Is there something ironic about new legislation that goes into effect on April 1? When you think of the significance of that day and the way our state government has been performing over the past decade or so you probably get the humor. You'll also be getting the bill to  pay for those poor choices our elected officials have made.

Beginning April Fool's Day a new bill approved by the Senate will increase the tax on your purchases by one cent. Hopefully that penny won't make or break the people of Louisiana but it will help make the incredible budget deficit our state is currently trying to erase a lot smaller.

In the Senate legislation the one cent tax will have a five year life span. The House version of a similar measure would expire after one year. So this is not a law yet but it's looking like it's going to be. The only sticking  point is how long we'll be stuck with an extra penny of sales tax.

To hammer out that sticking point there will be a House and Senate Conference committee meeting to decide which of the two version of the legislation is the best for the state. Chances are there will be a compromise over the length of time the sales tax will be in effect.

However, if you've lived in Louisiana more than ten minutes you probably realize that once politicians get a stream of revenue coming in it's very difficult to get them to turn the faucet off. That's where we the people will have to remain cognizant of how our state is being run on the fiscal side.

There has been no official date for a conference committee meeting announced but lawmakers will have to get the deal done by the end of the special session which is slated for 6 PM on Wednesday March 9.

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