Committee advances targeted homeowner-insurance tax credit for low-income households

Senate Bill 235, which would create a targeted state income tax credit to help low‑income homeowners pay homeowner‑insurance premiums, was reported favorably by the House Committee on Ways and Means following a contested debate and a roll‑call in committee.

Sponsor Senator DuPlessis said the measure aims to provide direct relief to Louisiana homeowners most affected by rising insurance costs. Under the Senate version considered in committee, qualifying households would be those at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines; the Senate floor language was amended to create a $25,000 income threshold in one section and to make credits refundable for households with $25,000 or less of adjusted gross income while providing a carryforward for higher incomes. The Senate also placed a $10,000,000 annual cap on credits in its version. "What this bill is aiming to do is just provide a little relief to the people who are really getting hit," the sponsor said.

Advocates from the Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance and other nonprofit groups testified the measure would assist households with modest incomes and retirees on fixed incomes who are seeing insurance premiums far outstrip their monthly budgets. "The average person who will be helped by this makes $12 an hour...their insurance premiums are on average about $5,500 annually," Andronika Morris testified. Morris said an earlier, broader version of the bill (200% of poverty) would have applied to many more households and carried a much larger fiscal cost; the Senate's narrowed dollar cap and income threshold focused the benefit for a smaller group.

Committee members debated whether the income threshold and refundability rules created arbitrary cutoffs. Representative Farnham opposed the measure on the principle that targeted credits create winners and losers; other members, including Representative Willard and Representative Young, argued the bill is focused on households in greatest need and that the state should try targeted relief in the face of skyrocketing premiums.

Luke Morris of the Department of Revenue clarified mechanics and cautioned that while eligibility is income‑based, the Senate's structure and the $10,000,000 cap mean the department could receive many more claims in year one than funds allow; the department would prioritize and pay up to the cap, carrying outstanding claims into subsequent years.

At the committee roll call, the chair's call produced eight yeas and seven nays; Chair Emerson announced SB 235 would be reported favorably with that recorded committee vote.