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Governor addresses 3rd special session this year

Posted at 9:37 PM, Jun 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-18 22:37:59-04

Lawmakers are preparing for their first full day of the third special session of the year on Tuesday. Lawmakers have nine more days to fund the state budget and fill a $647 million budget gap.

Governor Edwards addressed a joint session Monday evening, his message was about winners and losers.  

"You see with a compromise, with a solution, the people of our state will win," Governor Edwards said. 

"The truth is, this isn’t about us, it has never been. If we fail, the biggest losers will be the people we represent. The people of Louisiana lose and that is unacceptable," Governor Edwards said. 

Republican and Democratic lawmakers said they are hopeful the next few days bring relief to Louisiana residents.

"The government has to learn how to live within its means or learn how to live within its means just like my constituents back home. They’ve made it very clear to me. ‘Rep. Miguez, hold the line and don’t raise our taxes because we can’t afford to pay them anymore,’" Republican Representative Blake Miguez said. 

"We need to focus on revenue measures this session and like you said, let’s make it a short week, let’s get out of here. There is no reason for us to be debating until next Wednesday at 6 o’clock and things get chaotic in the last second. We should just come and put the people first," Democratic Representative Dustin Miller said. 

In the Governors opening address, he told the House and the Senate, "we must listen and learn so that we can lead. The people deserve nothing less." He also said he hopes the special session ends early, the session must end by June 27, 2018.