Harlan Kirgan
Rep. Phillip DeVillier, of Eunice, continues to eye state government’s growth as the fifth special session called by Gov. John Bel Edwards is to begin Monday.
The session scheduled through March 7 is to deal with a budget shortfall of up to $1 billion.
A regular session will follow from March 12 to June 4.
“One thing that you hear an awful lot about today is how much our budget has grown in the last two years,” Devillier said in a speech recently to the Eunice Rotary Club.
DeVillier, a Republican, represents District 41, which includes Eunice and much of rural Acadia Parish.
DeVillier nearly always hands out charts when he talks about the state budget. The Feb. 7 Rotary Club speech was no different.
General appropriations in 2015-15 were $23.1 billion, according to numbers from the House Fiscal Division. The next fiscal year it was $27.3 billion and in the 2017-18 year it was $28.3 billion.
Of the $5.2 billion increase from 2016-17 to 207-18, $4 billion was federal dollars, he said. That was mostly from the expansion of Medicaid.
But a 14-year chart of general appropriations shows that in 2004-05 they were $17.2 billion, rising to a $27.8 billion in 2007-08 with Hurricane Katrina and Rita funds.
“The reality is it has grown substantially,” DeVillier said of the state budget.
The long term solution to the state’s nearly continuous lurch from crisis to crisis is a constitutional convention, he said.
“That is the only way you put people in a room and make them forget about re-election and special interest groups and actually make them fix the way we spend money constitutionally,” he said.
On Monday, the focus will be on a fix to keep the state from falling off a fiscal cliff.
“This shortfall is due to the temporary 1 percent sales tax increase ... combined with a continued growth in our state government,” DeVillier said.
“In two years you have seen the largest increase in taxes, more than all the states combined, right here in Louisiana,” he said.
At the governor’s urging, the Legislature approved a temporary 1 percent sales tax, which took effect in April 2016. The tax expires in June.
“My vision for our state is to build trust, stop the outward migration of Louisiana citizens, better educate our children and repair our crumbling infrastructure,” he said.
DeVillier said the state budget should be based upon priorities.
“The only way to this is take politics out of the state and put real priorities first,” he said.
“We need budget and spending reform,” he said.
DeVillier’s budget fixes include:
— The sales tax rate reduced from 5 to 4.25 percent. The sales rate before 1 percent was added was 4 percent. The 0.25 percent increase from 4 percent would raise about $220 million.
— The new federal tax law will add about $250 million to the state budget through lower deductions, he said.
— An increased oil price — the budget is for $51 a barrel and the current price is $64 — will add about $156 million, he said.
— Suspending various sales tax exemptions.
DeVillier said economic growth may add about $234 million in revenue, which should be used to match federal funds for infrastructure repair and not growing government.
DeVillier also reported on a survey he conducted by mail sent to about 15,000 voters, he said. The recipients needed to mail the survey back and about 500 did so, he said.
The survey included:
Would you support removing the requirement that local governments get permission from the Legislature to increase sales taxes? Yes, 35 percent; No, 65 percent.
Do you believe the Legislature should allow for citizens to conceal carry a firearm without a permit? Yes, 43 percent; No, 59 percent.
Do you believe the Legislature should combine the five higher education governing boards into one management board in order to reduce bureaucracy costs? Yes, 89 percent; No, 11 percent.
Do you believe the Legislature should approve an increase in the gas tax if money is dedicated to improving our roads and bridges? Yes, 46 percent, No, 54 percent.
Do you believe the Legislature should move towards a flat income tax instead of a multi-bracket income tax? Yes, 69 percent; No, 31 percent.
Do you believe the Legislature should unlock the dedicated funds that are guaranteed taxpayer money each year and take a large portion of the state’s budget? Yes, 35 percent; No, 65 percent.
Do you believe our state government spends too much money? Yes, 94 percent; and No, 6 percent.
Which of the following do you support? Lowering taxes, 20 percent; Cutting government expenditures, 76 percent; Increasing taxes, 2 percent; Increasing the state budget, 3 percent.