John Bel Edwards in 2017 Governor's State of the State speeches
On Corporations:
80% of C-corps pay no state tax; that's just not right
Our corporate income tax structure is broken. It is far too laden with credits, exemptions, and deductions that put too much of the burden of funding critical state services on individuals. In fiscal year 2015, 80% of Louisiana corporations did not pay
any state income tax. For C corps, those businesses that are taxed at the entity level, 80,000 out of 101,000 did not pay any income taxes. That's just not right. Basic fairness demands that we do better.My proposal will ensure that those 80,000 C
corps that pay no income taxes do their part. The Commercial Activity Tax--or CAT--is based on gross receipts, but will be a minimal graduated amount for businesses with gross receipts of less than $1.5 million. Corporations with receipts of over $1.5
million will pay 0.35% of their gross receipts.
For all other businesses in Louisiana--S corps, LLCs and partnerships, there will be no percentage tax. These entities will instead be assessed with a set and graduated tax, based on their gross receipts.
Source: 2017 Louisiana State of the State address
Apr 10, 2017
On Crime:
Reduce incarceration rate of non-violent offenders
I'm asking that we work together to make Louisiana smart on crime. What we're doing now is not working for our state.Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the country, and we lock people up at a rate of nearly twice the national average.
But our crime rates are comparable to other southern states. As elected officials, we have an obligation to acknowledge when an aspect of our government is broken and we must work together to find a solution.
In 2015, we made a commitment to re-
If adopted into law, this package will safely reduce our prison population by 13%, and it will save taxpayers over $300 million over the next decade.
Source: 2017 Louisiana State of the State address
Apr 10, 2017
On Families & Children:
Family Services placed 735 kids in foster homes despite cuts
Thanks to the hard work of the Department of Children and Family Services, 735 Louisiana foster children found permanent homes last year--the most of any year on record.
The DCFS team accomplished this feat despite the fact that the DCFS has faced deep cuts over the last several years, with fewer employees working longer hours.
Source: 2017 Louisiana State of the State address
Apr 10, 2017
On Health Care:
Medicaid expansion reduced uninsured by 43% & saved $200M
I cannot overstate how important this decision on Medicaid expansion has been for our state and her people. The numbers speak for themselves:- Nearly 417,000 individuals have received health coverage through Medicaid expansion.
- More than
77,000 individuals have received preventive care services since coverage began July 1, many seeing doctors for the first time in years.
- Louisiana's uninsured rate has dropped from 22 percent in 2013 to below 12.6 percent--a nearly 43 percent drop
in the uninsured rate. It is one of the greatest drops in uninsured rates in the entire country.
- In the process of doing all of this, Louisiana is projected to save nearly $200 million in the first year alone, and we're projected to save more than
$300 million in the next fiscal year.
Our state has reaped tremendous benefits from Medicaid Expansion. We are getting more people treatment, which doesn't just benefit the individuals that make up those statistics, but their families too.
Source: 2017 Louisiana State of the State address
Apr 10, 2017
On Jobs:
Close gender wage gap by ending corporate "pay secrecy"
I urge you to act on the wishes of an overwhelming majority of Louisianans by supporting equal pay and raising the minimum wage. Louisiana has the highest gender wage gap in the country with women making only 66 cents for every $1 a man makes. It's a
simple and unassailable idea--pay a woman, who has the same job and similar qualifications, the same you would pay a man. I'm the father of two daughters, and many of you are as well. Wouldn't you want your daughter treated fairly for her hard work.
Yes, it's a fairness issue, but it's also a family issue. When a mother goes to the grocery store to buy a gallon of milk, it doesn't cost 33 percent less because she is a woman.
The legislation I am proposing would help eliminate pay secrecy by prohibiting employers from taking actions against employees for inquiring about, discussing or disclosing their wages or another employee's wages.
Source: 2017 Louisiana State of the State address
Apr 10, 2017
On Jobs:
Meaningful increase to the minimum wage
Let's truly put our citizens first by making a modest but meaningful increase to the minimum wage.Louisiana is one of only five states that have not adopted a state minimum wage. Forty percent of Louisiana working families do not
earn enough to cover basic monthly expenses. It's time--no, past time--for us to change that. What we're proposing is to increase the minimum wage to $8.50 over a two year period. It's a simple change that will produce countless benefits.
Source: 2017 Louisiana State of the State address
Apr 10, 2017
On Tax Reform:
Reform tax structure or face $1.3B fiscal cliff in 2018
Louisiana faces a more than $1.3 billion fiscal cliff on July 1, 2018--a point when a significant amount of revenue disappears and expensive credits and rebates return to their full amounts. This is the big moment. The structural deficits have gone on
for far too long. The resistance to doing what is right and necessary to fix this problem once and for all is no longer acceptable.Last year, you created a task force that spent months studying the most responsible way to reform our tax and budget
structure. What we found from this review is that the options are no easier, or even substantially different, than the ones we have considered in the past. I fully support the task force's recommendations for structural tax reform. Many of the
recommendations of the task force were the very same solutions I proposed last year. So now we have a choice. We can simply go down the same road we have travelled time and again--hoping for different results. Or we can chart a new path.
Source: 2017 Louisiana State of the State address
Apr 10, 2017
On Tax Reform:
Reduce sales tax; eliminate federal income tax deductibility
As a guiding principle, I have proposed that we move forward with the elimination of the fifth penny of sales tax as scheduled July 1, 2018, clean the remaining pennies, and model our sales tax structure utilizing best practices from other states.
In addition, I am asking you all to give 90 percent of the citizens of Louisiana an income tax cut, and simplify the corporate tax structure by reducing the current five corporate income tax rates to three lower rates.
Both of these shifts would be in exchange for eliminating the deductibility of federal income taxes--a practice that is only used in three other states, and is most beneficial to higher income earners.
And for C corps, those businesses that are taxed at the entity level, 80,000 out of 101,000 did not pay any income taxes. My proposal will ensure that those 80,000 C corps that pay no income taxes do their part
Source: 2017 Louisiana State of the State address
Apr 10, 2017
On Technology:
Gas tax to pay for transportation and coastal infrastructure
Louisiana is ranked last in the nation for state investment in transportation. One of the problems is that the value of our gas tax has plummeted over the years. There has not been an increase in state fuel tax revenue since 1989, resulting in a
56 percent reduction in buying power from inflation alone. We've got to restore the value of our gas tax if we expect to make any headway on improving our infrastructure. Otherwise, we'll continue to lag behind and our roads and bridges will be
clogged with traffic congestion.I urge you to take a serious look at what we can do to better invest in our state's roads, bridges and ports going forward.
One of the easiest decisions you can make this session is passing the 2017 Coastal Master
Plan and the Coastal Annual Plan. We are in a race against time to save our coast, and the difference between success and failure lies in the quickness of our response and the boldness of our actions.
Source: 2017 Louisiana State of the State address
Apr 10, 2017
Page last updated: Dec 10, 2018