In the latest round of midyear budget cuts, Gov. Bobby Jindal is taking a deeper carving knife to his fellow statewide elected officials than to most agencies under his control, including his own office.
The Associated Press reports the governor’s office will come through the $61 million in cuts with a reduction of $10,000—less than one-tenth of 1% of its budget.
Departments overseen by the lieutenant governor, treasurer, insurance commissioner and agriculture commissioner are in line for cuts of 3% to 4%. And several elected officials say the disproportionate hit is unfair.
Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols says the cuts were decided in the context of also balancing next year’s budget. She said elected officials’ agencies will be getting less of an overall hit over the two-year period.
The Jindal administration last week laid out its proposal to use $43 million in stopgap funds and nearly $61 million in cuts to close the state’s $103 million midyear deficit, which stems from falling oil prices. Lawmakers will consider the recommendations Feb. 20. The gap must be closed before the fiscal year ends June 30.
Jindal wants to shift dollars from a gaming enforcement fund to plug budget holes elsewhere, drain the remaining dollars from a nursing home trust fund and tap into other one-time pools of available cash to lessen the depth of cuts. But cuts also will be spread across most agencies. Only public colleges were spared reductions in this latest round of slashing.
