Only about 1 in 5 Louisianans who have applied for state grants to fortify their roofs have been selected for funding. The Louisiana Fortify Homes Program’s lottery provides homeowners with a $10,000 grant to install fortified roofs, which are more likely to sustain hurricane-force winds and lower insurance rates. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Sam Karlin reports: 

Since moving to a lottery system in 2024, Louisiana has allocated about 7,000 fortified roofs through the grant program …  More than 34,000 people have signed up in hopes of landing one of those grants. Before 2024, the state used a first come, first served system instead of the lottery, meaning registration data is not available for the roughly 3,000 grants allocated through that system.

The $10,000 grant is not enough to cover the full cost of installing a fortified roof. More than 2,500 homeowners have withdrawn from the program after receiving a grant:

In response to people falling through the cracks, the state partnered with nonprofits who find low-to-moderate income homeowners and help pay for those out-of-pocket costs. The “pilot” round set aside 200 grants. … William Stoudt, head of Rebuilding Together New Orleans, which partnered with the state to help cover costs for lower income homeowners, said the gap is significant: Many of the roofs he helps put on cost $16,000 to $17,000, far above the $10,000 grant.

Insurance leaders are considering different ways to address the grant’s funding gap: 

Stoudt is pushing for a sliding scale, where people making less qualify for a higher grant amount. [Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim] Temple said his office isn’t currently considering increasing the amount of grants based on income. He said the agency is prioritizing finding funds to cover the gap, including with local governments.

Juvenile justice system requests more funding 

Gov. Jeff Landry wants a 16% funding increase for the state agency charged with incarcerating children. Among other things, the $28 million budget increase for the Office of Juvenile Justice would finance a new juvenile jail in Vernon Parish. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Meghan Friedmann reports:

Of the $15.2 million for the Vernon Parish facility, $11 million is slated to fund 122 positions, while $2.5 million will pay for operational costs such as medical care, supplies, lease costs and insurance costs, according to Commissioner of Administration Taylor Barras, a top budget official. Another $1.6 million is set aside for repairs to the building, he said. …  Of the total $28 million increase, $2.6 million is expected to be used for one-time purchases, according to Barras.

The Jetson Youth Facility in Baker will receive $2 million to increase staffing levels. Nearly 20 years ago, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers and former Gov. Bobby Jindal agreed to close the facility, which was described as being too similar to adult facilities, as part of a more therapeutic approach to Louisiana’s antiquated and brutal juvenile justice system. Landry’s administration reopened Jetson last year. 


Federal dollars support more than ACA plans

Federal health care subsidies have been in the spotlight recently, as the expiration of enhanced premium tax credits are driving up costs for about 23 million Americans with Affordable Care Act coverage. Julie Appleby of KFF Health News explains how federal subsidies support at least 154 million people who receive coverage through their employer:

The money employers spend to offer health coverage to their employees can be written off as a business expense. And workers who receive this benefit don’t have to pay income or payroll taxes on its value. Those tax savings can be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year for workers. …  But the exclusion can be a difficult concept for insured workers to wrap their heads around, as most employees still contribute a portion of their pay to health coverage. Even though they’re not taxed on that, “it doesn’t necessarily feel like a subsidy to people,” Levitt said. 

The tax treatment of employer-sponsored coverage has its supporters and opponents: 

Backers, which often include labor unions and employers, say it encourages companies to offer health insurance, as most large companies do. …  Also, for workers, getting $1 of health care coverage is worth more than an extra dollar in wages, which would be taxed and, thus, worth less. Opponents of the tax break, however, note the lost revenue to the Treasury … . The tax break benefits wealthier workers more than those in lower-income tax brackets, and economists also say the amounts employers pay for health insurance might otherwise be spent on boosting workers’ wages.

The truth about “no tax on overtime”

The federal tax and budget megabill creates a new federal income tax deduction for the premium portion of overtime pay. Nina Mast and David Cooper of the Economic Policy Institute explain who the ‘no tax on overtime’ policy benefits the most: 

The overtime tax deduction primarily benefits middle- and upper-middle-income workers who work overtime as defined in the FLSA, as well as employers who require employees to work long hours. Most low-income workers see little or no benefit, and more than 90% of U.S. workers—who do not receive overtime pay—do not benefit at all.

The new policy could create budget headaches at the state and federal level: 

The overtime tax deduction will cut federal revenue by tens of billions of dollars, and potentially cost states hundreds of millions, depending on how they define taxable income. Whether you can claim the deduction on your state tax return depends on your state’s tax laws, but in states that adopt it, the policy will substantially reduce funding for public services.

There are better ways to increase take-home pay for overtime workers:

Among other policies that support working families, strengthening overtime protections—such as increasing the overtime premium, expanding eligibility, or having overtime kick in earlier—is a more effective and fair way to raise take-home pay.

Number of the Day

25.3% – Share of children in Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District who live in poverty. (Source: Congressional District Health Dashboard)