The Legislature has an additional $269 million available to spend over the next 14 months after a state forecasting panel updated Louisiana’s revenue forecast on Wednesday. The Revenue Estimating Conference authorized an additional $130 million for the current fiscal year that ends June 30, and $139 million more for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Alyse Pfeil explains how budget architects plan to allocate the newly recognized dollars:
[Senate President Cameron Henry] said he expects the Senate to fund more “criminal justice improvements” as well as “a significant amount of money” toward economic development initiatives so that Louisiana Economic Development has the year-round funding it needs to continue attracting projects and businesses into the state. Henry also said he wants to be sure the budget covers “basic needs” for agencies like Louisiana Department of Health and Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services. He added that he’d like to “backfill” funding for high-dosage tutoring that was previously removed from the budget by the House.
While the increased forecast is a positive development, the good times won’t last. Legislative economists are predicting a $667 million gap between revenues and expenses by 2028. A tax package that is currently moving through the Legislature would nearly double the projected shortfall to more than $1.1 billion. A new issue brief and podcast episode from Invest in Louisiana explains why proposed tax cuts would worsen the looming budget shortfalls.
House advances tax and budget bill
The U.S. House advanced their “big, beautiful bill” to enact President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda early Thursday morning. The sweeping package includes massive tax breaks that will primarily benefit the wealthy and large corporations, which will be partially offset by cuts to safety-net programs used by people with low-incomes. The AP’s Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking and Leah Askarinam break down the bill:
All told, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates 8.6 million fewer people would have health care coverage and 3 million less people a month would have SNAP food stamps benefits with the proposed changes. The CBO said the tax provisions would increase federal deficits by $3.8 trillion over the decade, while the changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other services would tally $1 trillion in reduced spending. The lowest-income households in the U.S. would see their resources drop, while the highest ones would see a boost, it said.
The bill, in its current form, would have a negative impact on low-income families and the economy:
The fiscal impact of the bill, too, has investors spooked. As lawmakers zeroed in on a deal Wednesday, and eschewed further spending cuts, bond yields inched higher in a sign of growing investor concern over the country’s financial health.
Justice delayed, justice denied
The Louisiana Senate rejected legislation by Sen. Royce Duplessis on Wednesday that would have provided new trials for people convicted of crimes by non-unanimous juries. In 2018, Louisiana voters overwhelmingly overturned a Jim Crow-era law that allowed people to be convicted of crimes even when some of their jurors did not believe they were guilty. In the ensuing years, both the U.S. Supreme Court and Louisiana Supreme Court ruled the change should only apply to future cases, and should not affect earlier split-jury convictions. The Louisiana Illuminator’s Greg LaRose reports:
Ahead of the final vote, Duplessis read from a letter of support for his bill from [Congressman Clay] Higgins, in which the 3rd Congressional District representative urged the “swift passage” of the measure. … The Promise of Justice Institute has been at the forefront of attempts to have Louisiana give persons incarcerated on split-jury verdicts a chance at new trials. In a statewide poll the group conducted earlier this month, almost two-thirds of the more than 1,000 respondents said they supported judicial relief for those convicted by non-unanimous juries. Before the final vote, Duplessis mentioned the results of the poll to senators, and two-thirds of them rejected his bill.
How USDA cuts will affect Louisiana students
The United States Department of Agriculture recently terminated two programs that provided schools with federal funding to buy local foods and paid farmers to provide fresh, minimally processed foods to schools. WWNO’s Aubri Juhasz explains how these moves could take local, grass-feed beef off Louisiana students’ plates:
In the most recent farm-to-school census in 2023, only about half of Louisiana’s school food authorities reported serving local food, compared to 63% across the country. The problem is cost. [Chris] Muse’s premium grass-fed beef sells for $10 a pound, while the discounted beef bought by schools in Zachary is $4 a pound. The grant program started a few years ago to give schools federal funding that they could only spend on local food.
Louisiana leaders are urging the Trump administration to restore the funding cuts:
Marguerite Green with the Louisiana Food Policy Action Council said as state lawmakers respond to the Trump administration’s call to “Make America Healthy Again,” supporting local agriculture is the answer. … Lawmakers in Louisiana appear to agree with Green. Patrick McMath, a Republican from Covington who authored a bill that bans some dyes and additives from school lunches, is also urging Congress to restore farm-to-school funding. The state’s agriculture commissioner, Mike Strain, said last week that he’s in touch with members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation and is asking them to make sure money for the program ends up in the federal budget.
Number of the Day
$81 million – Five-year cost of moving the University of New Orleans from the University of Louisiana system to the LSU system. (Source: Legislative Fiscal Office via The Advocate)