Louisiana’s 2024 Regular Session officially adjourned sine die on Monday, June 3rd.
In Louisiana, regular sessions convening during even-numbered years are non-fiscal in nature, meaning legislators are constitutionally prohibited from introducing a measure that levies or authorizes a new state tax, increases an existing state tax, or legislating with regard to state tax exemptions, exclusions, deductions, or credits (Const. Art. III, §2(A)(3)(b)). With these constitutional limitations, tax reform expectedly took a backseat. Rather, Governor Landry’s administration and the legislature used this first session of the new term to focus on education reform, improving Louisiana’s insurance and legal landscape, and other key policy priorities.
One measure that drew significant attention was HB 800 filed by Representative Beau Beaullieu, which proposed a limited constitutional convention aimed at transitioning non-foundational provisions from the state constitution into statute.
While the bill garnered support from a variety of stakeholders, there was also apprehension surrounding certain provisions of the bill. Opponents focused on three major points of contention: the timing of the convention, the composition of the delegates, and concerns over protecting certain constitutional provisions. Although amendments were added in the House to address many of these concerns, the bill ultimately stalled in the Senate.
Despite the legislature’s reluctance to advance the convention proposed in HB 800, the bill’s numerous hearings made it clear that there is a general consensus that a review of the constitution is warranted, and the legislature may be supportive of a convention in the future under different circumstances. In fact, there has been discussion of a special session being called later this summer to focus on reviewing Article VII of the constitution. This special session would allow the legislature the opportunity to perform a comprehensive review of the revenue and taxation provisions housed in the constitution ahead of next year’s fiscal session and submit a proposed amendments to be added to the November 5th ballot.
Looking ahead to the 2025 Regular Session, which will be the first fiscal session of the new term, the legislature will be tasked with addressing significant revenues issues, specifically the estimated $460 million fiscal cliff Louisiana is facing due to the impending expiration of the temporary 4.45% state sales tax rate next year. Coupled with the expressed desire of both the Governor and the legislature to phase out the individual income tax, Louisiana is potentially in store for a landmark year for tax reform in 2025.
Next year’s Regular Session is set to convene on April 14, 2025. Other tax reform proposals expected to be on the agenda for the legislature include the flattening of corporate income tax rates, the continued phase-out of the corporate franchise tax, the elimination of the inventory tax, the centralization of sales and use tax collections, and the reduction of severance taxes, among other reforms. With discussions focused on reducing taxes across the board, state policymakers will need to focus on planning for and addressing major revenue losses.
Members of the House Ways and Means Committee will have the opportunity to participate in a study group established through Representative Mark Wright’s HR 61, passed during this year’s
session, to explore potential solutions. Similar to past resolution study groups, this study will focus on analyzing the state’s tax structure to make recommendations ahead of the 2025 regular session. The resolution specifically requests the study group to examine major state tax types, evaluate state tax exemptions, identify potential reforms to state tax credits and exemptions, analyze the implications of eliminating the state’s individual income tax, corporate income tax, and corporate franchise tax, and identify potential reforms in state funding of transportation projects.
Other matters Advantous will be tracking ahead of the 2025 Regular Session include the drafting of new program rules for Louisiana’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP) to align with Governor Landry’s executive order (JML 24-23), the Louisiana Tax Commission (LTC) rules promulgation process, and any regulatory updates from state boards and commissions focused on tax policy.
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Advantous’ team of state and local tax experts actively tracked all key tax-related measures introduced during Louisiana’s 2024 Regular Session on behalf of our clients, partners, and stakeholders. The following is a summary of all key tax measures that were passed:
**All bills with Act numbers have been signed by Governor Landry
Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) & Louisiana Economic Development (LED)
SB 494 (Mizell) – Provides for the restructuring and modernization of LED’s organizational structure and operations.
Act 24 (Emerson) – Re-creates LDR and establishes the new termination date to be July 1, 2029. (Effective June 30, 2024) – HB 405
Act 300 (Connick) – Requires the Secretary of LDR to send an assessment and/or self-assessment payment notice by First-Class Mail International with Electronic USPS Delivery Confirmation if the notice is to be mailed to an international address. – SB 147
HB 645 (Freiberg) – Moves responsibility for the collection of the electric and hybrid vehicle fee from LDR to the Office of Motor Vehicles.
