Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration is allowing Louisiana agencies to spend $60 million that had been withheld amid concerns 2017-18 income projections could come up short, forcing the state to make midyear cuts.
Rather than have a deficit this year, Louisiana collected more money from taxes than expected, so Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne told lawmakers today the proposed cuts to safety-net hospitals, public colleges and other areas won’t be necessary.
“I authorized them to spend the money they were budgeted to spend,” Dardenne told the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.
Republican Rep. Cameron Henry, committee chairman from Metairie, questioned the release of the money. If departments reduced spending this year, those cuts could be made permanent and help lessen a hefty budget gap, estimated around $700 million, that Louisiana faces in the financial year that begins July 1, Henry said.
“Why would we give them permission to spend the $60 million when we’re facing a shortfall?” Henry asked. “Wouldn’t it make sense to hold back some of that?”
New Orleans Rep. Walt Leger, the House’s highest-ranking Democrat, said lawmakers expected the Edwards administration to release the money if the state brought in enough revenue to cover the expenses in the budget. The money, he said, was budgeted to agencies and only to be withheld if there was threat of a midyear deficit.
Dardenne agreed: “There was no shortfall.”
