Two bills that would have increased tuition and fees for LSU students were defeated in the House last week.
House Bill 97 called for an increase in operational fees, which would increase student expenses by 4 percent.
Only 10 congressmen voted to pass this bill. Louisiana requires a 2/3-majority vote to pass legislation on tuition increases, leaving this bill 60 votes short.
Rep. Chris Roy, D-Alexandria, spoke out against the increase last Tuesday during session, targeting Gov. Bobby Jindal for not dealing with Louisiana’s budget responsibly.
“Enough is enough. Quit trying to put it on the backs of the students,” Roy said.
Roy said he was particularly frustrated with Jindal’s veto of a bill that would renew the 4-cent tax on cigarettes.
He said the veto essentially threw away $12 million that the state needs.
“I was not willing to raise tuition on students under these circumstances,” he said. “I have two kids that will attend LSU. … The rest of the House agreed.”
Also on the floor last week was House Bill 448, which would have allowed colleges to charge extra for students taking more than 12 credit hours of classes a semester. For a student to graduate in 4 years, it is recommended they take 15 credit hours a semester.
Rep. Hollis Downs, R-Ruston, wrote the bill in order to prevent students from signing up for classes they intended to drop and to prevent spending on unnecessary classroom space or teachers.
However, most representatives saw this bill as a “tax on students,” and Downs decided to revise the measure.
Rep. Franklin Foil, R-East Baton Rouge, said he did not support the bill, which he saw as a “disincentive for students to graduate on time.”
Foil said the consensus he sees among students and fellow representatives is that they would support a modest increase in tuition if they were to see a gain in the quality in education.
However, he said this bill would not bring any gain to students in his opinion.
Foil estimated that his year cuts will be at a minimal 5-10 percent because of the LA GRAD Act passed last year.
LA GRAD Act gives universities in Louisiana more control over financial matters in exchange for meeting accountability standards such as admission and graduation rates.
In addition, LA GRAD Act 2.0, passed in the Senate Education Committee last week, will give the University more flexibility and will help cut costs.
University Chancellor Michael Martin was not available for comment but sent an email to students last week updating them on the budget’s progress.
According to the email from Martin and the Office of Communication and University Relations, as of now there have been no changes in the University’s budget for next year, and LSU still has $20 million of unfunded mandates.
The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on House Bill 1, the general appropriations bill for the state, this week.
Roy said finalizing the budget will be a “slow process over the next two weeks.”
According to both Roy and Foil, the state is not close to a resolution yet on the budget, but “with major compromises things will come together.”
 
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Contact Laura Furr at [email protected]