As the Legislature’s deadline to complete business looms, the return of McComb’s motel tax remains uncertain.
The Senate did not vote Friday on a House-approved bill authored by Rep. David Myers, D-McComb, to revive the city’s 3 percent tax on motel rooms because the bill had not left the Senate’s Local and Private and Finance committees.
Also on Friday, a similar bill authored by Sen. Kelvin Butler, D-Magnolia, cleared the same committees and will go to the Senate floor for a vote Saturday morning.
“We’re going to pass it on floor in morning and do immediate release,” Butler said.
If approved, the bill will have to go through the House’s Local and Private and Ways and Means committees before the House can vote on it. The House approved a similar bill by a 113-5 vote Thursday.
Both parts of the Legislature have a limited window to revive the tax, as all bills must be completed by 5 p.m. Monday.
The question is, which legislative body will be the first to add its stamp approval to the other’s bill?
“We’ve got to kind of play it by ear,” Butler said. “I thought I would’ve had the House bill (Friday). I didn’t have it. Don’t worry, we’re going to get one of them.”
Butler said Senate approval of his bill Saturday will not preclude the body from taking up and voting on the House bill if it is received.
He also said he plans to speak with House Local and Private Chair Willie Perkins to expedite the Senate bill through committee if it is approved Saturday.
“The bills are identical, so I don’t see where they would have problem with it,” Butler said.
Gov. Haley Barbour will still have to sign whichever bill both legislative bodies approve. After that, the tax can only take affect with a three-fifths majority vote in a special city election.
