‘LaPolitics’: Why the proposed gaming tax increase was pulled back

Rep. Roger Wilder, R-Denham Springs, voluntarily deferred his House Bill 22, which calls for increasing from 15% to 51% the tax on net proceeds from electronic sports wagering on websites and mobile applications, amid pushback from the industry. 

During Wednesday’s Ways and Means hearing, Wilder said he was looking for additional revenue to allow for lower income tax rates, while other members said they wanted the industry to compensate the state for what they described as higher expenses related to higher levels of problem gambling. The bill could be brought back later in the special session. 

—New hire: John Shiroda has been hired as executive director of the newly created Natural Resources Trust Authority, Department of Energy and Natural Resources Secretary Tyler Gray said. The trust is under the oversight of the Mineral and Energy Board and is meant to manage the state’s financial risk associated with oil and gas projects, particularly in using state-backed financial assurances to address orphaned wells. Shiroda was most recently senior vice president with Hancock Whitney Bank Corporate Trust. In a related move, Ben Bienvenu is stepping down as commissioner of conservation at DENR to take a seat on the Mineral and Energy Board and the NRTA. 

—Insurance concerns: The cost and availability of insurance remains the top concern of commercial truckers in Louisiana, according to a report by the Louisiana Motor Transport Association released with the American Transportation Research Institute. Legal climate, the economy, a driver shortage and fuel prices round out the top five issues. 

“While we appreciate the Legislature’s work to reform our antiquated tax system, when businesses cannot afford insurance, they cannot afford to do business in our state,” LMTA Executive Director Renee Amar said in a prepared statement. 

Legislators have been meeting in recent months in hopes of coming up with a package of bills for next year that would address insurance issues. 

—They said it: “Article VII is almost as long as the original 1974 constitution at this point. It is the problem child of the constitution.” —Steven Procopio of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, in Louisiana Illuminator