BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – The Louisiana Legislature spent more than $1.5 million for the three special sessions it held to consider taxes to avoid deep cuts to the state budget.

The February, May and June sessions, covering 36 days, were called by Gov. John Bel Edwards because lawmakers couldn’t vote on most tax measures in this year’s regular session.

The House and Senate tallied the expenses and provided the information in response to public records requests.

NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune reports the House and Senate gatherings cost an average $42,900 in taxpayer funding per day.

The first two sessions ended without a deal. In the third, lawmakers agreed to renew 0.45 percent of an expiring 1 percent state sales tax to close much of a looming budget gap and stave off hefty cuts.