Governor John Bel Edwards says 2018 was a successful year for Louisiana as the state continues to move in the right direction. Edwards says stabilizing the budget was his top accomplishment. He says the tax deal fully funded higher education, without raising taxes.
“We were able to give the people of Louisiana a net reduction in their tax burden from last fiscal year to this one of 600-million dollars,” said Edwards.
In 2018, Louisiana also shed its title as having the largest incarceration rate in the world. Edwards that’s the result of criminal justice reform legislation approved in 2017 and it saved the state 12-million dollars in its first full year in effect.
“And we were disciplined enough, I insisted, the legislature made sure as well, that we re-invested 70% of the savings into proven programs to reduce recidivism and to support victims of crime,” said Edwards.
Edwards was also proud to announce the state set a record in 2018 for the number of adoptions from their foster care system, with 912 children being adopted by over 600 families.
The governor says his top legislative goal for 2019 is to give public school teachers a meaningful pay raise.
