Legislative briefs for June 12, 2007
By CAPITOL NEWS BUREAU

Private school tuition break OK'd by Senate committee Parents who send their children to private schools could get a tuition tax break under a bill that cleared a Senate panel Monday.

The Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs approved Senate Bill 45 after cutting back on its fiscal impact on the state budget by making it a tax deduction rather than tax credit.

The change would cost $20 million to $23 million, instead of the original $272 million annual hit, legislative economist Greg Albrecht said.

“I’m trying to get something back to Mom and Dad,” said Sen. Rob Marionneaux, D-Grosse Tete.

Marionneaux had support from the Louisiana Family Forum and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.

Opposition came from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the Louisiana Association of Educators and the AFL-CIO.

LFT president Steve Monaghan said the tax credit does the same thing as the school voucher program by providing incentives for parents to put and keep children in private schools. He said it undermines public schools.

The bill now moves to the full Senate.

Click here for the original link to the article.