at night to the time period

SURPLUS LINES OF INSURANCE

*
House Bill 259, pending House final
passage, reduces the tax rate on the premiums
of surplus line of insurance from 5% per
annum to 4.85% and transfers the tax onto
gross premiums on surplus lines of insurance
for which Louisiana is the home state of the
policyholder. Next, HB259 requires surplus
line brokers to file only in quarters in which
they place single-state surplus lines business
and requires an annual report.
Additionally HB259 repeals the
Nonadmitted Insurance Multi-State
Agreement (NIMSA) requirement and instead
provides that the entire surplus lines premium
of a surplus lines policy of which Louisiana is
the home state of the policyholder shall be
subject to the surplus lines tax.
TAXES
*
House Bill 664, pending House final
passage, defines inventory for purposes of the
inventory tax credit, provides for the amount
of the credit, and provides that the Department
of Revenue may intervene when there is a
finding of overvaluation or mis-classification
of inventory in certain circumstances..
Additionally, HB664 reduces the

Page -3-

amount of the allowable credit from 100% to

65% of ad valorem taxes paid on or after July
1, 2015. The proposed law would apply to all
tax years beginning Jan. 1, 2016.
*
House Bill 735, pending House final
passage, specifies that any individual
receiving any payments for the performance of
services used directly in a motion picture
production activity claimed as a production
expenditure for certification of a tax credit, is
deemed to be receiving Louisiana taxable
income whether directly, or indirectly through
an agent or agency, loan-out company, a
personal service company, an employee
leasing company, or other entity.
Further, HB735 provides that any
motion picture production company, payroll
service provider, or other entity making or
causing to be made such payments to an
individual, or to an agent or agency, loan-out
company, personal service company,
employee leasing company, or other entity is
considered to be paying compensation taxable
by the state. For purposes of eligibility of such
payments for certification of motion picture
investor tax credits, the company is required
to withhold taxes from those payments at the
rate of 6%.
*
House Bill 748, pending House final
passage, provides for additional clarifications
and codifications in administering the motion
picture investor tax credit program to include
productions for "digital online" and
establishes requirements specific to final
certifications of project expenditures for
motion picture "infrastructure" investor tax
credits.
*
House Bill 828, pending House final
passage, phases out the corporation franchise
tax by reducing the amount by a cumulative
20% each year beginning Jan. 1, 2016, over
the next 5 years until the amount levied is
eliminated.

TAX RETURN EXTENSION

*
House Concurrent Resolution 19,
pending House final passage, requests the
Secretary of the Department of Revenue to
accept an individual taxpayer's federal income
tax return extension as a taxpayer's extension
of time to file his state income tax return.
TOPS
*
Senate Bill 48, reported from the
Legislative Bureau, makes changes to the
Taylor Opportunity Program for Students.
SB48 requires that students must have a
minimum ACT score equal to or granter than
the state average expressed in whole number
increments, but not less than 20.
Additionally:
1) TOPS award amounts shall be equal
to the amount established for the 2015-16
award year at the institution in which the
student is enrolled.
2) The Legislature may increase the
amount awarded in any given award year to a
student who is a TOPS recipient.
3) Any award increase granted by the
legislature shall be established as the
minimum amount to be awarded to a TOPS
recipient and may be subject to other
limitations in law.
4) The amount awarded to a TOPS
recipient shall not be less than the amount
paid for the previous award year.
5) SB48 retains payment of the
supplemental amounts established in present
law for a recipient of a Performance or Honors
award.
*
Senate Bill 155, a proposed
constitutional amendment, authorizes the
postsecondary education management boards
to establish the tuition and mandatory fee
amounts charged by institutions under their
supervision and management without
legislative approval.

Page -4-

TRAFFIC SCHOOL
*
Senate Concurrent Resolution 47,
which has completed the legislative process,
requests public agencies to require their first
responders to participate in the traffic incident
management process (TIM) and training
program.
TIM teaches safe and quick clearance
at traffic incident scenes; prompt, reliable and
open communications; motorist and firstresponder safeguards; and uses a common set
of practices and all first-responder disciplines
from law enforcement, fire services and
emergency medical services to transportation
agencies and towing companies.
WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES
*
Senate Concurrent Resolution 46,
pending House final passage, expresses the
historical and constitutional right of the State
of Louisiana to be the ultimate authority to
manage the use and protection of its water.
*
Senate Bill 210, reported from the
Legislative Bureau, increases the percentage
of money that can be used for administrative
costs from 10% to 25% from the Hunters for
the Hungry Account within the Conservation
Fund. SB210 also adds that the balance in
the account may be used for advertising,
promoting or marketing the program.
YOUTH ADVENTURE PARK
*
House Bill 839, which passed the
House 96-0, provides for a nonprofit youth
organization to operate a youth adventure
center in the Atchafalaya Basin for adventure,
educational, or recreational activities and
establishes a limitation of liability for such
activities.

Page -5-