(AP) — Louisiana senators Monday shelved their effort to renew a temporary state sales tax and instead unanimously backed a different tactic to steer millions of dollars more annually to roadwork that could create future budget gaps for health care, education and other services. The new approach would dedicate 75% of the money generated each year from the state’s vehicle sales tax specifically to transportation projects. The Senate initially reworked the bill to make a temporary 0.45% state sales tax passed in 2018 permanent and send the dollars to road and bridge work, rather than letting the tax expire as planned in mid-2025. They stripped out the medical marijuana tax and the language making the temporary sales tax permanent and added language dedicating most of the vehicle sales tax to infrastructure. They’ve also added millions of dollars in legislative earmarks to budget bills that would provide financing for specific transportation projects favored by individual lawmakers.

Source: thestar June 07, 2021 21:22 UTC