During his prime, Muhammad Ali’s weight often would balloon between fights. The Champ was known to throw down three steaks for dinner to go along with his love for ice cream and soft drinks.
But state lawmakers don’t have the luxury to rest up and become a little flabby. Many of them still are licking their wounds from the recent special session on redistricting, beaten down by the politics of remapping. And this fall, they’ll face the politics of politics, when voters go to the polls to decide who should serve them for the next four years.
In between, the challenges of this regular session, which convenes at noon on April 25 and adjourns no later than 6 p.m. on June 23, are nothing short of historic: principally, a record $1.6 billion budget shortfall for the 2011-12 fiscal year.
In this case, it’s the budget that has ballooned. And just like with Ali, it can be argued that lawmakers and the Jindal administration did it to themselves. Whether Louisiana’s elected class can bounce back, float like a butterfly and sting like a bee remains to be seen.
So here are some of the issues with which legislators will go toe-to-toe:
Taxes and fees
Since it’s an odd-numbered year, lawmakers will be tasked with considering fiscal issues such as taxes. But the options don’t stop there: They could hand down massive budget cuts, revoke tax incentives already on the books or use one-time funds to plug recurring expenses.
To be certain, taxes are a tall order. Lawmakers face reelection in the fall, and Gov. Bobby Jindal repeatedly has vowed not to raise taxes. But that hasn’t stopped some politicos.
For example, Rep. Harold Ritchie, a Bogalusa Democrat, has filed House Bill 63 to boost the state sales tax on a pack of cigarettes by 70 cents. He’ll likely make a persuasive argument, given that he’s a smoker and a funeral home owner.
There could also be a push to lessen the tax exemption applied to drilling in the Haynesville Shale. Predictably, Jindal is against the idea; he already has promised to veto anything akin. Other opponents maintain changes to the exemption would stifle the current $10 billion investment in north Louisiana’s record-setting shale play.
As in previous years, Jindal is likely to let a few fees slip by. Already there are more than 20 fee-related bills up for debate. H.B. 121 by Rep. Ernest Wooten, a Belle Chasse independent, would increase Louisiana’s probation and parole fees by $10. And H.B. 25 by Rep. Dee Richard, a Thibodaux independent, would allow higher education to charge students more money based on credit hours.
If there’s an area that’s ripe for reform, it’s Louisiana’s tax structure. The Louisiana Budget Project, a nonprofit advocacy group, believes lawmakers should jump in headfirst. More specifically, the group points to 441 tax exemptions that cost Louisiana more than $7 billion annually.
Of the 179 sales tax exemptions on the books, LBP contends 90 aren’t classified and are lumped under “other exemptions” at a cost of $3.8 billion. LBP analyst Tim Mathis argues that any strategy without tax reforms “just kicks the problem into next year.”
Opening up the budget
There are some one-two punches in Jindal’s proposed budget, such as the loss to 4,000 positions and $520 million worth of reductions to agencies. Higher education officials have been told to brace for cuts ranging from 10% to 35%. And the governor is hoping to use $86 million from the sale of three state prisons to underwrite Louisiana’s Medicaid program.
Many lawmakers want Jindal to dig even deeper, and further concessions will likely need to be made across the board: College tuition could end up costing more, services at charity hospitals could be scaled back and the state’s tobacco settlement fund could be raided.
According to the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, the biggest budget shocker could be the loss of about $1 billion in federal cash, primarily stimulus money. To aggressively address that gap, LABI recommends that the state look into cutting or reshaping public-sector payroll, the delivery of health care services, and the balance that exists between state and local fiscal responsibilities.
For his part, Jindal is pushing three bills as part of his budget flexibility package, which seeks to loosen up the money held in dedicated funds—pots of money that lawmakers are not allowed to appropriate because they’re tied to specific sources.
“A total of $4.75 billion is locked away in dedicated funds in the current fiscal year,” Jindal says. “These three bills will put more options on the table so we can access this funding to help protect critical services. As we have said before when we fought for similar legislation, we must be able to put all state spending on the table, especially as we work to make reductions and improve efficiencies across state government.”
Economic development
It’s almost certain that lawmakers will be asked to spend money on new companies looking to relocate to Louisiana. The timing is appropriate, given that Jindal is running for reelection with job creation as a priority.
“I think there will be two megafund projects that come up during the session,” Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret says, without revealing more.
While the House and Senate don’t actually get to vote on such projects, they do have to be cleared through the Joint Budget Committee. Last year, however, lawmakers did try to raid the so-called megaproject development fund, which currently holds in excess of $56 million. With an expected shortfall of $1.6 billion, lawmakers might be interested in trying that again, given that Moret will be coming back to the table.
LED’s budget reportedly contains a 5% reduction in advertising and marketing. There are also plans to slash eight regional contractors and four in-house positions. Finally, be on the lookout for fights possibly to erupt over funding for worker training, small-business assistance, and other retention and expansion programs.
More on BP
Because of the recent special session on redistricting, there will be issues cropping up that won’t be afforded the typical media attention. Among those are policy matters related to last year’s Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Garret Graves, chairman of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, says the state is developing legislation that will better mix parish leaders into the current emergency command structure.
“You have had so much more experience on the local level and on the state level in dealing with disasters,” he says, “and we need to recognize that.”
Graves adds that his office is working on shoring up new cash for coastal remediation efforts connected to the oil spill, and that the annual coastal plan reviewed by lawmakers during each regular session will reflect those needs.
Rep. Gordon Dove, a Houma Republican and chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, has secured a public hearing for his committee with BP representatives. A date and time are pending.
Everything in between
So far, there aren’t many bills filed for the session aimed directly at BP, worker training or eliminating sales tax exemptions. But there are another 300 or so other measures for this year’s regular gathering.
And that’s just the beginning; consider that lawmakers filed 1,200 or so bills in 2009, the last time a fiscal session was held.
There are a lot of issues you’ll never see coming, but should have smelled. For example, H.B. 75 by Rep. Truck Gisclair, a Larose Democrat, allows for the taking of mullet for bait purposes only.
And there are others you might cheer. H.B. 128 by Rep. Austin Badon, a New Orleans Democrat, would prohibit retailers from asking for personal information like phone numbers and ZIP codes before processing a purchase.
For now, though, the one most worth remembering is H.B. 1, the governor’s budget proposal. It currently stands at nearly $25 billion, but will undergo changes through committee and floor hearings.
Toward the end of the regular session, the budget bill will be given back to Jindal for review. That’s when his red pen will strike the same kind of fear in lawmakers that Ali’s red gloves did to opponents.
