Article archive / April 1, 2016
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 4. Source pages: 1, 4.
Legislators continue to dig into the state’s money problems in the regular session now in its fourth week.
At the end of the special session to deal with the state’s dramatic economic woes, legislators had raised the sales tax to 5¢ bringing it to a combined state/local tax of 10¢. This is said to be one of the highest in the nation. In scrapping for any savings they could find, the law- makers dropped sales tax exemptions for 196 items. For the first time in years, consumers will be paying sales taxes on Bibles and religious literature used in classes, fire-fighting equipment used by volunteer fire departments, food items for certain school lunch and breakfast programs, newspapers, textbooks for certain private academic schools, and even for Girl Scout cookies.
The lawmakers patched together a group of tax increases and cuts in the special session, that are given to be a reasonable fix to some issues facing the state, but continue to juggle problems and solutions in the current session.
In a March 23 announcement, the Board of Regents said that they reviewed and accepted the 2016-2017 funding recommendations, after the $2 billion shortfall was reduced to $747 million.
The real problems seem far from over. Legislators continue to propose efforts to deal with the state’s budget problems. Representative Jerome Richard proposed an across the board cut for all professional, personal, and consulting contracts for the state.
A bill by Representative Talbot would allow more leeway for the state to use services of the Department of Natural Resources and Representative Jay Morris presented a measure to reduce the salaries of certain public officials and employees. The bill is pending in House Appropriations.
In an Executive Order published in the March Register, Governor Edwards ordered expense and hiring freezes, for all departments and agencies in the executive branch. The Order includes licensing boards and the Department of Health and Hospitals, and any funds related to “vacant positions and the expenditure categories of Travel, Operating Services, Supplies, Professional Services, Other Charges, Acquisitions, and Major Repairs.”
Cuts across all departments were also noted. See box below for selected reductions amounts.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.