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Reynolds: Don’t believe the hype

by David Specht

With a special legislative session beginning Monday, State Rep. Gene Reynolds, D-Minden, has a message for constituents: Don’t believe the hype.

“There will be several bills filed” Reynolds said. “Some will follow the tax commission recommendations and others will be ideas from legislators.”

The Special Legislative Session has been called by Gov. John Bel Edwards to address a budget shortfall of approximately $1 billion.

While there may be many bills, Reynolds said the clearinghouse for what will be considered is still the House Ways and Means Committee.

“Don’t be concerned about any bill until it gets out of the Ways and Means committee,” he said. “Some [bills] that are filed will not move at all — some may be placeholders for possible compromises.”

The process for legislation in the special session will be: Ways and Means Committee, the House floor, Senate committee, the Senate floor, and then signed by the Governor, Reynolds said.

“So next week when the media starts the hype, just keep in mind the process.”

The special session will convene at 4 p.m. Monday and final adjournment is to take place no later than Wednesday, March 7. However, with all the bills and ideas, the process will not be a short one.

“I really can’t see anything passing all the hurdles until the last 5 to 7 days of the special [session],” Reynolds said. “Hopefully we can pass something, the other specials have not had much success.”

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