Lawmakers bracing for budget cuts

When the regular session of the state Legislature meets beginning this Monday, Tri-parish area lawmakers will have one thing mainly on their minds.

“The budget, the budget, the budget,” said state Rep. Sam Jones of Franklin. “We’ll manage cuts as best we can.”

The state is looking at a deficit this year of up to $2 billion. Since most of the rest of the budget covers funding that is dedicated, health care and education have traditionally been prime areas to cut.

Prompted by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, legislators this year are seeking to reduce the level of dedicated spending. Lawmakers will vote on a constitutional amendment raising the amount that can be sliced from dedicated funds annually from 5 percent to 10 percent.

“When they cut the budget, they can cut out more from departments, not just education and health,” said state Rep. Gordon Dove of Houma. “Allow cuts from all departments. That’s the way it should be. They should go across the board on that. I’m in favor.”

“It will balance it out so we don’t have to go after higher education and health,” said state Rep. Joe Harrison, who represents Terrebonne and St. Mary parishes.

In an effort to reduce spending, the Legislature will vote on a bill removing an annual 3 percent pay increase for state employees. Harrison said the bill would save the state $72 million.

“While we’re laying off people, we can’t afford a 3 percent raise,” he said.

Harrison is also strongly critical of the state for not preparing students for technical jobs in industry, ignoring the needs of employers.

“We should not have one curriculum geared to college prep,” he said.

Legislators will vote on a law placing term limits on all members of local school boards in Louisiana, but Harrison is aiming a step above. The Labadieville lawmaker filed a bill eliminating the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and transferring all its duties to Louisiana’s superintendent of education.

“BESE has failed to accommodate the needs of the state. It has not fulfilled the needs of employers,” Harrison said.

Term-limiting school board members is not enough, he said.

“Start at the top,” he said. “BESE adds a level of bureaucracy we do not need.”

Harrison is open to creating an education policy-making board with representatives from elementary, secondary, post-secondary and technical colleges.

“Have representatives from all areas,” he said. “Start from kindergarten up.”

Area lawmakers have other concerns as well.

State Rep. Jerry Gisclair of Larose is trying to help some barbershops, salons and day spas to keep the booze flowing.

Gisclair said the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control has been pressuring cosmetology businesses that serve free alcohol to clients to obtain regular licenses from the state.

The Lafourche Parish representative filed a bill creating a special licensing category for such businesses. New permits would cost $50 and renewals $25.

“I’m not advocating alcohol in barbershops,” Gisclair said. His bill could be amended to include any retail establishment that serves free alcohol.

State Rep. Jerome Richard of Thibodaux filed a bill to equalize financial disclosure requirements.

Elected officials in Louisiana representing voting populations under 5,000 currently have relatively lighter reporting standards. Richard’s bill boosts their requirements to the stricter disclosure standards of members of boards and commissions in the state.

“We ask folks who are appointed to report more than elected officials,” he said.

Other bills filed by area legislators strike closer to home.

Dove filed a bill forcing the Terrebonne Parish president to appoint Houma’s police and fire chiefs with the approval of the Terrebonne Parish Council. The bill allows the parish council to have a say in the police and fire chiefs’ selection and removal.

Gisclair filed bills increasing the per diem for members of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission-paid for out of the commission’s own budget-and reducing the speed limit on the La. Highway 3235 bypass. The road has experienced 10 fatalities in a three-year period and more than 280 accidents.

Gisclair also has a bill that eliminates insurance companies’ practice of charging differing rates north and south of the Intracoastal Waterway.

Jones filed a bill to create Lake Fausse Point and Grand Avoille Cove advisory boards to help preserve those bodies of water.

State Rep. Damon Baldone of Houma has a bill relieving shelters like the Bunk House Inn and The Haven in Houma from paying the state’s hotel/motel sales tax.

He and state Sen. Reggie Dupre of Houma filed bills strengthening DWI laws. Baldone’s stiffens penalties for drivers refusing to submit to DWI tests. Dupre mandates jail time of no fewer than 30 days for driving while under a DWI license suspension.

Both lawmakers also emphasized that funds from a state surplus from last year’s budget cannot be used to plug gaps in this year’s budget.

“I hope people understand the difference between an operating budget and non-recurring revenue,” Dupre said.

Dupre he hopes the surplus funds will be used to widen Grand Caillou Road in East Houma between Industrial Boulevard and Thompson Road, and to construct levees in the area of Van Avenue.

Nicholls State University is among Louisiana colleges facing severe cuts due to the state’s budget shortfall. The university is slashing $5.3 million from its 2009-10 spending. Lawmakers will have the job of dictating other cuts when the Legislature convenes beginning Monday. * File photo / Tri-Parish Times

Doug Keese