By MARSHA SHULER
Capitol news bureau
Published: Jun 21, 2007

Sen. Marrioneaux sidelines elected offiical income tax disclosure bill

The Senate sponsor of legislation requiring legislators and local elected officials to make public their federal income tax returns sidelined his proposal this morning.

“It’s pretty apparent to me that my bill is not going to make it through the process,” said state Sen. Rob Marionneaux, D-Grosse Tete.

Marionneaux asked the state House and Governmental Affairs Committee to defer action on his Senate-passed legislation as it was coming up for a vote.

Marionneaux said he had “already gotten the word” that when his income tax disclosure bill, Senate Bill 157, came up, enough members of the House committee would take a walk to lose the panel’s quorum. A committee cannot vote on legislation unless a majority of the membership – a quorum – is present.

Marionneaux said he “never intended to embarrass anybody” by pushing the bill. “So I decided to stop the bleeding,” he said.

Marionneaux said he will support the financial disclosure legislation approved by the Senate on Wednesday — a rewrite of House Bill 730.

The Senate version requires legislators and local elected officials to file more detailed personal finance disclosure reports than the House version.

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