FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9, 2019
Contact: Kaleb Harmon
kaleb@lademo.org

Louisiana Democratic Party Condemns the Actions of Speaker Taylor Barras

BATON ROUGE, LA – On Saturday, the Louisiana Democratic Party’s Democratic State Central Committee voted unanimously to formally condemn the actions of Speaker Taylor Barras during the previous four Revenue Estimating Conferences.

The Louisiana Democratic Party condemned Speaker Barras for his obstructionism during the conferences. At the previous conferences, all economists present in the REC repeatedly suggested Louisiana should raise the revenue forecast to allow new money to open up. While the same 3 members of the 4-person committee consistently voted to raise the forecast, Speaker Barras, or his delegate Rep. Cameron Henry, was the sole voice of dissent.

“The way Speaker Barras has acted in these past Revenue Estimating Conferences has been a clear sign he’s abandoned the responsibilities of his position in favor of partisanship and obstructionism,” LDP Executive Director Stephen Handwerk said. “He chose to blatantly ignore the advice of the economic experts who advise the committee and the opinions of all of his colleagues that serve on it with him. By refusing to update the revenue forecast, Speaker Barras is showing that his priorities lie only with himself and not with our teachers, law enforcement officials, or fellow Louisianians.”

Funds from updating the revenue forecast could be used for critical health initiatives, law enforcement funding, and teacher and school support staff pay raises. These funds remain blocked due to Speaker Barras remaining as the only dissent to the revenue forecast increase

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