Harlan Kirgan
A constitutional convention is the only way for the state to fix its fiscal problems for the long-term, Rep. Phillip DeVillier said.
“We have to redirect how we spend money. We have to unlock all of these funds,” he said at the March 7 Eunice Rotary Club meeting. “Then you would have more money to fix the problems.”
Legislators returned to Baton Rouge on Monday for a three-month regular session, which followed a special session that failed to come up with revenue fixes.
“The sad part about it is we were called into special session. It cost taxpayers a million dollars for us to be there and we literally did nothing,” he said.
State government faces a shortfall estimated at about $1 billion .
The special session was intended to act on revenue measures, which cannot be addressed in the regular session.
DeVillier, a Republican, said the special session failure was not the fault of his party in the House.
In a handout to Rotarians, DeVillier noted the state’s General Fund of $9.4 billion includes only $3.4 billion in discretionary funds.
A constitutional convention would allow funds to be unlocked from the dedications, he said.