The Revenue Estimating Conference meets today to discuss how much money the state will have available to spend next fiscal year and the drop off is expected to be significant. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says every facet of state government will be paying attention to this meeting that begins at noon.
“A lot of anguish over the weekend of how bad is this going to be. It literally is one of the most anticipated revenue forecasting committee meetings we’ve had in maybe my lifetime because the stakes are so high,” said Pinsonat.
Pinsonat says officials have been tight-lipped about what is in the cards, but speculation indicates the shortfall could be anywhere from $500 million to $1.5 billion.
“When you get to $1.5 billion, you are talking about playing havok with the universities’ being able to function, cutting staff, state employees, the ramifications going to the parish level,” said Pinsonat.
Pinsonat says the economic shutdown will impact the state’s budget for more than a year. He says federal dollars can possibly fill some of the budget holes, but the money from Washington D-C comes with strings attached,..
“We do have federal dollars coming in, but the question is, what can they actually be used for? Do they have to be directly related to the COVID-19 patients and expences, what else can it be used for? A lot of question marks,” said Pinsonat.
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