Louisiana lawmakers resistant to the idea of a deficit-closing special session have raised concerns about paying for the Legislature’s return to Baton Rouge amid continuing shortfalls, The Associated Press reports. But the actual cost of such a gathering isn’t certain.
House Clerk Alfred “Butch” Speer says a rough estimate of the cost for the House and Senate to be in session ranges between $50,000 and $60,000 a day. That means a two-and-half-week session could top $1 million.
The price tag, however, can shrink depending on legislative leaders’ decisions on overtime payments, printing needs and other variables. No one can really tally the cost of a special session until it’s over, Speer says.
Gov. John Bel Edwards intends to call a mid-February special session to close Louisiana’s $304 million midyear deficit for the budget year that began July 1. Edwards wants to use the state’s “rainy day” fund and make cuts to the $27 billion operating budget to eliminate the gap.
Some Republican lawmakers, particularly in the House, say they’d prefer the Democratic governor and the Legislature’s joint budget committee make the cuts without calling everyone back to the state Capitol.
“As frugal as we’re trying to be—and, of course, we’re still working on the 10 percent legislative cut that we implemented on July 1—so any money I can save by not being here certainly would be our preference,” says House Speaker Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia.
