Article archive / March 1, 2015
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 3. Source pages: 1, 3.
With oil prices at record lows, Governor published his Executive Budget for 2015-2016 on February 27 with some tight squeezes between rocks and hard places, including a 4.7 per- cent reduction overall and 727 fewer agency positions.
The Budget proposes total funding of $24.6 billion, a decrease of $1.2 billion, compared to last year’s budget of $25.8 billion.
“The loss of oil revenue accounts for nearly one-third of the shortfall once growth, inflation and non-recurring expenses are removed,” noted the report, pointing to a projected $376.2 million in loss revenue and $1.6 billion shortfall.
The Governor proposes solving the shortfall by tax reform of 34 percent, continuing expenses for 10 percent, efficiencies of 7 percent, replacement revenue of 19 percent, and reductions of 30 percent.
Tax credit reforms include doing away with such tax credits as inventory tax credits, wind and solar, research and development, musical and theatrical, and others. Agency reductions are set at 727, “resulting in the smallest number of state government employees in 25 years,” noted the authors of the report.
In healthcare, the Budget calls for no Medicaid rate reductions, no cuts to medical schools, and no cuts to Bayou Health plans. Current funding levels for LSU public-private partnerships hospitals and clinics are to be protected and also those receiving home and community-based waiver services are also protected, according to the report.
Looking for a net reduction of $15 million in healthcare includes plans to eliminate legacy costs, eliminate in- patient major teaching hospital program, non- recurring funding for LSU Shreveport, for High Medicaid DSH Pool, and elimination of the LaHipp program. Also the Governor plans to eliminate hospital outlier pool, the Greater New Orleans Community Health Connection Program, the Developmental Neuro- psychiatric Program, and the state general fund in the LSU- Physician UPL Program.
Children and Family Services are to be reduced by $101 million, mostly related to transfer of the Child Care Grant program to DOE.
Reductions in the Department of Corrections are set to include restructure of offender healthcare, at $12 million.
Higher Education funding will decrease by $141 million, not including hospitals, LOSFA, or non-recurring adjustments/ However, there are Legislative options that could help to further reduce the impact of budget reductions to higher education in the final, enacted budget, noted the report.
The Governor lists revenue- raising options including advanced degree tuition, securitizing the tobacco settlement, and increasing fees collected by state agencies.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.