The Good, Bad, and Ugly -- 2016 prefiled 1st Extraordinary Session bills

The First Extraordinary Session of the 2016 Louisiana Legislature launches later today, without actually many bills prefiled. With a call almost exclusively focused on tax increases and a session set to last nearly a month, Republicans have signaled marginal interest with those and have plenty of time to come up with alternative such as legislation unlocking dedications and an appropriations bill cutting spending. Here’s what’s available so far:

THE GOOD: HB 4 by Rep. Tony Bacala would repeal the inefficient and wasteful Earned Income Tax Credit.

THE BAD: HB 3 by Rep. Frank Hoffman raises the cigarette tax but fails to dedicate it to offset Medicaid expenses related to smoking (similar bill: HB 14). HB 5 by Rep. Walt Leger would increase the inefficient and wasteful Earned Income Tax Credit; HB 8 by Rep. Chris Broadwater would eliminate deductibility of federal income taxes starting next year without marginal rate reductions.