After more than three hours of debate on the House floor today, representatives voted 69-26 to allow the state attorney general and Justice Department to have an independent budget that would exist in a standalone appropriations bill.
It’s the first time Capitol observers can remember any statewide elected official or department receiving such treatment, even if supporters consider it a trial run. Gov. John Bel Edwards and senators on the budget-crafting Finance Committee, however, have already expressed concerns about moving forward with the concept.
If House Bill 105 survives the ongoing regular session, that means the governor’s Division of Administration would have less sway over the funding received by the Attorney General’s Office. But, as Attorney General Jeff Landry learned following a rare moment of floor testimony, lawmakers can still tinker with his revenue streams and spending.
Representatives approved an amendment from Rep. Jack Montoucet, D-Crowley, that would strip $6 million from the attorney general’s budget and redirect it to the state’s rural hospitals. House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, who is sponsoring the bill, said he wanted to try budgeting differently next fiscal year and he liked the idea of giving the attorney general more flexibility.
“What this allows is for constitutional agencies like us to, in times of fiscal crisis, to operate with a scalpel before you come in with a chainsaw,” Landry said while answering questions from representatives from the House floor. “The Legislature will have preliminary authority, you’re just dividing the appropriations process between multiple bills.”
Democrats, along with Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, have argued that the move could be considered unconstitutional by the courts—something only legal action could answer.
Rep. Marcus Hunter, D-Monroe, attempted to pass an amendment that would have delayed implementation of the standalone budget until it was cleared by the courts. “We need a neutral and detached third party,” he said before the chamber voted 23-64 against the rider.
Upon passage of the attorney general’s appropriations bill, representatives began debate on House Bill 1, the state’s primary operating budget that underwrites practically every corner of Louisiana government.
Debate was expected to span the rest of the afternoon with several points of contention in the massive spending plan. The budget, as it moved to the House floor, eliminated the Office of Inspector General, reversed cuts to the TOPS free college tuition program and reallocated funding reductions for safety-net hospitals. Some of this was done on the back of critical health care services, which many lawmakers were hoping to rectify today in HB 1 by Henry.
—Jeremy Alford & D.B. Narveson
Jeremy Alford and Gordon Brillon will publish a daily update throughout the legislative regular session on Daily Report PM. Alford reports on Louisiana politics at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
