House panel adds $9 million to spending cuts

The House Appropriations Committee voted 18-4 along party lines to cut another $9 million from the House’s further attempt at balancing the state’s budget.
House Bill 69 was amended to resolve a miscommunication between the Senate and House regarding how much revenue would be raised, according to Chairman Cameron Henry, R-Kenner.
The bill is expected to be debated on the House floor later today.
Cuts to the bill came to the judicial budget and TOPS, which were slashed by $6 million and $3 million, respectively. Drug courts may be on the chopping block for the judiciary and TOPS would go from 71 percent funded to 70 percent funded.
Even without further cuts to HB69, some programs are not fully funded for a total of about $150 million missing. Voucher programs for those with disabilities remain $6 million short of full funding. Higher Education still needs about $25 million to meet the budget allocation from last year.
The money needed for those appropriations is included in a priorities list, with fully funding Higher Education and the mschools at the top. If the Revenue Estimating Conference recognizes new revenue in the next fiscal year, those programs will be funded. The committee is not currently scheduled to meet.
Rep. Pat Smith, D-Baton Rouge, said her conservative colleagues will determine whether those programs get funded or not. “(Additional revenue) depends on bills coming from the Senate,” she said. “It depends on how willing my conservative friends are to pass something.”
The future of that funding looked shaky Friday after reports indicated tax collections would be lower than expected. Henry said 36 parishes did not file tax returns because they were under a state of emergency following intense flooding in the spring.
He said he expects the money to come through at least by September.
Henry also noted many of the bills passed during this special session and the first session had unclear estimates of how much money would be raised, leaving the door open for additional revenue.
Committee members had amendments ready to bring to the committee Monday but decided to bring them on the House floor instead. The bill now goes to the House where members will attempt to shift funds around to their preferred programs.