A House bill to establish a rebate for first time home buyers in Louisiana passed the Ways and Means Committee. Baton Rouge Representative Paula Davis told the committee that a lack of cash and college debts are making it nearly impossible for young persons to own a residence in Louisiana.
Davis says, "Home ownership is something that we should encourage and promote."
Monroe Representative Marcus Hunter voiced concern over the bill. He says since parishes don’t share homestead exemption records between them, that some homeowners could take advantage of the proposed tax break.
Hunter says, "We don't want to create a monster where people hop from parish to parish and take advantage of the state."
Monroe Representative Jay Morris says the state doesn’t have money to fund this 15-million-dollar rebate plan. Since the Governor is calling for reductions to balance the budget, Morris says there’s no room to find money to fund Davis’ bill.
Morris says, "By passing this bill, we're saying that subsidizing somebody purchasing a five hundred thousand dollar home is more important than funding TOPS fully."
If passed, the bill will not go into effect until 2019.