GOP presents its budget

Louisiana Republicans advanced their vision for the state’s spending plan Monday, cutting more than $236 million from Gov. John Bel Edwards’ proposed budget by targeting areas like health care, social services and a host of other agencies.
Hailed as a quasi “stand still” budget, the GOP-led House Appropriations Committee endorsed after six hours of testimony and debate House Bill 1, which amounts to spending 97.5 percent of the money the state has, on a 17 to 5 vote.
Chairman Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said his aim is to avoid mid-year budget cuts the state has resorted to several times in recent years.
“We’re trying to get away from having consistent midyear cuts, which right now the only way I can think of to do that is not appropriate all the money,” Henry said.
Others lauded the proposal for saving higher education and healthcare from mid-year cuts.
But the bill, which now moves to the full House, would cut the Louisiana Department of Health by around $235 million from the level in Edwards’ budget. Around $82 million of that would go to fully fund the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS), which pays for in-state college tuition for high school graduates who meet average academic benchmarks.
The proposal also cuts funding for prisons by $10 million, public safety by $18 million, social services by $19.5 million and the Department of Education by $17.6 million.
HB1 has a long way to go in the process. Last year, the same committee fully funded TOPS before the full house chose to fund hospitals instead. The bill will also make its way through the Senate, which is somewhat more closely aligned to Edwards.
Plus, it does not take into account any money that may be raised by tax increases or cuts to tax giveaways. If lawmakers pass legislation that would raise revenue, that money will be put back into the budget.
“Death by 1000 cuts renders it impossible for departments in government to provide services that … the people expect,” Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne told the Appropriations Committee.
Dardenne said the governor does not endorse the Legislature spending less money than it expects to have this year. The governor has endorsed the concept, but Dardenne said he wants to wait until the budget is stabilized.
The Legislature is looking for ways to avoid the looming budget shortfall of $1.3 billion when temporary taxes—including a one-cent increase to the state sales tax passed last year—fall off the books. One of Edwards’ key tax bills, a corporate tax on sales, failed in committee last week, and lawmakers are looking for other ways to mitigate the budget crisis.
The budget bill now goes to the full House for consideration, and it will likely be taken up next week.