A Senate proposal that appeared to get lawmakers closer to rebalancing this year’s budget without deep cuts to colleges and health services has been upended with a $75 million hole blown into it, the chairman of the Senate budget committee says this morning.
The Associated Press reports the issue is a bill both the House and Senate had relied on to generate money that could plug holes in this year’s $25 billion budget.
The measure by Rep. Chris Broadwater, R-Hammond, would change the payment schedule under which businesses turn over sales tax collections to the state. By shifting the calendar, lawmakers and Gov. John Bel Edwards hoped to generate $75 million before the fiscal year ends June 30.
But Senate Finance Chairman Eric LaFleur, D-Ville Platte, says the Legislature’s financial analysts took another look at the bill and believe it won’t generate the money for this budget year. He said the problem appeared to be with the accounting method for collecting the taxes.
That means a gap senators thought they had whittled to $67 million with legislative action Thursday now may top $140 million.
“All I know is that when they looked at it again, the money would not apply to this fiscal year,” LaFleur says. “I’m sure they’re going to be looking at it again.”
The confusion over the bill adds new difficulties to the tricky political negotiating between the House and the Senate over how to rebalance this year’s budget, which had a hole estimated to reach $900 million for this year.
