Any but small spending limit hike reckless

It’s not preferable, but the proposal to bust Louisiana’s spending cap is salvageable from its present imprudent state.

This week, the House Appropriations Committee went along partially with the gargantuan amounts contained in SCR 3 by Republican Pres. Page Cortez. As introduced, it would have raised the cap for this concluding fiscal year by $500 million and for the upcoming year by $1.8 million.

Supporters of the idea – which apparently includes the entire Senate and its Republican supermajority – pledge it all would go to one-time expenses such as transportation infrastructure. That would involve some three-card monte where infrastructure money in a budget not breaching the cap then becomes used for new ongoing commitments of questionable long-term sustainability given the looming disappearance of a sales tax hike in 2016, renewed in 2018, in fiscal year 2025 and an expected slowdown in revenue collection that together will drop incoming monies about $1.5 billion by then.

Triggered educrats act like hiding something

When educrats seem so triggered by a simple request, you have to suspect there’s something more to it than meets the eye.

HR 13 by Republican state Rep. Valarie Hodges would have required public schools and colleges to submit a written report of all campus programs and activities related to critical race theory; diversity, equity, and inclusion; or transformative social emotional learning. Documentation minimally would have included the purpose and expected outcome of each program or activity, a brief description of each program or activity, the number of personnel dedicated to the program or activity and the position and title of each, the total amount of funding expended to support the program or activity, and the total amount spent to support the program or activity with the amount that is state-funded.

That’s all. And it’s not difficult to do. For an example at the university level, a quick perusal of the University of Louisiana Monroe’s website reveals it has an Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with paid staff. It doles out fellowships to ULM staff. It sponsors events and forums. Along with other University of Louisiana System universities it awards a scholarship to black males – a gift likely to be under constitutional scrutiny before the month is out. Its Honors Program promotes the notion. Its English major with a concentration in music requires a “Diversity Equity Inclusion Elective.” And so on.

Bossier courthouse gang has rough political week

This week, Bossier Parish Republican Sheriff Julian Whittington went off the reservation that surely chagrins the rest of the parish’s courthouse gang – who then suffered another setback.

Normally, all of the parish’s elected officials plus GOP Bossier-Webster District Attorney Schuyler Marvin and the other offices and power-wielding entities to which they make appointments act like one big happy family, chock full of familial and legacy relations and cross-appointments. And, up until now, tacit agreement reigned among the bunch that, despite his observed popularity among the parish’s public, Republican candidate for governor Atty. Gen. Jeff Landry would receive the silent treatment.

Landry got on the bad side particularly of the Police Jury when his office persisted in ensuring enforcement of statute against dual officeholding pertaining to the Cypress Black Bayou Recreation and Water Conservation District’s Executive Director Robert Berry. In 2013, the Police Jury appointed him as their representative to its governing board, yet months later he became its executive director simultaneously. Despite this, jurors reappointed him in 2018.

Senate obstinacy on gun bill typifies LA failure

In an all-too-familiar story, once again Louisiana looks to let itself get left behind as large swaths of the country move forward.

This time, it’s on the issue of concealed carry of handguns without a permit for most individuals. Buoyed by last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared firearm ownership a constitutional right that allowed citizens to carry concealed firearms for self-defense, allowing only reasonable state regulation to prevent their use otherwise, now more than half the states have instituted what has become termed “constitutional carry” laws of this nature, with almost all adopting these in the past dozen years.

But not Louisiana, even though Republican state Rep. Danny McCormick ever since his election annually has introduced a steady stream of legislation to bring this into being. And the Louisiana Senate has become the biggest obstacle even as it has progressed through the House over time. His first two attempts never got out of House committee but the next exited the House teetering on a two-thirds majority (realistically, pro-Second Amendment-in-words-only con man Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards would veto his if given a chance) only never to come to a Senate floor vote.

Do LA teacher pay raises right or not at all

If fiscal conservatives in the Louisiana Legislature bind themselves to using state dollars to boost educator salaries, they need to do it the right way.

As the 2023 Regular Session hurtles to a close next week, finally a majority consensus has appeared around this pay hike of $2,000 per teacher and $1,000 per staff included in the Minimum Foundation Program formula. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education must initiate the formula that goes into effect only if the Legislature ratifies it; if not ratified unchanged, the current formula is used.

BESE sent such a formula that has started its journey with Senate Education Committee approval. At present, the general appropriations bill HB 1 doesn’t contain a line item for this, but instead allocates the $197.7 million total to paying down unfunded accrued liabilities which would free up money for local districts that could be used for raises. The increased flexibility is desirable not only because it allows districts to set their own levels of raises but also relieves state taxpayers of a one-size-fits-all obligation that may not be sustainable with a deteriorating revenue picture forecast for at least the next three fiscal years.

