Thank You

March 17th, 2008 | Posted by admin

Dear Friends,

 

Thank You

I would like to thank you, the people of Louisiana, for all of your efforts through the first two legislative sessions this year. Real change cannot happen without the support of the people, and Louisianians continue to show that they will not stand for the way things used to be. We are transforming Louisiana into a state that the nation will look to as a leader, and not a punch line of jokes.

 

I hope you will join me this week when I am in your area as I travel around the state to thank you for your help. I visited Lake Charles and Lafayette earlier today and I have included my schedule below in hopes that I will see you.

 

Tuesday March 18, 11:00am

Diamond Grill Restaurant - Emerald Room, 1st flr. 924 3rd St., Alexandria, LA 71301

 

Wednesday, March 19, 2:15pm

Copeland’s Restaurant. 1534 Martin Luther King Blvd, Houma, LA 70360

 

Thursday, March 20, 11:00am

Bossier Parish Community College, Student Union. 6220 East Texas Street, Bossier City, LA 71111

 

Thursday, March 20, 1:30pm

International Paper Learning Center, 705 Colliers Ln Bastrop, LA 71220

 

Bringing New Opportunities to Louisiana

With the close of the legislative special session last Friday, we have taken another major step forward in making Louisiana a better place for not only ourselves, but our children and grandchildren as well. For too long, burdensome and unnecessary taxes have crippled the ability of our current businesses to grow and hindered potential future investments in our state, hurting Louisiana families along the way.

 

We have accelerated the elimination of the tax on business investments, such as machinery and other equipment. This will now be completely eliminated by July 1, 2009, ensuring that Louisiana will no longer be one of only three states to tax such investments. We have also sped up the elimination of the tax on business debt, which will allow businesses to invest more into their infrastructure, such as employment and expansion. This means more and better jobs for more Louisiana families.

 

We also abolished the “permanent penny” tax on business utilities, which has proven to cost companies already in our state tens of millions of dollars. If neighboring states can continue to provide a more attractive, less expensive avenue in which to do business, our state will continue to hemorrhage jobs and place larger burdens on our families.

 

Another tax deduction will also be offered to Louisiana families in order to offset the costs of schooling. The tax deduction will be available for tuition, uniforms, and other expenses for students statewide. We must continue working to make certain that every child in Louisiana has access to a quality education, and this tax deduction will be a great help.

With the eradication of these taxes, we have sent a sign to the nation and the world that Louisiana is open for business, and that we will continue working to be one of the best places to invest, grow, and create jobs. This means more opportunities for our children to stay in Baton Rouge or Shreveport or Monroe instead of leaving for Houston, Dallas, or Atlanta. And that is essential to the future of our state.

 

Improving our State’s Infrastructure

The special session also gave us the opportunity to invest in our state’s future by allocating funds from our surplus. We were able to invest in and set aside funds for critical improvements in levees, coastal restoration, roads, ports, and other important areas.

 

We have allocated $530 million for transportation and infrastructure projects throughout Louisiana, ensuring a significant improvement in our state’s roads, bridges, and ports. State and parish bridges will be repaired in order to prevent their closure, and rural roads across the state that are not eligible for federal dollars will be repaired as well. Legislation was also passed that dedicates monies that come from vehicle and licensing fees to what they are intended for — transportation needs, instead of disappearing in the general fund.

 

Our investments will also fulfill ALL the projects in the Port Priority Program, bringing funding to the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District, Greater Lafourche Port Commission, Port of South Louisiana, Terrebonne Port Commission, Port of New Orleans, St. Bernard Port, Habor, and Terminal District, Caddo/Bossier Port Commission, Greater Ouachita Parish Port Commission, and the Port of Iberia.

 

By investing in our ports like Mobile and Houston continue to do, we will keep our place as a leader in international trade as larger cargo ships reach the Gulf with the completion of the Panama Canal expansion in 2014. For example, our investment at the Port of Terrebonne will lead to thousands of additional skilled jobs, and one company has already agreed to create 1,000 new jobs with an average salary of over $50,000.

 

Funding will also be provided for important interstates and highways throughout the state, such as I-12, I-49, LA-28, and the El Camino East-West Corridor. Additionally, $57 million will be allocated to the Cyber Innovation Center at Barksdale Air Force Base to improve access via Interstate 220 and make the site more attractive to Cyber Command in the long term. This will retain several thousand jobs, and attract several thousand more, and position northwest Louisiana as a center for high tech and professional jobs.

 

We have also committed $300 million for hurricane protection and coastal restoration projects, the largest such commitment in our state’s history. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita showed that we no longer have the luxury to wait and study, and that action must be taken immediately. We cannot afford a repeat of 2005.

 

Finally, we have provided a $50 million capital investment in Pennington Biomedical Research Center, one of the world’s leading nutrition research centers. This will provide for a new clinical research building, new high-tech equipment, and recruitment of faculty who are worldwide leaders in their fields. This will also bring more than 1,100 new jobs, and provide an economic impact of more than $110 million annually.

 

I have also attached some links I thought you may find interesting regarding this past legislative session.

 

“Jindal ‘bats a thousand’ at session” - New Orleans Times-Picayune

“Jindal calls session a victory for state” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Jindal labels session ‘very productive’” – Shreveport Times

“Cutting tax on business helps state,” - New Orleans Times-Picayune

 

Sincerely,

 Bobby Jindal

Governor Bobby Jindal

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