Louisiana’s lawmakers trudge back to work today for a special 10-day deficit-closing special session that many of them didn’t want to have, The Associated Press reports.
Called to the Capitol by Gov. John Bel Edwards, the special session, which ends shortly before Mardi Gras, will have little of the festive air that normally marks lawmakers’ return to Baton Rouge.
Instead, they’re gathering for an unpleasant chore: rebalancing the state’s $27 billion operating budget for the financial year that ends June 30 and eliminating a $304 million deficit.
“Nobody’s looking forward to going back Monday, I can tell you that,” says Rep. Thomas Carmody, R-Shreveport.
House Republican leaders questioned the need for the session at all, saying the Democratic governor and the Legislature’s joint budget committee had the authority to make cuts on their own. But Edwards says that authority was too limited and the full Legislature could broaden the impact of the reductions to lessen the pain.
A central debate involves whether to tap into Louisiana’s Budget Stabilization Fund, known as the Rainy Day Fund. Edwards proposes using nearly $120 million from the savings account to avoid deeper cuts, but House Republican leaders are reluctant.
The session opens at 6:30 p.m. Edwards speaks to a joint gathering of the House and Senate shortly thereafter. The session must end by Wednesday, Feb. 22.
