House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Jack McFarland is juggling many factors as he tries to craft a state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The federal government is pulling back from providing funding to states at the same time as the prospects of a tariff-induced recession are increasing. And the recent failure of Amendment 2 is putting pressure on McFarland and his colleagues to ensure Louisiana teachers receive a meaningful pay raise. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Meghan Friedmann reports:
“What’s happening on the federal level is going to present some challenges,” said state Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee…. Also looming large over the budget process is the question of teacher pay. For the past two years, the Legislature has given teachers a temporary $2,000 stipend. Support staff received $1,000 stipends. Legislators and Landry sought to build those payments fully into the annual budget as one piece of a constitutional amendment. But Louisianans overwhelmingly rejected that amendment at the polls.
Providing a $2,000 pay raise for teachers would cost the state $198 million, and according to legislative leaders, would require taking funding away from other departments and agencies. But that’s not the only option:
There is another way to come up with the money for teacher pay raises, and that is to raise taxes. But such a move would likely be “politically difficult,” said Steven Procopio, president of the Public Affairs Research Council, a nonpartisan government policy group that has influence in the Capitol.
Voters are tired of being ignored
A broad, bipartisan group of voters from every corner of Louisiana resoundingly rejected four constitutional amendments backed by Gov. Jeff Landry and his allies in the Legislature. Landry, in what has become a common response from conservatives who must contend with election results they don’t like, blamed far-left liberals and billionaire philanthropist and Holocaust survivor, George Soros. Ashley K. Shelton, founder, president and CEO of the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, in a guest column for MSNBC, explains how Landry is ignoring the will of voters and the pushback that will continue:
(I)nstead of respecting the will of the voters, the governor dismissed them, and conservative legislators are scrambling to put the same amendments back on a future ballot. Such tone-deaf leadership is why voter engagement is on the rise. Voters are clear their leaders aren’t listening to them. I don’t believe Louisiana is unique in that regard. I believe the spirit that animated voters here is spreading across the country and that politicians who are counting on public apathy to move their problematic agendas forward should be worried. Voters are tired of being ignored, and they refuse to be manipulated. And they will not sit idly by and watch what they love about their states and their country be destroyed.
Deducting tips from state income taxes
Rep. Alonzo Knox has filed legislation that would allow workers to deduct money earned through tips from their state income taxes. But there are better ways to provide financial relief to tipped workers without hindering the ability of the state to make much-needed investments. WWL’s Paul Murphy reports:
[Invest in Louisiana Executive Director Jan Moller] says Knox’s bill would take revenue away from the state at a time when Louisiana is likely heading into some tough economic times. “And make it harder to do things like pay teachers, pay police officers, keep our schools and hospitals and universities funded the way they need to be,” Moller said. Moller suggests that lawmakers should do more for tip workers by establishing a real and meaningful state minimum wage instead of a tax cut. “People who work for tips in restaurants get paid $2.10 an hour,” Moller said. “That’s an insult that hasn’t changed for decades, and the legislature has refused to do that.”
The 2025 Louisiana Legislative Session begins on Monday, April 14.
Tracking public school spending
A new website that tracks financial information and spending habits of Louisiana public schools came online Wednesday. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Elyse Carmosino reports:
Required by a 2023 law, the site offers financial information about each of the state’s school districts and charter schools, including vendor contracts, revenue sources, per-pupil spending, salaries of district employees and other data, which can be viewed online and downloaded. Users also can see how much each school district spends on instructional goods and services, maintenance, transportation, information technology, land acquisition, supplies and more.
Data for private schools that receive taxpayer dollars is not included in the database, but that could change:
[State Treasurer John] Fleming said future legislation could require private schools that receive state funds — including those that receive taxpayer money through Louisiana’s new LA GATOR program — to submit their own data. He said the ultimate goal is to have every school in Louisiana that receives any public funding submit its spending information to the website.
Number of the Day
10.1% – Percentage share of first-year medical students in Louisiana who identified as Black, which is higher than the national average of 8.9%. (Source: Association of American Medical Colleges via Axios New Orleans)