Resolution Study Groups and Commissions
HR 61 (Wright) – Requests the House Committee on Ways and Means, or a subcommittee thereof, to conduct a study of the state’s tax structure and to report findings and recommendations from the study to the legislature prior to the convening of the 2025 Regular Session.
SCR 39 (Cathey) – Creates the Commission on the Equitable Distribution of Certain Ad Valorem Taxes to study and make recommendations on changes to the state’s tax laws in an effort to more equitably distribute assessed value of certain property for purposes of ad valorem taxes. Commission shall convene for its first meeting no later than Sept. 30, 2024 and shall terminate on the date of the submission of its report or June 30, 2025, whichever occurs first.
HCR 93 (Jackson) – Urges and requests the Dept. of Revenue and the La. Workforce Commission, jointly, to study administrative actions necessary to facilitate an eventual expansion of the La. Youth Jobs Tax Credit Program. Requests that the two agencies report findings from the study to the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs on or before Jan. 31, 2025.
Sales Tax
Act 76 (Echols) – Exempts from local sales and use tax the procurement and administration in medical clinics of certain prescription drugs administered by infusion, injection, or topical system for cataracts or for ocular inflammation and pain following ophthalmic surgery. (Effective July 1, 2024) – HB 403
HB 827 (Turner) – Authorizes state and local sales and use tax rebates for the purchase of eligible data center equipment made on or after July 1, 2024, and expenditures for development, acquisition, construction, lease, repair, refurbishment, and renovation of a qualified data center. (Effective July 1, 2024)
Act 327 (Cathey) – Establishes a state sales tax rebate for the purchase of equipment, machinery, and other items in lithium recovery activities. Sets termination date for rebate to be Dec. 31, 2025. (Applicable to purchases made on or after July 1, 2024) – SB 268
HB 77 (LaCombe) – Changes the disposition of local sales and use tax proceeds derived from Angola State Penitentiary Prison Rodeo event sales so that 20% goes to the West Feliciana Parish School Board and 80% goes to the West Feliciana Council on Aging.
Act 206 (Bagley) – Authorizes Caddo Parish Fire District No. 4 to levy and collect a sales and use tax not to exceed 1% subject to voter approval. – HB 218
Act 388 (Bagley) – Authorizes Caddo Parish Fire District No. 6 to levy and collect a sales and use tax not to exceed 1% subject to voter approval. – HB 635
Act 387 (Freiberg) – Authorizes the governing authority of a parish with a population of more than 450,000 to rebate revenue from city or parish sales and use taxes collected on the sale of admission tickets to an event that meets certain criteria. – HB 634
Severance Tax
HB 418 (Beaullieu) – Reduces severance tax rates on oil and gas produced from inactive or orphan wells for a period of 10 years. Reduces the rate for oil or gas produced from inactive wells to 25% and from orphan wells to 12.5%. Rates shall apply if production commences before Oct. 1, 2028. (Effective Oct. 1, 2024; Applicable to taxable periods beginning on or after Oct. 1, 2024)
Property Tax
HB 921 (Hilferty) – Requires an assessor to use the fair market value of real property determined in a final, non appealable judgment for assessment purposes in subsequent tax years until reappraisal in a future mandated reappraisal year. (Effective Jan. 1, 2025. Applicable to all tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2025)
Act 215 (Knox) – Requires applicants for a property tax abatement agreement in Orleans Parish to notify the Orleans Parish School Board president of the abatement agreement in writing no less than 30 days prior to the applicant applying for the tax abatement agreement. (Effective July 1, 2024. Applicable to any tax abatement agreement that will affect property taxes in Orleans Parish entered into on or after July 1, 2024) – HB 331
HB 270 (Boyd) – Removes the process and fee for obtaining a property tax exemption for non-profit property in New Orleans.
