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Auto insurance costs will take center stage on Wednesday morning at the Legislature, with four meetings set to either take up the issue directly or review policy issues that critics say help to drive high premiums. 

The meetings follow a disappointing regular session for the insurance and trucking sectors, culminating in Gov. Jeff Landry’s veto of HB 423, which addressed the state’s collateral source rule and was a top priority of the business lobby. 

House Insurance has one item on the agenda, and that’s “to analyze cost drivers for auto insurance in Louisiana.” House Civil Law and Procedure will go deep on policy, leading off with a discussion of the Housley presumption, which basically gives injured plaintiffs a presumption that their injuries were caused by an accident if certain factors are met. 

Rep. Michael Melerine attempted to end the Housley presumption this year, but his HB 24 was bottled up in Senate Judiciary A. Both meetings are scheduled to start at 9 a.m.

At the same time, on the Senate’s side of the building, the Insurance Committee is set to “discuss and explore overall medical utilization and billing in regard to automobile insurance.” Critics say the current system encourages “jackpot justice” in which plaintiffs are compensated beyond what their injuries justify. 

Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary A and Senate Judiciary C will hold a joint meeting focused on “issues specific to commercial trucking and fraudulent activities in Louisiana.” The scheduled speakers are Doug Williams, an attorney with Breazeale Sachse & Wilson; Randy Guillot of Triple G Express, Inc.; Nathan Strebeck, deputy commissioner for the Department of Insurance; Jeff Traylor with the state Department of Justice criminal division; and Renee Amar, executive director of the Louisiana Motor Transport Association. 

—NELSON: LEGISLATORS WANT CUTS: While an August special session in time to send constitutional changes to the public in November isn’t going to happen, Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson is holding out hope for one before the regular fiscal session starts next spring. 

On Monday, Nelson told the Baton Rouge Press Club that, while he wants a “zero deficit” tax overhaul, many lawmakers want to see state agencies cut their budgets to pay for tax cuts. 

“It’s going to be up to the Legislature on what level of revenue loss they want to see,” he said. “I’m structuring it all to say basically, ‘If you want no deficit, this is what it’s going to be.’” 

While ending state income taxes remains a long-term objective, Nelson is for now setting his sights on a flat personal income tax with a higher standard deduction. He would also like to see lower sales tax rates, an end to the franchise tax, and a local government option to not collect inventory taxes, among other changes. Charging taxes for sales of digital goods could be one way to broaden the tax base, Nelson said. He said the goal is to craft a politically palatable proposal under which “nobody is a significant winner, and nobody is a significant loser.” 

Early this year, officials projected a $558.8 million deficit for 2025-2026 after the temporary 0.45 percent state sales tax rolls off. On Monday, Nelson said he expected a smaller shortfall that is nonetheless in the range of “a couple hundred million dollars.” 

—ALSO THIS WEEK: The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget is scheduled to meet at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, following a meeting of its litigation subcommittee. Topics include an amendment of a contract between the Office of Group Benefits and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, review and approval of preservation projects, review and approval of Water Sector Commission recommendations, and discussing legislative intent of appropriations in Acts 4 and 776 of the 2024 regular session and Act 397 of the 2023 regular session. 

The Public Retirement Systems’ Actuarial Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday at 9 a.m., while the Bond Commission convenes Thursday at 10 a.m. 

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