Louisiana lawmakers officially began a special session dedicated to closing a $304 million midyear budget shortfall late monday, with Gov. John Bel Edwards pitching his plan and challenging Republicans who have opposed his agenda to come up with a better one.
Edwards proposes using $119 million of the state’s Rainy Day Fund, cutting $60 million from the state budget and using “budget adjustments” to close the rest of the gap. A state economy that has shedded jobs over the past year drove tax revenue down, causing the budget shortfall.
“Now, I am aware of the criticisms of using this approach, however, we should be mindful that that the (Rainy Day Fund) was created for this very purpose,” Edwards said in remarks before a joint session of the Legislature. “If, collectively, you prefer more midyear cuts than I have proposed, then propose those specific cuts and vote for them.”
House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Cameron Henry, a Metairie Republican, has a plan to do just that. Henry filed a bill identical to Edwards’. But Henry will amend his bill to counter the governor’s plan, using just $15 million from the Rainy Day Fund and cut a broad array of state agencies. Every state agency should be prepared to be cut up to 5%, Henry said.
“(Edwards’ plan) is Jindal economics,” Henry said, referring to former Gov. Bobby Jindal’s use of budget maneuvering to keep from cutting spending. “The same things he criticized is what he wants to use again.”
In meetings with the Republican delegation Monday, House GOP Chairman Lance Harris, of Alexandria, said he heard a number of alternatives to using $119 million from the Rainy Day Fund, which is formally called the Budget Stabilization Fund.
“There’s some very good ideas out there percolating,” Harris said. “It possibly could end up somewhere in the middle … We’re hopefully going to be able to have some compromise.”
But if Republicans want to use less money from the state’s savings, they will have to find somewhere in the budget to make that money up in spending cuts. Edwards noted areas like higher education, K-12 education and health care are protected in his budget plan because of the Rainy Day Fund.
“That’s not fear-mongering, a scare tactic, or an exaggeration,” Edwards said. “It is a reality.”
It is unclear how much support Henry’s plan will get in the more conservative House versus the more moderate Senate. The governor’s press secretary Richard Carbo sent out a tweet that says several Senate Republicans, including Senate President John Alario, support Edwards’ plan to use the Rainy Day Fund.
Rep. Julie Stokes, a Kenner Republican, said she wants to find areas to reduce spending, but ultimately the Legislature will have to tap into savings to prevent drastic cuts. The plan is a holdover until the regular session this spring, when lawmakers are expected to tackle more fundamental problems with the state’s finances.
“I don’t know that there are any complete programs that we’d want to get rid of,” said Stokes, who is running for state treasurer. “You do what you have to do to make this work until we can get into a regular session.”
The special session continues today and must conclude on Wednesday, Feb. 22.
—Sam Karlin
