Votes at a glance: Revenue committee advances homestead, veterans, veterans‑vehicle, bank‑shares, rolling‑stock and other tax bills

The Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs on April 22, 2025 reported favorably on a slate of tax and revenue bills. Below are short summaries and committee outcomes for each bill the committee acted on during the hearing. All committee actions reported below were taken by voice vote in committee unless otherwise noted.

Votes at a glance

- Senate Bill 28 (Talbot) — Fortified‑roof tax credit: Reported favorably as amended. Committee adopted Department of Revenue amendments that added a $10,000,000 annual cap, prohibited stacking the credit with other state benefits, and added a first‑come/priority line procedure; the package reduced the carryforward period from five to three years (members discussed restoring five via a floor amendment). (See separate article for full coverage.)

- Senate Bill 57 (Feacy) — Constitutional amendment: Removes the income limitation for persons age 65 or older who qualify for the special assessment level for residential property receiving the homestead exemption; committee adopted an amendment changing the effective date and election date language and reported the bill favorably as amended. Testimony included opposition from the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, which warned of shifted property tax burdens; supporters said the measure aids seniors who continue working past age 65.

- Senate Bill 45 (McMath) — Veterans vehicle tax exemptions: Exempts purchases of motor vehicles by certain veterans and their spouses from sales and use tax and registration/license tax for vehicles purchased within two years of discharge or retirement; committee adopted a clarifying amendment restricting the registration/license exemption to issuance or renewal and excluding personalized or non‑military prestige plates; reported favorably as amended.

- Senate Bill 52 (McMahon) — Tax exemption for fortified‑roof grant proceeds: Provides a state income tax exemption for recipients of the existing fortified‑roof grant (the $10,000 grant), after testimony that recipients had been taxed on that grant; reported favorably.

- Senate Bill 159 (Cathy) — Digital nomad exemption extension: Extends the sunset for the digital nomad tax exemption to effectively give the program the full intended five‑year term after earlier administrative delay; reported favorably.

- Senate Bill 179 (Cathy) — Rolling stock ad valorem allocation: Changes how ad valorem taxes on non‑domiciled rolling stock (railcars) are allocated among parishes using DOTD rail‑mile data and phases the change in over multiple years; committee adopted an amendment to implement a four‑year phase‑out and reported the bill favorably as amended.

- Senate Bill 232 (Bass) — Motion picture incentive rulemaking: Moves the program details of the state motion‑picture production incentive to LED rulemaking (see separate article). Reported favorably.

- Senate Bill 82 (Reese) — Bank shares tax calculation: Increases the allowable deduction for banks to fully exclude the assessed value of their physical assets (branches and buildings) from the bank shares tax base (up from 50% to 100% of physical assets); fiscal note estimated the statewide effect at roughly $11.7 million in reduced local ad valorem collections spread across parishes; reported favorably.

Committee procedure and next steps

Most measures were reported favorably by voice vote with no recorded opposition in committee. Several measures required or received committee amendments to clarify effective dates, administration, or technical language; some items (notably SB28 and SB232) prompted follow‑up work from staff and administration officials to prepare either floor amendment options or draft LED rules. Each bill will proceed to the full Senate calendar as reported by the committee.