The Louisiana Legislature wrapped up its semi-annual “fiscal” session on Thursday after two months that saw legislators mostly hold the line on new tax cuts or major spending commitments amid an uncertain economic climate and federal threats to Louisiana’s budget. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Meghan Friedmann focuses on the budget, which did not include $50 million in new spending sought by Gov. Jeff Landry for private-school vouchers:

Landry pushed for $93.5 million. Though the House originally accepted that amount, the Senate stripped out $50 million, leaving $43.5 million. Senate President Cameron Henry said that was the amount promised all along. The House accepted that amendment. The Senate also opted to pull $1.2 billion from the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund, a state savings account that consists of extra corporate taxes, to fund one-time expenses. The money has been allocated for roads and bridges, economic development incentives to attract businesses, and improvements to college campuses, among other initiatives.

Invest in Louisiana chided legislators for refusing to pass bills that would have helped working families, such as a Child Tax Credit and enhanced Earned Income Tax Credit, but said the cautious approach was warranted. 

By moving cautiously on budget and tax policy, Louisiana lawmakers tacitly acknowledged the grave threats to Louisiana’s fiscal stability from the federal budget reconciliation bill that’s pending on Capitol Hill. As it left the U.S. House, the bill would cut billions in federal funding Louisiana receives for Medicaid, and saddle the state with more than $326 million a year in new costs to maintain SNAP food assistance. Proposed cuts to education programs and the Federal Emergency Management Agency would cause additional damage. 

Don’t cut Medicaid

The federal budget reconciliation bill that awaits action by the U.S. Senate could lead to more than 190,000 Louisianans losing their health coverage. While the bill would affect every state, Louisiana is particularly vulnerable because of its high rate of poverty and large Medicaid population. Drew Hawkins of WWNO-FM reports from Glenmora, LA on how the bill could affect Belinda Smith’s family. 

If the cuts go through, Smith says she and her family won’t have any coverage. Concerns about Congress cutting Medicaid extend beyond the baseball diamond in Glenmora. In meetings on Zoom and in conference rooms across the state, a group of health care organizations and advocates have come together to form a “collective” to sound the alarm about how these proposed federal changes could destabilize the state’s entire public health infrastructure. That collective includes the United Way of Southeast Louisiana, the New Orleans Health Department, CrescentCare, Invest in Louisiana, Volunteers of America, Louisiana Primary Care Association, American Cancer Association and others.

Food assistance at risk

The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee has been working on tweaks to the budget reconciliation bill, which would cut federal food assistance to millions of vulnerable families across the country. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ Joseph Llobrera and Catlin Nchako have the latest: 

One of the harshest cuts in the Senate Agriculture Committee reconciliation proposal would take food assistance away from people — including, for the first time ever, parents with children over the age of 9 and adults aged 55 to 64 — who don’t meet a red-tape-laden and ineffective work requirement. The requirement also applies to grandparents, aunts and uncles, older siblings, and foster parents. Adults subject to the requirement would only be able to receive food benefits for three months in a three-year period unless they show compliance with a 20-hour-per-week work requirement or prove they qualify for an exemption, such as having a disability.

The CBPP estimates that about 1 in 5 SNAP participants live in households that would be at risk of losing at least some of their food assistance. 

Amendment strips worker protections

Among the constitutional amendments that voters will face in April is a proposal to strip some state workers of their civil service protections and allow politicians to decide which state jobs should have protection from political interference. The Louisiana Illuminator’s Wesley Muller:

(Sen. Jay) Morris’ bill would give state lawmakers power that currently rests with the Civil Service Commission, a seven-member independent review panel that oversees the hiring, promotion and firing of 39,000 “classified” state workers. The commission, working with state agencies on staffing goals, has the power to create and eliminate job positions and decide which jobs should have a protected status and which should not. Classified employees enjoy some degree of protection against politically motivated or otherwise unfair terminations and disciplinary practices because they have the right to appeal such decisions to the Civil Service Commission, which has the final say on staffing matters for most state agencies. 

 Number of the Day

151,000 – Number of Louisianans at risk of losing federal food assistance under U.S. Senate proposal to expand work reporting requirements to older adults and caregivers of children as young as 10 (Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)