University political communications professor Robert Mann isn’t optimistic about Treasurer John Kennedy’s new proposal, unveiled in a column published on his website last Wednesday, that would require every agency in state government to cut spending on consulting contracts by 10 percent.
Kennedy argued in the column that the money spent on some of these contracts, which include the Department of Health and Hospitals paying someone $19,500 to “coordinate two Golden Glove Boxing tournaments,” would be put to better use aiding colleges across Louisiana.
The proposed bill, HB 73, would save the state up to $528 million,, with those funds going toward the state’s higher education.
“Practically, this isn’t going to happen,” Mann said. “If it passed, Jindal would veto it and it would never become law.”
Kennedy, who Mann said has a combative political relationship with the governor, called out the state’s executive branch in his opinion piece, admonishing Jindal for his $25.3 billion budget.
“I suspect that most of Jindal’s opposition has to do with the fact that it’s a John Kennedy idea,” Mann said. “They’re not going to let any idea by a political rival get any currency.”
University political science professor James Garand explained consulting contracts as agreements that government agencies make with independent companies in order to accomplish a task that they cannot do themselves.
“Many state agencies enter into consulting contracts with private firms in order to fulfill some function of the state,” Garand said.
Garand said common examples of consulting contracts include various researches and studies.
“The bottom line here is fiscal responsibility with taxpayer money,” said T Graham S. Howell, Treasury Communications Officer.
When asked how much of the $528 million would go to LSU, Howell stated that the bill only calls for a simple dedication to higher education. If HB 73 becomes law, it would be up to the state legislature to decide how much funding LSU would receive.
Kennedy’s new proposal follows dismal news from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. According to a 2013 report from the organization, funding for higher education in Louisiana has suffered the most drastic reduction of any state in America, down 17.6 percent from the last fiscal year.
Similar legislation to cut spending on consulting contracts failed in 2012 and 2013 after being struck down by the Senate Finance Committee, despite having passed in the House. According to Mann, a similar fate seems destined to befall the bill again.
“The bottom line here is fiscal responsibility with taxpayer money.”
“I would use at least $150 million of it to build a new library.” -LSU Manship School of Mass Communication professor Robert Mann
