Senate passes Kennedy, Cortez Masto bill to help Louisianians recover from natural disasters

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate passed Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.)'s bipartisan Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, which would provide relief for taxpayers in states that have issued state-level disaster declarations. The bill now moves to the president's desk for signing.

"When states like Louisiana are reeling from a hurricane, they can't always wait around for Washington to act. I'm grateful to my colleagues for voting to pass the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act to make sure hard-hit communities can get important tax extensions without unnecessary delays," said Kennedy.

"A natural disaster is devastating for anyone. Impacted taxpayers should not have to worry about whether their state's natural disaster has been recognized by the President for them to receive the support they deserve. This bipartisan legislation will ensure that anyone impacted by state-level emergencies can have some peace of mind when filling their taxes," said Cortez Masto.

Currently, the Internal Revenue Service has the authority to postpone tax filing deadlines following a presidentially declared federal disaster but not following a state-level emergency declaration.

The Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act would allow the governor of a state or territory to extend a federal tax filing deadline following a state-declared emergency or natural disaster without waiting for a federal disaster declaration. This would allow states to provide federal tax extensions independent of the federal government's involvement in an emergency or natural disaster.

The bill would also expand the mandatory federal filing extension from 60 days to 120 days.

Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) also cosponsored the bill.

The full bill text is available here.