Article written by Michelle Millhollon | Capitol News Bureau - 2theadvocate.com | on June 21, 2009

Image by: Arthur D. Lauck/The Advocate

Link to the Original Article: House and Senate still at budget impasse

 

A state Senate committee advanced legislation Sunday that would increase funding for higher education, health care and the arts. The Senate Committee on Finance made changes to House Bill 881, the supplemental budget bill, that depend on the Legislature approving other proposals.

The objective is to minimize cuts to higher education and other state services in the $28 billion budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Whether the changes stay intact depends on the outcome of negotiations with the House.

Like the state Senate, the Louisiana House wants to reduce the cuts in the budget that Gov. Bobby Jindal proposed. The chambers are divided on how to accomplish that goal. The disagreements became vocal in House and Senate committees meeting Sunday and on the floor in both chambers. House Speaker Jim Tucker said he planned to meet with Senate leadership behind closed doors to discuss the budget impasse. He said the House and the Senate are close to an agreement.

The Senate wants to tap into the state’s “rainy day” fund and delay an income tax break. The House wants to use the proceeds of a proposed tax amnesty program while also forcing the state to tighten its belt. State revenue is expected to drop by $1.3 billion in the upcoming fiscal year. Like the rest of the nation, Louisiana is feeling the pinch of the recession.

The Senate Finance Committee acknowledged that the changes it wants to make are contingent on the tax break being delayed and the “rainy day” fund being tapped. The Senate wants to generate $118 million by delaying the tax break and $86 million by withdrawing money from the “rainy day” fund. The money would be used to reduce cuts to higher education and health care.

Both proposals are waiting to be acted upon by the House with less than five days left in the legislative session.

Tucker criticized the Senate committee’s actions. “We don’t make contingency appropriations in the House of Representatives. The last time I checked, it was unconstitutional,” Tucker said.

How to tackle Louisiana’s budget problems also flared Sunday during a meeting of the House Appropriations Committee. The House panel was discussing Senate Bill 1, which would give the state more budget-cutting flexibility during difficult financial times. But House Speaker Pro Tem Karen Peterson, D-New Orleans, complained that the committee should have been debating how much to dip into the state’s “rainy day” fund, one of the key issues in the last five days of the session. The Senate has already passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 81, which would draw down $258 million to help offset budget problems. House leaders and Jindal are unsure how much they want to spend.

“I thought that is why we are here on Father’s Day,” Peterson said.

But state Rep. Jim Fannin, D-Jonesboro and chairman of the committee, said the panel would not debate the bill, which was on the agenda, because of ongoing negotiations on budget issues.

“We still have issues with Sen. Chaisson,” Fannin said, a reference to Senate President Joel Chaisson II, D-Destrehan. He is sponsor of the resolution to use “rainy day” fund dollars. Peterson sounded miffed. “We have people being hurt while we have money on the table,” she said. “It’s a farce.”

Commissioner of Administration Angèle Davis noted that the state faces several years of declining revenue, not just this year. Peterson asked Davis how much Jindal wants to use in “rainy day” funds. “It’s in negotiations,” she replied. Peterson then asked Davis for Jindal’s view on a Senate-passed bill that would delay a state tax cut to generate $118 million for higher education. Jindal is opposed to that.

“The governor has made his position quite clear,” Davis told Peterson. “We don’t have to debate that again.”

The panel later approved SB 1, which next faces action on the House floor. The Senate Finance Committee also advanced:

• House Bill 2, the state construction budget, after making some changes. The committee added cash for the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, the Port of South Louisiana and other projects. The bill also contains $85 million to renovate the Louisiana Superdome for the New Orleans Saints football team. The renovations are part of a state incentive package for the NFL franchise.
• House Bill 869 to fund the operations of the House, the Senate, the Legislative Auditor’s Office, the Legislative Fiscal Office, the Legislative Budgetary Control Council and the Louisiana State Law Institute.
• House Bill 667 to provide for the supporting expenses of state government such as accident claims, aircraft, law enforcement training and telephone usage.