House to Hear HB 1 Thursday; Agriculture Watching

The Louisiana House of Representatives is set to hear HB 1 on Thursday, and agriculture is keeping a close eye on the debate.  

"The House will meet as a committee of the whole to hear HB 1, which is the appropriations bill," said Jim Monroe of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.  "We're always watching HB 1 because it has the appropriations for both the LSU AgCenter and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry."

Those two budgets appear to be intact at this point, said Monroe.  "They have taken a lot of cuts over the last few years.  Hopefully we will be able to continue their functions."

Budget and tax issues continue to dominate this session. "The Ways and Means committee continues to hear bills and consider different alternatives to raise money, but no decision has been made yet," Monroe said.

The legislature is nearing the half-way point of the session.