Article archive / July 1, 2015
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 7. Source pages: 1, 3.
Higher Ed and Health Care Saved – for Now
Governor Jindal said in a June 19 press release that the budget, HB1, is balanced and protects higher education and health care.
“This is the eighth year in a row we are signing a balanced budget without tax increases. The budget continues the trend of making smart reductions to the size of government, while strengthening the state’s health care system and protecting higher education,” Jindal said.
The announcement noted that the budget reduces the size of state government by nearly 3 percent and also cuts corporate welfare spending by over $129 million per year. The budget decreased from $25.8 billion to approximately $25.1 billion. The number of government positions decreased by 724. Jindal said that $626 million in additional recurring revenue was raised in this budget. This was accomplished without a net increase in taxes, he said.
The budget includes $2.36 billion to fund higher education across the state. The SAVE program also provides a recurring, statutorily revenue stream of $350 million for higher education institutions by providing tax credits to students receiving new assessments, the announcement noted.
In health care, the budget invests $9.65 billion in funding for The Department of Health and Hospitals, an increase of 1.5% over the previous fiscal year. The budget commits more than $53.7 million for state partner hospitals around Louisiana.
In a Reuters report, Moody's analyst Marcia Van Wagner said the legislature closed that gap with a heavy reliance on short-term measures, suggesting the state "will likely see continued large budgetary gaps next year, when it has to craft the budget for fiscal year 2017.”
Kristy Nichols, the state's Commissioner of the Division of Administration, who is in charge of the state's budget and a spokeswoman for Jindal, said most of the revenues and savings were recurring rather than one- off measures. "Louisiana did what it intended to do, which was to close the structural imbalance of the state's budget and to create long-term solutions that close that gap over the next 2-3 years and even further," said Nichols Other sources say new money for many higher education and health care expenses will have to be found, and a special session in 2016 likely.
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