Longtime LABI official Jim Patterson is the interim president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, taking over for now gubernatorial candidate Stephen Waguespack. With the legislative session coming up, Patterson says LABI will be involved in the property insurance crisis and they would like to see the legislature address the high taxes on insurance premiums.
“This would be the most immediately impactful and we feel like this a place we ought at least be looking and considering as we go into this fiscal session,” said Patterson.
Patterson says they will also be involved in discussions about eliminating the state’s income tax and phasing out the state’s inventory tax, but that maybe difficult to do in an election year.
Patterson says they will oppose any bills that seek to prevent carbon capturing. Some lawmakers do not like the idea of capturing emissions and burying them underneath the ground or a waterway. But Patterson says it will bring cleaner air to Louisiana in an environmentally safe way.
“When these type of facilities are proposed, folks begin to knee jerk and react against them, largely because they don’t understand the science and it doesn’t present an environmental risk,” said Patterson.
And Patterson says the business lobbying group will oppose efforts to raise the minimum wage from the current $7.25 an hour. He says it will drive up inflation even more.
“It essentially is not going to help the individual they are trying to help any better off, because they are just going to simply be using that higher minimum wage to pay higher prices for their goods and services,” said Patterson.
The legislative session begins April 10th.
Patterson has served LABI for more than 30 years and currently oversees and coordinates the day-to-day activities of LABI’s lobbying team at Capitol.
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