As the final hours of the State Legislature’s session wind down, House and Senate members reach compromise on the state budget and raising the state-imposed cap of spending to make use of surplus funds. Wednesday, both chambers approved a resolution to lift the expenditure cap. Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL) President Barry Erwin says the agreement helps assure a budget bill will be approved before adjournment at 6 tonight…:
“I’m pretty confident they will have things worked out, probably in good order, well before…sometimes what we see in the past, where it comes to the last minute. So I’m optimistic,” says Erwin.
Senate members wanted to spend $500-million in the remainder of this fiscal year, and budget $1.8-billion in spending for the fiscal that starts in July. The compromise agreement allows to $250-million fort the current fiscal year, which ends in three weeks. Erwin says many lawmakers hope to quickly get some of the money down to local governments in those coming weeks..:
“…but I think that they also recognize that if they don’t, that money will come back to them…and then they get to spend it again, so I guess – from their perspective – it might be a ‘win/win’ either way.”
House members wanted to spend little of the surplus, preferring to pay down state retirement debt instead. Senators wants to invest in infrastructure and other projects. Erwin says the agreement gives House members at least a piece of what they wanted…:
“There’s over $400-million going into the pension…the retirement of that debt. That’s more than we have ever done. That’s a HUGE chunk, and I think it gives both sides a way to walk home and say, ‘hey, I stuck by my guns and we made progress on both of those sides’”
The budget deal uses one-time revenue surplus dollars to reduce retirement debt, while investing in roads, bridges, ports and other priority projects. Lawmakers must adjourn by tonight at 6, with a balanced budget bill passed.
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