American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2015 - 155

ConventionCoverage: Louisiana Oil & Gas Association

Budget Hole A Major Theme
Entering 2015 Legislature
By Del Torkelson

LAKE CHARLES, LA.-"Ultimately,
there is no sacred tax credit, no sacred
anything," state Representative Joel Robideaux, R-Lafayette, told the Louisiana
Oil & Gas Association during the legislative forum held on the second day of
the group's annual convention, March
11-13 at the L'auberge Casino Resort in
Lake Charles. "It's all on the table."
Robideaux's comment came in reference to the 2015 Louisiana Legislature,
a fiscal session in which lawmakers are
tasked with repairing a $1.6 billion budget
deficit despite constitutional limitations
that prevent them from shuffling all but
about $2 billion worth of allocations.
Moreover, numerous policymakers observed throughout the conference, higher
education, healthcare and public safety
costs all must receive their funding from
that portion of the budget.
Also participating in the legislative
panel, which was moderated by LOGA
Vice President Gifford Briggs, were Senator Ronnie Johns, R-Sulphur, and Rep-

Louisiana's dire financial situation
will force lawmakers to leave all
options open, which may include
suspending or eliminating a number of significant tax incentives,
indicates Representative Joel Robideaux, R-Lafayette, (right) during the legislative forum on the
second day of the Louisiana Oil
& Gas Association's conference,
held March 11-13 at the L'auberge
Casino Resort in Lake Charles, La. Joining Robideaux on the panel were Representative
Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette, (right) and Senator Ronnie Johns, R-Sulphur (not pictured).

resentative Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette.
Briggs also discussed a number of legislative issues likely to surface during
the Board of Directors meeting that concluded the convention. Senator Robert
Adley, R-Benton, also offered the board
a preview of the 2015 session.
Budget Conundrum
Although budget shortfalls have not
been rare in Louisiana, Landry said the

Visiting before the Board of Directors meeting that closed LOGA's 2015 annual meeting
are, from left, LOGA Chairman Bryan Hanks, LOGA Vice President Gifford Briggs and
state Senator Robert Adley, R-Benton. During his remarks, Adley suggested it was
inadvisable to postpone a major overhaul to the state's budgetary structure.

one lawmakers faced this year has cast
an especially gloomy pall. "This is the
worst deficit I have seen," she stated.
Some of the reason for that lies with
previous sessions' hopes that Louisiana's
economy would pick up sufficiently to
refill state coffers. Therefore, Johns related,
lawmakers often addressed budget holes
with short-term patches instead of structural repairs. "We have robbed Peter to
pay Paul, but now Peter has left town,"
he characterized.
Later, Adley prompted a ripple of
nervous laughter when he told LOGA
directors he hoped their friendships would
survive the session. However, he insisted,
relying on temporary fixes in 2015 was
almost certain to unleash an even worse
day of reckoning in 2016.
Adley recounted how experience had
taught him that Louisiana governors were
most powerful during the initial year of
their first terms. Therefore, although lawmakers may find sufficient funds for
2015 if they pass a resolution that suspends
every tax exemption and credit for one
year, Adley suggested, the rehabilitation
under a new governor almost certainly
will be more painful.
He explained that new analysis of the
cumulative tax burden for Louisiana's
200 largest corporations showed their
contributions to state tax coffers was a
net loss of $2.6 billion, much of which
was attributable to the state's industrial
tax exemption.
It constitutes a foundational problem
APRIL 2015 155



American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2015

Contents
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