Dawn Starns, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, made the following statement on the start of this year’s regular session of the Legislature:
“Obviously, the No. 1 issue facing the Legislature will be the state’s $800 million budget shortfall. Our goal is to make sure the Legislature does that by eliminating waste and cutting spending and not by trying to balance the budget on the back of small business, but that isn’t our only concern.
“We’re expecting some members of the legislature to push for an increase in the state minimum wage, Medicaid expansion, mandatory paid leave, and dubious ‘equal pay’ legislation that wouldn’t do anything besides create new opportunities for trial attorneys to make money by suing employers.
“NFIB is asking the Legislature to push back against Governor Edwards’ overreaching policies that would create additional hardships for Louisiana’s job creators. We need lawmakers to look for ways to help small businesses grow and create jobs and lead Louisiana’s economy back to solid ground. We can’t afford for legislators to put politics ahead of common sense.”
NFIB/Louisiana is the state’s leading small-business association, representing a cross section of the state’s economy. To learn more, visit www.NFIB.com/LA or follow @NFIB_LA on Twitter.
