Nearly 800,000 Louisianans who rely on federal food assistance will receive their full November benefit amounts, with some seeing slightly more, Gov. Jeff Landry announced on Thursday. Louisiana was issuing partial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance benefit amounts, at the direction of the Trump administration, during the government shutdown that ended on Wednesday. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Alyse Pfeil reports:
Landry told Will Sutton, a WBOK host and columnist for The Times-Picayune | The Advocate, that elderly and disabled recipients had already been issued 85% of their typical benefit payment, and they will receive an additional 35% for this month. “We don’t want to load the card and take anything back,” Landry said. “I don’t think it’s right if we penalize people if we give them something and then just take it back.” Landry explained that, with the end of the shutdown this week, the federal government will issue 100% of SNAP benefits to states, resulting in surplus benefit payments for some recipients.
Higher education’s uncertain fiscal future
State budgets have been flush with cash over the past few years thanks to a strong post-pandemic recovery and federal pandemic-era aid. But what goes up usually comes back down, and now states are beginning to feel fiscal pressures. Pew’s team explains the consequences of targeting higher education during budget downturns:
Higher education funding, however, has become known as the “balance wheel” of state budgets because of its flexibility, frequently oscillating between cuts when conditions are tight and restoration as budget conditions improve. But as states are facing their own budget crunch, they not only are unable to help universities but also in many cases are exacerbating universities’ struggles with further funding cuts.
A sharp decline in federal grant funding is making things worse:
In recent years, federal grants and contracts have ranged from 7.4% of total revenue at all public colleges and universities in fiscal years 2017 and 2018 to as much as 8.7% of total revenue in fiscal 2022. That share could shrink if proposed federal funding cuts become law. President Donald Trump’s preliminary fiscal 2026 budget includes significant cuts to agencies that are some of the largest funders of university research, including a nearly $18 billion reduction in funding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) compared with fiscal 2025 and a $5.1 billion reduction for the National Science Foundation (NSF) since fiscal 2024.
Declining birth rates that will drive down the number of college-age students is another challenge:
Higher education officials at public universities are also worried about the slumping fertility rate in the U.S. and what it means for tuition and fees, which made up almost 20% of public university revenue from 2014 to 2023. Fewer babies being born eventually means fewer high school graduates and increased fears of declining university enrollment—and tuition dollars.
Louisiana is a dangerous place to be pregnant
Louisiana leads the nation in the rate of pregnant women who are killed by firearms. That’s according to a new report from JAMA. Stateline’s Nada Hassanein explains the correlation between homicide rates among pregnant women and rates of firearm ownership:
The team’s statistical analysis also found that for every 1% increase in state-level firearm ownership, there was a 6% increase in all-cause homicides in pregnant women and an 8% increase in firearm-homicide rates in pregnant women. Louisiana had the highest rate of all-cause homicides in pregnant women. It also had the highest rate of killings in which a firearm was used, at 111 per one million live births, followed by Missouri, Alaska, West Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina.
Shutdown deal kills THC industry
Louisiana consumers spent $33 million last year buying over-the-counter products containing small amounts of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. But those products will soon be illegal, killing a growing market for hemp-derived gummies and drinks that have become common sights at convenience stores, groceries and other retailers. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Mark Ballard reports on language inserted into the budget deal that reopened the federal government:
Products that are sold through about 2,500 licensed retailers in the state would become illegal in a year, but would likely become harder to find on store shelves far sooner because the manufacturers would stop making the drinks and gummies.
The sales brought in $4.3 million in state sales tax revenue last year, according to industry officials who spoke with Ballard.
Number of the Day
32.6% – Percentage of monthly income that a New Orleans resident with a mortgage pays on housing costs, the third-highest rate in the nation. (Source: Consumer Affairs via The Advocate)