BUDGET FISCAL CLIFF NEWS - Louisiana will have a $1.5 – Billion dollar budget problem when the temporary 1-cent state sales tax expires on June 30th 2018… Right now both political parties are meeting to figure out how to solve this problem. But is there any progress being made? Members of the Capitol Press Corps gathered for a panel discussion at the Council for a Better Louisiana’s annual meeting recently to discuss what they see is or isn’t being done now to avoid the Fiscal Cliff. Jeremy Alford with Gannett News Service ran down a list of who is doing what. “On the House side, you have Democrats meeting privately; you have Republicans
meeting privately; you have two different work groups; you have another third workgroup that’s working with the administration and the Senate. House Republicans keep talking about spending reductions and structural budget changes and what does that mean?” In a nutshell Louisiana Republicans feel budget cuts
are the answer to Louisiana's financial woes whereas Democrats say revenue is the problem. Melinda Deslatte with the Associated Press shared this observation: "They seem to be in a perpetual cycle of indecision, and it’s the same cycle: rinse, wash, repeat,We’ve not seen anybody present a plan of how to make a billion dollars in cuts,” she said, noting in addition, “And the House Speaker has actually said that he doesn’t see a way to go the whole way with just cuts only.” But in the next 60 days Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards’ executive budget is due and it’s believed it will reflect a billion dollars in cuts with no tax renewals or new revenue increases. Louisiana’s regular legislative session convenes in March. Public radio WRKF contributed to this report.
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