House Committee Defeats Football Game Ticket Tax To Fund NO/BR Rail Line

State lawmakers are rejecting a proposal to help pay for a passenger rail from Baton Rouge to New Orleans by taxing college football tickets.

The bill by Rep. Mack Cormier, a Democrat from Belle Chasse, would have tacked a $1 tax onto each LSU and Southern University football game ticket.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted down the proposal 10-to-4 on Monday.

Committee members said it would be unfair to tax residents of Baton Rouge and not New Orleans.