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May 21, 2013Ara Mae Francois McClue
May 24, 2013
Gov. Bobby Jindal on Tuesday reiterated that he would veto any budget legislation that includes a tax increase and remained steadfast against implementing Medicaid expansion as part of Obamacare.
Jindal, during brief press availability at an economic development announcement in the Nicholls State University student union, recited his administration’s three top priorities as the 2013 lawmaking session winds to a close on June 6.
“I continue to be opposed to any effort that wants to raise taxes on our people, on our businesses,” the governor said. “We’ve been very, very consistent about that: We will veto any effort to raise taxes.”
The state House of Representatives passed its $25 million budget proposal by a 92-6 vote nearly two weeks ago, and it was delivered to Senate chambers for concurrence. In stripping the governor’s proposal of $500 million in nonrecurring funds, the House budget proposes a mixture of cutting spending and paring various tax incentives, The Advocate reported, though state senators have already expressed concerns with the plan.
Jindal also continued to reject the idea of accepting an expanded Medicaid system as proposed through the signature health-care reform signed by President Barack Obama in 2010.
Louisiana’s Medicaid program currently covers low-income seniors, people with disabilities, pregnant mothers and children in households up to 200 percent of the poverty line. The expansion would extend coverage to working-age adults with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line, an estimated 400,000 Louisiana residents.
The governor said the cost is too steep considering more than half of those newly eligible residents are currently covered by private insurance plans.
“It is a program that will take over 240,000 people out of private insurance, put them into Medicaid,” Jindal said. “We think that would be a mistake. It could cost our taxpayers up to $1.7 billion over 10 years. We think there are better ways to provide health care.”
The federal government would pick up the full tab for expansion for the first three years, after implementation in 2014. The balance between federal and state contributions would start to shift after 2016, but even in 2020, the state share would not eclipse 10 percent, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
In a lead-up to the session’s adjournment, the governor also said he expects lawmakers to enshrine a funding mechanism for the private-school voucher program approved last year. The body had passed a resolution to use per-pupil public school dollars to pay for the vouchers, which the state Supreme Court rejected earlier this month.
“We need to continue those reforms,” said Jindal, stressing that the state’s high-school graduation rate has risen six points in five years.
Jindal delivered the remarks at the conclusion of a joint announcement with oilfield service company Danos. The Larose-based manufacturer will relocate its headquarters to a new $10 million facility in Gray by 2014, bringing with it 326 new jobs, Jindal said.
Also by 2014, Danos plans to open a new, $20 million manufacturing and fabrication facility in a location that should be announced within three months. St. Mary, Terrebonne and Iberia parishes, as well as the New Orleans, are being considered for the new plant, expected to create roughly 100 jobs, the company’s president and CEO Hank Danos said.
For more on Danos’ move, including the tax incentive package offered by the state to convince the company to stay in Louisiana, read the May 29 edition of the Tri-Parish Times.
Gov. Bobby Jindal speaks from the Plantation Room in Nicholls State University’s student union. Thibodaux Mayor Tommy Eschete is pictured. Jindal reiterated his intentions to veto any budget bill that includes tax increases and to continue fighting Medicaid expansion as part of Obamacare.
