BATON ROUGE — At this rate Louisiana may have to begin designating legislative Special Sessions with Roman numerals like the Super Bowl.
Gov. John Bel Edwards on Friday called the seventh Special Session of his three-year term — and the third of this spring — to address the state's budget crisis.
Special Session VII will begin at 4 p.m. June 18 and must end by midnight June 27.
Will the third time be a charm? If so, the centerpiece will almost certainly include the passing of a portion of a new penny in sales tax, which is specified as an option in the governor's call.
This spring's two previous Special Sessions yielded little as lawmakers rejected new taxes that would put a significant dent in next year's $648 million budget shortfall.
They did, however, pass a budget that slashes the popular college scholarship program TOPS, higher education, the pre-kindergarten program and corrections.
Only health care, nursing home patients and safety net hospitals are shielded in the budget that sits on Edwards' desk.
The governor vetoed a similar budget following the regular session, but signed the budget into law Friday.
Edwards has vowed the cuts won't stand.
“We have one more opportunity to get this right for the people of Louisiana," Edwards said Friday. "We can fully fund TOPS, higher education, our sheriffs, district attorneys and other state priorities and still give the people of Louisiana a reduction in their tax burden of over $500 million."
But that will take cooperation from the House, where major tax bills have gone to die during this spring's first and second Special Sessions, one that ended in February and another that crashed at midnight Monday.
Republicans, who hold a 61-seat majority in the 105-member House, have been at odds with the Democratic governor about how much money is needed to close the budget gap.
Louisiana's House Republican Caucus, led by Chairman Lance Harris of Alexandria, sent a letter to Edwards saying its members can't support more taxes to address the state's budget without spending reforms and transparency.
"We agree in the necessity of funding our essential priorities," the letter said. "We also believe that it is necessary to enact transparent budgeting and spending policies and reduce the size of state government."
The budget crisis looms because about $1.4 billion in temporary taxes expire on June 30, the day before the state's 2018-19 fiscal year begins.
Most of that revenue comes from a temporary one-cent sales tax, which raises more than $800 million annually.
Edwards also signed Senate Bill 13 by Sen. Rick Ward, R-Baton Rouge, known as the Louisiana Checkbook bill, that allows anyone to track the state's spending on the Internet.
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1
