INDReporter

Stelly Plan haunting statewide races

by Walter Pierce

Even though the Stelly Plan was voter-approved, the Legislature also approved the plan, and two former state senators who are now the incumbent secretary of state and lieutenant governor are being slammed by their opponents for voting for the plan almost a decade ago.

The 2002 voter-approved plan that eliminated sales taxes on residential utilities and groceries in exchange for tax increases for middle- and upper-income residents - known as the Stelly Plan after its sponsor, former Rep. Vic Stelly - is emerging as campaign issue in the races for secretary of state and lieutenant governor, according to a report by the Associated Press' Melinda Deslatte.

The Stelly plan was later repealed under Gov. Bobby Jindal, although the tax breaks on groceries and utilities were maintained, leading to a sharp decline in revenue and, in part, the fiscal pickle the state has been in for the last few years. But even though the Stelly Plan was voter-approved in the form of a constitutional amendment, the Legislature also approved the plan, and two former state senators who are now the incumbent secretary of state and lieutenant governor - Tom Schedler and Jay Dardenne, respectively - are being slammed by their opponents for voting for the plan almost a decade ago.

Dardenne, who is in a heated race with Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser, defends his vote. Schedler, facing off against House Speaker Jim Tucker, is more nuanced in his defense.

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