Less than 24 hours after the Legislature adjourned its special session on Wednesday, lawmakers serving on the budget committees gathered again at the Capitol on Thursday to hear Gov. John Bel Edwards’ spending proposal for the next fiscal year.
There will be no rest for the politically weary, with just 40 days separating the close of the special session and the opening of the regular session on April 10. Once more a budget deficit, this time in the $440 million range, will take centerstage in the approaching session for the fiscal year that begins July 1. During the special session that concluded last week, lawmakers had to close a $304 million gap for the current fiscal year.
The governor’s proposal for the next budget cuts short funding for the TOPS scholarship program and reduces money for health care services for the poor. Lawmakers, however, will have opportunities to increase revenue for the 2017-2018 budget, chiefly through tax changes. “My goal is to fully fund critical priorities of our state, most notably the TOPS program and transportation, but we cannot do that without making reforms and without additional revenue,” Edwards said.
What those reforms might be is unknown, but the administration intends to rely upon recommendations drafted by a budget and tax task force that met throughout last year.
During a recent interview on The LaPolitics Report podcast, Revenue Secretary Kim Robinson said the governor’s fleshed-out plan, to be delivered at a later date, will carry with it very specific directions.
“The governor looked at a menu of options last year because we knew that raising revenue was not going to be popular,” Robinson said. “We wanted to give the Legislature options to fill what was needed in terms of the budget deficit.” She added, “This year we are going in with a different perspective … I think you’ll see us come forward with a proposal that says these are things we think we should do. But we’re always open to suggestions from lawmakers.”
—If you hop on over to the Louisiana Legislature’s website, you’ll see that bills are already being filed in anticipation of the regular session. The House has 31 bills ready for review and the Senate has six. So far there’s only one resolution—HCR 1 by Rep. Barbara Norton, D-Shreveport, which memorializes Congress to develop procedures to enhance airport safety. There are also bills to merge the Board of Regents with university management boards; create the “Acadiana High School” prestige license plate; make another St. George incorporation petition more difficult to achieve; and much more.
—They said it: “The reason I wear cowboy boots is because it gets pretty deep around here.” —Sen. Barrow Peacock, R-Shreveport, standing on the Senate floor
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com
