Gov. Bobby Jindal will unveil his proposal Friday to rebalance this year’s budget, which has a $171 million hole.
The Jindal administration announced today that it will present its deficit-closing plan to lawmakers within three days, rather than take the full month available to devise its strategy. Despite the emergence of the budget gap, no grim news is ahead for Louisiana’s public colleges, who after six years of state funding reductions had finally escaped this fiscal year without slashing.
The Jindal administration says public college campuses won’t be on the chopping block. The deficit in the $25 billion budget stems from two main problems: worse-than-projected revenue tied to falling oil prices and anemic personal income tax growth. The state’s income forecasting panel, known as the Revenue Estimating Conference, last week dropped projections of revenue for this year by $171 million.
The forecasting panel also cut next year’s projections by $201 million. The grim revenue news only worsens Louisiana’s budget woes. The state spent $141 million more last year than it brought in, and next year’s shortfall is now pegged at $1.4 billion. Louisiana’s constitution requires a balanced budget.
