Moving on: In a tight vote, lawmakers in the Louisiana House spurned their GOP leaders Wednesday and backed a $28 billion-plus state operating budget that would use every dollar forecast to be available for spending. The Associated Press reports the House voted 56-44 to send the budget bill to the Senate. The approach for the upcoming financial year beginning July 1 could have averted Louisiana’s latest taxpayer-funded special session if it had been approved when senators first suggested. Still, it’s a victory for Gov. John Bel Edwards and the Senate, who had pushed for a similar version of the budget to what won House passage. Edwards praised the version backed by the House as “a responsible spending plan.” Read more.
Pen to paper: Gov. John Bel Edwards is expected to sign into law today legislation overhauling Louisiana’s criminal justice system. The Associated Press reports 10 heavily-negotiated proposals will be before the governor. The criminal justice overhaul was Edwards’ one major achievement of the regular legislative session, mired by budget feuds, tax disagreements and a divisive debate over Confederate monuments. The Democratic governor managed to convince legislators to overhaul Louisiana’s criminal sentencing laws and the state’s approach to prisoner rehabilitation. After the laws go into effect in the coming months, Edwards predicts the state’s prison population will fall by about 10% over the next decade, resulting in millions in savings. Many of those dollars will be reinvested into efforts to keep people from returning to prison.
Nailed down: A shortage of housing and falling mortgage rates should make homebuilders happier than ever, but apparently, they’re not. CNBC reports a monthly survey of builder sentiment fell 2% in June to 67, and May’s reading was revised down by 1 point. While anything above 50 is considered positive on the National Association of Homebuilders survey, sentiment has dropped decidedly since its surge following the election of President Donald Trump. Builders were initially euphoric over the possibility of deregulation under the new administration. An increase in state and federal regulations for land, zoning and construction lending have increased costs for builders who were already struggling with higher prices on labor and materials. Read more.
