Governor Edwards wrapped up the first day of the Legislative session Monday with a speech at Mumford Stadium on the campus of Southern University outlining his hopes for the next two months.
Edwards challenged lawmakers not to allow the state to return to the pre-pandemic normal, but to something better, highlighting his support for equal pay, minimum wage increases, and other reforms.
‘Tragedies like the ones we faced often remind us of our shared humanity, but then things start to get back to normal and we forget that the road to recovery is much longer and more difficult,” said Edwards.
Edwards also spelled out his support for a mandatory sexual misconduct reporting bill for college employees, a budget that features teacher and higher education pay raises, and early childhood education funding.
It is a fiscal session and Edwards said any tax reforms must be revenue-neutral. He says since 2016 they’ve made great strides in stabilizing the budget and can’t go back to running deficits.
“Our efforts are paying off, in fact earlier this year Moody’s Investors Service revised Louisiana’s fiscal outlook from stable to positive,” said Edwards.
Edwards said he’s extremely grateful for the over three billion in federal American Rescue Act aid we’re receiving, but told lawmakers the money must be spent wisely.
“I believe our first priority needs to be replenishing the unemployment trust fund and then because these are one time dollars we should use these funds on onetime expenses like infrastructure projects and paying down debt,” said Edwards.
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