BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Lawmakers open a new regular session Monday with far fewer dollars than the last time they converged on the Capitol, and angst over the state’s budget woes is expected to overshadow debate on much of anything else.
The nine-week session starts at noon. Gov. Bobby Jindal speaks to a joint meeting of the House and Senate an hour later, and is expected to discuss the money shortfall for the upcoming 2009-10 budget year and the projected gaps in later years.
A slowdown in hurricane recovery spending, the national recession, a drop in oil and gas prices and previous tax breaks are projected to leave Louisiana with a $1.3 billion drop in state general fund revenue next year.
Jindal has asked lawmakers to consider ways to shrink the overall size of government, saying the state can’t continue to afford all the services it provides today. He proposed hefty cuts to health services and education programs to rebalance next year’s budget.
Lawmakers have said they’re worried the cuts are too deep, and could damage recent gains Louisiana has made in education and worsen health care problems in a state already considered one of the least healthy in the nation.
“The Legislature faces a really difficult task this session in deciding what the appropriate level of cuts should be in order to achieve a balanced budget, which is required by the constitution,” said Senate President Joel Chaisson, D-Destrehan.
But as lawmakers look at ways to cut — and whether to tap into one-time funds to fill some gaps — many legislators also are proposing an array of tax breaks that could take further dollars away from the state treasury.
More than 200 tax break bills are up for consideration this session.
Beyond fiscal matters, legislators face contentious debate over bills to revamp local school board governance, to allow concealed weapons on college campuses, to repeal the mandatory motorcycle helmet law and to require drug testing of welfare recipients, among others.
The session must end by June 25.
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