Louisiana lawmakers initial budget plan leaves Mississippi River bridge funding up in the air

The Louisiana Legislature’s Republican leadership on Monday unveiled its tentative $44 billion budget plan outlining how it intends to spend the unprecedented amount of money available to the state, though a high-profile section of the proposal was left unfinished.

The House Appropriations Committee unanimously advanced an annual budget proposal to the full House that leaves $400 million in available funding unused, an unusual move that indicates a lack of consensus among lawmakers on how to use all of the money available to them.  

Gov. John Bel Edwards recommended putting $500 million toward a new bridge in Baton Rouge over the Mississippi River, a proposal legislative leaders have repeatedly criticized. The House Appropriations Committee was expected to present an alternative plan for the money this week, but it hasn’t materialized yet.

The Appropriations Committee agreed to siphon $100 million from the $500 million Edwards wants for the bridge project to maintain existing roads. It put the remaining $400 million in a state fund to be used for an undesignated purpose. House leaders said they are still in negotiations with the Senate over what to do with the money, some of which may still go toward the new bridge.

Those who had also hoped Louisiana’s windfall of cash might result in tax cuts or even a one-time rebate to Louisiana residents will likely be disappointed. A House committee scuttled several proposals for tax breaks Monday, making it less likely a major tax cut will pass this session. 

Legislative leaders have been focused on trying to keep the state budget plan under Louisiana’s spending cap. The state constitution limits government growth by restricting state spending in a budget cycle unless there is a vote of two-thirds of both chambers.

Given the amount of money on the table, legislators are in danger – for the first time since the spending cycles immediately after hurricanes Katrina and Rita – of hitting the cap  and needing that extra vote to break it. It might not be possible to get enough support to raise the spending cap in the conservative House, so legislative leaders are trying to avoid the vote by taking creative approaches to the budget’s construction.

To avoid the cap, Republican leaders have tried to spread the state spending across multiple budget years and multiple state funds, thereby arguing all the money isn’t going out the door in a single budget cycle and the cap shouldn’t apply. There appears to be some consensus surrounding this strategy, with even the head of the House Conservative Caucus, Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, saying he’s supportive. 

The Legislature could still run into problems with the spending cap though if a state panel raises the estimates for state revenue next month as expected. If lawmakers attempt to spend extra money made available to them at that time, they could have to employ even more maneuvers to avoid the spending cap vote again.

Legislators also said they are cognizant of limiting spending regardless of the issue of the cap. The state may be flush with cash now, but it’s anticipating a large shortfall in a little over two years.

In 2025, Louisiana’s sales tax rate is scheduled to drop 0.45%, which will cut state funding for K-12 schools, higher education, health care and higher education by hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Last year, lawmakers also voted to divert $150 million in the upcoming budget cycle from  health care and higher education to transportation projects and approximately $300 million annually in future years for the same purpose.

With this in mind, Republican leaders said they removed $25.7 million worth of supplemental pay increases for local law enforcement and first responders that Edwards had included in his budget proposal. It would have equated to an extra $100 per month for workers to those who qualified.

“We need to be mindful of the shortfall that we will have to address,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerome Zeringue, R-Houma. 

The proposal may also be targeted for political reasons. Groups pushing for the bump in pay, mainly local sheriffs and municipalities, are currently at odds with House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales. They oppose his plan to try and centralize sales tax collections.

Law enforcement is likely to see their funding added back into the budget on the Senate side. Senate Finance Chairman Bodi White, who controls the budget process in the Senate, is moving a bill to add the $100 supplemental payment that the Senate approved unanimously earlier this month.