Louisiana’s operating budget from last fiscal year, which wrapped up on June 30, was nothing to write home about, says Jeremy Alford.
“And there’s nothing promising about the current budget, either. In fact, next year’s state budget is shaping up to be a stinker as well,” Alford writes in his latest column. “All combined there’s at least $1.5 billion dollars worth of problems that need to be solved with no easy solutions.”
Treasurer John Kennedy estimates there’s a deficit of roughly $100 million or more from last fiscal year. And there’s another $300 million hole in the Medicaid program for this year, notes Alford, plus the TOPS scholarship program is $19 million shy and the budget may need to be revised by some $135 million if oil prices don’t pick up.
“Then, looking ahead to next year, the 2016-2017 forecast calls for a starting shortfall of $1 billion or more,” Alford writes.
With the state in such a financial fix, says Alford, there’s sure to be a rush of special interests hoping to influence the policy conversation in coming months. Meanwhile, all of the gubernatorial candidates are already promising an early special session to focus on the budget after the turn of the year.
“The business lobby, however, is getting an early start with CASE, or the Coalition for A Stronger Economy,” Alford writes. “Made up of 61 chamber and trade groups, CASE is focusing on six key economic strategies, although individually the various organizations will be doing deeper dives on different issues, says Stephen Waguespack, president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. For example, LABI will be issuing a paper on budget reforms soon.”
The latest from the CASE collective to release a full-fledged plan is Blueprint Louisiana, which is made up of executives and business leaders from around the state.
“In many ways, the blueprint from Blueprint foreshadows a touchy policy year to come and shows how the business community is already transitioning away from the fall elections and turning attention to the 2016 legislative sessions,” Alford writes. “The Blueprint plan also reveals the group could be the outlier in many respects by pushing issues not common to the overall business strategy. What jumps off the page first is a pretty straightforward endorsement of expanding Medicaid, which is not a favored position among conservatives.”
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