SB 119 (Miller) – (Constitutional Amendment) Provides for changes to rules relative to tax sales property. (November 5, 2024 election)
SB 505 (Miller) – Provides for changes to rules relative to tax sales property. (Effective upon adoption of SB 119 in statewide election; Applicable to all taxable periods beginning on or after January 1, 2024)
HB 851 (Phelps) – Creates the crime of tax sale property fraud.
HB 659 (Phelps) – Requires a person acquiring tax sale title to property to forfeit any right to claim any statutory imposition associated with property acquired through a tax sale other than the delinquent amount of unpaid taxes if the acquiring person improperly charges rent or lease payments or improperly evicts a property owner who is residing in tax sale property during the redemptive period.
Tax Disputes & Appeals
Act 241 (Emerson) – Raises the limit on the individual value of claims approved by the Board of Tax Appeals that are to be paid from current tax collections rather than submitted to the legislature for payment through the appropriations process from $20,000 to $100,000. – HB 837
Act 307 (Reese) – Provides a taxpayer with the opportunity to appeal a tax dispute once it has gone into collection status, but only when the secretary of the Department of Revenue has made an error based on fact or law. – SB 191
Economic Development
Act 289 (Connick) – Authorizes the creation of a tax increment financing (TIF) district for parishes with a population between 23,000 and 28,000 persons for economic development purposes. – SB 88
HB 461 (Jackson) – Provides for the confidentiality of documents related to local and parish economic development projects.
HB 182 (T. Johnson) – Creates the Ferriday Downtown Entertainment District as a political subdivision of the state for purposes of cooperative economic development. (Effective July 1, 2024)
HB 142 (Beaullieu) – Authorizes the Iberia Economic Development Authority to enter into leases having a term not to exceed 99 years in the aggregate.
HB 295 (Jackson) – Creates the Shreveport I-20 Economic Development District.
HB 562 (Knox) – Provides relative to the boundaries of the New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority Economic Growth and Development District.
HB 761 (LaCombe) – Authorizes certain municipalities to create tax increment financing districts for the redevelopment of blighted property into a conference style hotel and related facilities.
HB 861 (Fontenot) – Adds South Louisiana Economic Council to the list provided in the definition for “regional economic development organization” and removes South Central Planning and Development Commission.
Act 312 (McMath) – Repeals Port Development Advisory Commission. (Effective July 1, 2024) – SB 206
SB 364 (Harris) – Provides for the Downtown Development District of the city of New Orleans.
Act 345 (Connick) – Provides relative to the Major Events Incentive Program. – SB 404
SB 408 (Fields) – Provides that an ordinance establishing an Economic Development District may exclude residential property from the District with the exception of hotels, motels, inns, or bed and breakfasts for temporary occupancy. (Effective August 1, 2024)
Act 356 (Foil) – Authorizes the East Baton Rouge Parish Metropolitan Council and the city of Baton Rouge to establish, by ordinance, a board of commissioners to serve as the governing authority of any district created by the Metro Council. – SB 457
SB 469 (Price) – Adds drainage facilities within the scope of projects that fall under the powers of the Ascension Parish Road Infrastructure Development Districts.
SB 480 (Boudreaux) – Provides for the powers and functions of the Lafayette Development Authority.
SB 481 (Boudreaux) – Creates the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Economic Development District and provides for powers and duties of the District. (Effective August 1, 2024)
Miscellaneous
SB 500 (Reese) – Prohibits the levy of local fees and taxes by a local governing authority on non-gaming incentives and inducements granted by certain gaming licensees to a patron on a complimentary basis or solely through the redemption of rewards through a loyalty rewards program.
Act 133 (Myers) – Provides requirements for income tax withholding on gaming, slot machine, sports wagering, and fantasy sports contest winnings. – HB 480
Act 84 (Carver) – Repeals references in law to a previously repealed inheritance tax. – HB 718
Act 341 (Allain) – Corrects the statutory citation in law for the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund. – SB 373
SB 398 (Jenkins) – Extends the sunset of the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau maximum hotel occupancy tax rate of 4.5% until 25 years after June 30, 2024.
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For more information on Louisiana’s 2024 Regular Session or Advantous’ Government Relations
services, please contact Mary Robinson (mary.robinson@advantous.com).