Gov. Mills proposes $187 million increase in school funding in updated state budget
The plan would fund education at the voter-approved level of 55% for the first time, provide more money to cities and towns, and put a record amount in the state s rainy day fund.
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Gov. Janet Mills proposed an additional $187 million in education funding Wednesday in a revision of the recently approved state budget that also includes allocations to the Medicaid program, environmental protection and the state’s “rainy day” contingency fund.
Combined with a proposed increase in revenue sharing with municipalities, Mills’ budget could relieve pressure on property taxes, a prospect that earned praise from educators and municipal leaders. But some conservatives repeated a call for income tax relief and questioned the need for more spending on schools.
Sales tax centralization keeps moving in Senate
A proposal to amend the Louisiana Constitution and centralize sales tax collection in took another step forward Monday.
The Senate’s Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee advanced House Bill 199 by House Speaker Clay Schexnayder without objection, though sticking points remain that likely won’t be resolved in the current session.
Under Louisiana’s unusual system, local officials have control of local sales tax collection, which they have argued ensures they get their money quickly and are able to spend it as local taxpayers and voters want it spent. Business advocates, however, said the system is difficult to navigate for companies that sell in multiple jurisdictions, particularly for small companies or companies from outside the state that are unfamiliar with Louisiana’s complex tax structure.
BATON ROUGE, La. -
 A proposal to amend the Louisiana Constitution and centralize sales tax collection in took another step forward Monday.
Rep. Clay Schexnayder, Speaker of the House McHugh David | The News
The Senateâs Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee advanced House Bill 199 by House Speaker Clay Schexnayder without objection, though sticking points remain that likely wonât be resolved in the current session.
Under Louisianaâs unusual system, local officials have control of local sales tax collection, which they have argued ensures they get their money quickly and are able to spend it as local taxpayers and voters want it spent. Business advocates, however, said the system is difficult to navigate for companies that sell in multiple jurisdictions, particularly for small companies or companies from outside the state that are unfamiliar with Louisianaâs complex tax structure.
With $461 million surplus in sight, State House leaders ponder spending, tax relief plans
The revenue projection is driving conversations that range from income tax relief to investments in education, health care, nursing homes and economic development.
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AUGUSTA State lawmakers have lots of ideas about what to do with a projected $461 million in surplus tax revenue, including funneling it into public schools, nursing homes, health care programs or even the state’s savings account.
But while Democrats are looking for ways that government could use the money expected when the state closes its two-year budget on June 30, Republicans have their own priorities, the highest being to give some of that money back to Mainers in the form of tax credits.
A budget that will guide the next two years of spending in Maine passed the Legislature late last month without expanded funding for legal services for low-income Mainers. The decision opens the door further to litigation if lawmakers cannot resolve a decade of underfunding for a mandatory state service.
Lawmakers committed $17.6 million to the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services, or MCILS, in each of the next two budget years. Most of that will be spent to reimburse private defense attorneys contracted with the state to represent those who cannot afford to hire their own lawyers.
This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor.