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For a few months now, Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson has been calling for a special session to address Louisiana’s convoluted tax system. The administration’s push to hold an August session fell through amid legislator pushback. But lawmakers appear to be warming to the idea, perhaps enough so that a November session could be in the cards.
But what about insurance? Legislators often cite the high cost of premiums as the top constituent issue. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple has been calling for an insurance-focused session since before taking office, and he’s not alone.
“I get asked almost every day by my colleagues when we’re going to have a special session to address our insurance crisis,” says House Insurance Chair Gabe Firment.
Firment would support a dual-purpose special session in the fall featuring both tax reform and insurance, though he doesn’t think that’s likely. A spring gathering next year prior to the regularly scheduled fiscal session is more plausible, he suggests.
During this year’s regular session, Temple, Gov. Jeff Landry and most legislators were on the same page when it came to addressing property insurance. It was on the automotive side where things fell apart, and that’s where Firment wants to focus next.
“I think the number of lawmakers that are interested in a special [insurance] session grows with each passing day,” Temple says.
While he agrees with Firment that auto insurance should be a major focus, he doesn’t think lawmakers should rest on their laurels on the property side. Other states are working on improving their property insurance markets, so Louisiana should try to keep up, he says.
While Temple says he would be OK with a double-barrelled tax/insurance session if that was the only option, he would much prefer an insurance-only session in March. He notes that relevant committees may already be laying the groundwork.
House Insurance, House Civil Law and Procedure and Senate Judiciary A have all met in recent weeks to talk about insurance cost drivers, and more rounds of meetings are planned. Once those meetings conclude in December, Temple says, there would be an opportunity to regroup and come up with a package.
And of course, he would want to get the governor on board. Beyond the fact that he would be the one to call the session, when Landry was backing Temple’s property insurance push, bills got over the finish line fairly quickly and easily, Temple notes.
For his part, House Civil Law Chair Nicky Muscarello doesn’t see the need for an insurance-focused session. He’s fully on board with holding a session on tax reform, which is what he feels should be the top priority.
But he is bullish on the progress the committees are making on addressing auto insurance costs. While he’s not ready to disclose his main takeaways just yet, he feels that everyone who makes money in the current system, including attorneys, insurers and the health care sector, will have to “come to the table and take a haircut” to solve the crisis.
—They said it: “There should be a little bit of a ding, an appropriate ding on how much you get if half your work life you didn’t pay [into Social Security]. But the ding they’re getting, the penalty they’re getting, is far in excess of what they should.” —U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy on Social Security rules that critics say unfairly penalize public sector workers, reported by BRProud
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
