BATON ROUGE – The state of Louisiana is encouraging residents to get prepared early for the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season that begins June 1.

The 2011 Louisiana Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday takes place Saturday, May 28, and Sunday, May 29. On these two days, specified emergency supplies are exempt from the 4 percent state sales tax.

“This is a good opportunity to stock up on the basic items families need in the event of a strong storm,” Gov. Bobby Jindal said. “The fact is when storms or other emergencies impact our state, power is down, streets are covered with debris and sometimes high waters prevent folks from going to the store and getting what they need. This tax holiday doesn’t just make financial sense, it’s about reminding folks to get a gameplan, get prepared and take steps now to protect their family in the event of a storm.”

The sales tax exemption applies to the first $1,500 of the purchase price of each of the following items:

• Self-powered light sources, such as flashlights and candles

• Portable self-powered radios, two-way radios, and weather-band radios

• Tarpaulins or other waterproof sheeting

•  Ground anchor systems, straps or tie-down kits

• Gas fuel tanks

• Batteries, sizes AAA, AA, C, D, 6-volt or 9-volt (Automobile batteries and boat batteries are ineligible)

• Cellular phone batteries and chargers

• Non-electric food storage coolers

• Portable generators

• Storm shutter devices (Materials and products manufactured, rated, and marketed specifically for the purposes of preventing window damage from storms)

• Carbon monoxide detectors

• “Blue Ice” (and similar re-usable cooling products)

The 2011 Louisiana Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday does not apply to items or supplies purchased at airports, public lodging establishments, hotels, convenience stores or entertainment complexes.

For more information, visit www.revenue.louisiana.gov/hurricaneprep.