BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Latest on the shelving of a proposal to raise Louisiana’s gas tax (all times local):
5:50 p.m.
The Republican lawmaker who sought to raise Louisiana’s gas tax to increase spending on roadwork lashed out at the state GOP and a conservative organization for working to defeat his proposal.
Baton Rouge Rep. Steve Carter says he’s frustrated by his party and by the out-of-state group Americans for Prosperity. He says the opposition “scared people from doing the right thing.”
Carter shelved the gas tax hike, saying he couldn’t reach the two-thirds vote needed for passage.
Several lawmakers vented their irritation that the bill didn’t have enough support, saying Louisiana needs more money to address a $13 billion backlog in road and bridge work.
Republican Reps. Alan Seabaugh and Dodie Horton said they opposed the bill because their constituents don’t want the tax hike.
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4:30 p.m.
A Republican lawmaker has given up on raising Louisiana’s gasoline tax, acknowledging he couldn’t rally enough votes for passage.
Baton Rouge Rep. Steve Carter announced Wednesday that he won’t pursue the tax hike in the remaining days of the legislative session.
Carter said on his Facebook page that he couldn’t gather the 70 votes needed in the House for the effort to raise hundreds of millions annually for road and bridge work.
The tax increase couldn’t overcome the anti-tax sentiment of the majority-GOP chamber, combined with opposition from the state Republican Party and organizations working to defeat the bill.
Carter originally sought a 17-cent tax hike to raise $500 million yearly. He then proposed a lower tax increase, but still couldn’t win needed backing.
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House Bill 632: www.legis.la.gov
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