Memorial Day, 2023

This column publishes every Sunday through Thursday around noon U.S. Central Time (maybe even after sundown on busy days, or maybe before noon if things work out, or even sometimes on the weekend if there's big news) except whenever a significant national holiday falls on the Monday through Friday associated with the otherwise-usual publication on the previous day (unless it is Thanksgiving Day, Independence Day, Christmas, or New Year's Day when it is the day on which the holiday is observed by the U.S. government). In my opinion, in addition to these are also Easter Sunday, Memorial Day and Veterans' Day.

With Monday, May 29 being Memorial Day, I invite you to explore this link.

BC, if not LA, should ban smoking at casinos

Bossier City’s long history of trying to count coup on Shreveport for once might serve it well, with an opportunity presenting itself through a blunder by the latter.

For decades, Bossier City leaders have burdened themselves with a psychological inferiority complex relating to their larger and better-known (and, to many outsiders, with a more easily-pronounceable name) neighbor across the Red River. Feeling overshadowed, they have pursued policies attempting to make their city stand out from, if not look better than, Shreveport.

Usually, it has led to undesirable consequences. Leaders chafed when no comprehensive hospital located in Bossier City, so they decided to build the government-run Bossier Medical Center. That worked out until it became apparent that Willis-Knighton Systems would come to town with an initial offer allegedly for $42 million to buy BMC, whereupon egos kicked in and city leaders refused it. WKS then built its own, drove BMC numbers steeply into the red, and in a short time the city had a fire sale of the facility, which no longer operates, for $18 million. (Two city councilors from that era, no party Jeff Darby and Democrat Bubba Williams, still serve on the Council.)

Combo bills increase tax-cutting leverage

An alliance between those that don’t want to see smaller government in Louisiana and who understand the little use the state’s Quality Jobs Program has might form over Republican state Sen. Bret Allain’s SB 1 and SB 6.

His two bills rest a just a step short of legislative completion, now ready for the House floor. SB 1 would phase out the corporate franchise tax, which few states have and, because it taxes the total worth of a corporation it depresses investment and can cause cash flow problems, if not failure, when businesses don’t turn a profit. Of those states with one, Louisiana’s is the most punitive as it has the highest rate without a cap. The bill lops off a quarter of the tax over six calendar years starting in 2025 annually when the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund has an inflow in the associated fiscal year, which occurs when corporate income and franchise taxes together exceed $600 million annually.

Present law formulaically reduces the rate whenever the amount is exceeded. At last week’s Revenue Estimating Conference meeting, economists described as likely under current law the franchise tax rate would decline significantly if current forecasts manifest into reality. Given that testimony, SB 1 should also trigger a reduction, although it’s uncertain whether that would be as much, but trends suggest it would eliminate the whole thing by the 2031 end and perhaps as early as 2029.

Election outsourcing prohibition tries third time

Louisiana’s state senators need to emulate their House counterparts and give voters the chance to declare constitutionally that the state’s elections aren’t for sale, and in timely fashion.

HB 311 by Republican state Rep. Blake Miguez would amend the Constitution to prohibit foreign governments or nongovernmental sources to fund elections. Somewhat vaguely the prohibition exists in statute, but doesn’t apply to local elections, so passage of this by voters this fall would put it beyond statute’s reach and cover all elections.

The political left opposes such matters because its forces have had success in putting the thumb on the scale by outsourcing elections. Hundreds of millions of dollars from private sources, overwhelmingly funded by big-money donors who support leftist causes, problematically either disproportionately were directed towards election units that disproportionately vote for Democrats and/or funded outreach efforts of lower ballot security that invited unscrupulous behavior.

Bonus bucks no reason to bust LA spending cap

So, Louisiana has nearly three-quarters of a billion more bucks believed to flow into state coffers through fiscal year 2025, above and beyond required diversions. This should change nothing regarding the budget the House sent to the Senate earlier this month.

The latest meeting of the state’s Revenue Estimating Conference approved a forecast for this fiscal year of $323 million more and just over $400 million more for the next. After mandatory distributions to the Budget Stabilization Fund, the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund, to pay down unfunded accrued liabilities, and to meet coastal restoration, this adds on to a previously recognized half-million dollars or so above the state’s expenditure limit, a restriction which may be breached only by two-thirds supermajorities in each legislative chamber that hasn’t come close to fruition.

As a result, the BSF will hit its maximum of just over $900 million, which can be spent by as much as a third when actual revenues undershoot forecasts provided it wasn’t tapped the previous year. The RSTF, which accrues corporate income and franchise tax collections above $600 million annually, at nearing $1.7 billion remains well below its $5 billion trigger point, where when hitting that up to a tenth a year may be used for capital projects by legislative majorities, although at any time any amount may be sucked out by supermajorities.