Senator Guillory – Legal Weed Should Be Taxed To Save LA’s Retirement System
Louisiana State Senator Elbert Guillory visited NewsTalk 96.5 KPEL yesterday and discussed a bill he has pre-filed with Ken Romero and Dr. John Sutherlin.
We started our discussion by asking if it was true that he had pre-filed a bill for the upcoming Louisiana Legislative session that would dedicate taxes from marijuana sales to bail out the state. Guillory replied,
That is absolutely correct. The state has about a $20 billion unfunded accrued liability. $20 billion that we owe in our retirement systems. So I've been looking for the last couple of years for a revenue stream and I've found it. I read where the Governor said that he is not in opposition to medical marijuana so marijuana in any form, if you legalize it in any form, and I'm not pro, I'm not anti. What I want, if you're going to do it there's going to be some money made from it and I want at least half of that money go into the retirement systems to pay down that debt.
Dr. Sutherlin asked if Senator Guillory expected controversy over his bill and Guillory said,
I really don't expect this bill to be controversial. It's a good, responsible fiscally sound bill. We need to put money into those retirement systems to make them stronger, more robust.
Concerning his motive for pre-filing this bill Senator Guillory said,
We have done a disservice to our retirees. We've done a disservice to our retirement system by spending money over the last 20 years in an irresponsible fashion. It's time for us take some responsible steps.
To hear the entire discussion with Senator Guillory click on the blue arrow below: