Watch the Governor’s Address and the Republican Response

Governor John Bel Edwards calls on lawmakers to come together an solve our budget crisis now. He says it's time to hit the "reset" button and get the job done to avoid steep cuts on July 1st.

But several Republican lawmakers don't agree with the Governor's claim that we need more revenue. They issued a statement shortly after the Governor's address to the joint session of the Legislature.

Over the last two years, our budget has grown by over four billion dollars. The budget for the year we're in is the largest in the history of Louisiana. The governor’s plan will grow state government by nearly 100 million additional dollars, creating the new largest budget in the history of our state next year and setting us up to be right back here again. Our fight isn't about Republican or Democrat or the next election. It's basic economics.

Here is the Republican's response to the Governor's address. Louisiana House Republican statement on the opening of the third special session of 2018 by Rep.Paula Davis