BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Lawmakers in Louisiana’s GOP-controlled Senate said Tuesday that they regretted their hasty passage of the state’s $45 billion budget — namely their decision to reduce a proposed funding increase for the state Department of Health by $100 million — and called on Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards to clean up the mess.
Edwards recently said that he would “use every means” at his disposal to either partly or completely restore the proposed funding.
The Senate Finance Committee and Health & Welfare Committee met Tuesday, two weeks after the chaotic ending of Louisiana’s legislative session, to publicly discuss and understand the impact of a plethora of budget amendments, some of which senators say were made by House members at the last minute.
The budget was passed by the Republican-dominated Legislature in the final 30 minutes of the session, with little to no explanation of the changes, minimal debate and in some cases a lack of testimony over how the amendments could affect services.
Advertisement
Among those regretting their approval of the budget was Senate Finance Committee chairperson Bodi White, a longtime Republican lawmaker who sat on the six-person committee that crafted the fiscal amendments behind closed doors. The committee comprised both House and Senate members.
Bodi said he signed the amendment report, without reading the document, in the waning minutes of the session in order to avoid a special session. Now, having taken time to digest the changes, he said he “prays” the governor will veto the budget.
“We did some things that should never have been done, especially when we have surpluses … and I take part in responsibility,” White told colleagues Tuesday. ” … I didn’t have much time and I had no idea what was in it. I trusted my legislators from the other (chamber) and obviously should not have.”
Tuesday’s tense discussion marked the latest communication failure between the two legislative chambers over fiscal matters this session.
For years, during financial woes under former Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal, lawmakers were forced to cut areas of the budget. But this year, with an estimated $2.2 billion in extra revenue, legislators debated how best to spend a surplus.
Advertisement
The House wanted to take a conservative approach and focus on paying down state retirement debt. The Senate, however, backed Edwards, who wanted to use the money for teacher pay raises, coastal restoration projects, early learning access and the increase in the Department of Health’s budget.
House Speaker Clay Schexnayder said in order to pay down more debt, lawmakers looked at departments that had fiscal “over-asks” in their budgets. As a result, they came up with rejecting a portion of the Department of Health budget increase sought by Edwards.
Schexnayder said Tuesday that there is “plenty of blame to go around for the budget being delayed,” and he noted that the department was still going to get $144.6 million more than it did last year.
While some Republicans argue the deduction is a drop in the bucket compared to the health department’s $20 billion budget, officials warn that it could have significant consequences — most notably, a loss of up to $700 million in matching federal funds, something many say they weren’t aware of while voting on the budget. They also say the money was needed to cover medical inflation and an increase in service costs.
“I’ve not heard a solid reason why they can’t do some belt tightening in areas that don’t impact matching federal dollars,” Schexnayder said.
Advertisement
Services that could be reduced as a result of the deduction include behavioral health services, an uncompensated-care reimbursement fund, the agency’s Nursing Home Rebase program, mobile cancer screenings, state-funded health care for the elderly and hospital security, Department of Health Secretary Stephen Russo told lawmakers Tuesday.
“These are not games, people in the state will die,” Democratic Sen. Gerald Boudreaux said of the possible cuts.
A couple lawmakers on Tuesday suggested the possibility of convening a special session to address the budget issues. An agreement would be even more difficult to reach during a special session, however, as it would require a three-fourths majority vote in the House and the Senate.
Louisiana burst out to a 20-point halftime lead and then tacked on two late scores to beat Troy 51-30 on Saturday at Cajun Field in Lafayette, La.
The Trojans (3-8, 2-5 Sun Belt Conference) led 14-7 after one quarter but allowed 27 straight points in the second to fall behind 34-14 at halftime. After Troy cut the lead to 37-30 in the fourth quarter, Louisiana (9-2, 6-1) scored the final 14 points of the game to pull away.
“As crazy as this game was and the ride this season has been, I could not be more proud of the way that the team came out in the third quarter to get us back into this football game,” Troy coach Gerad Parker said. “There are so many good things, but there weren’t enough good things early. They got up on us, and then, some self-inflicted things made it so we could not get up on them in the second half.”
Troy’s four possessions in the second quarter ended in two interceptions, a three-and-out/punt and a turnover on downs. Louisiana, meanwhile, scored five straight times — three touchdowns and two field goals — in the quarter.
Advertisement
Matthew Caldwell threw for 230 yards, four touchdowns and a pair of 2-point conversions for Troy, but was intercepted twice. His 1-yard TD pass to Trae Swartz and 2-point pass to Devonte Ross with 11:31 to play made it a 7-point game, but Robert Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown to put the Ragin’ Cajuns back up by 14.
Louisiana’s Bill Davis added a 1-yard touchdown run — his third of the game — with 1:09 left to set the final score. Chandler Fields passed for 323 yards and two TDs for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who can clinch the Sun Belt West championship by winning at Louisiana-Monroe next Saturday.
Kenneth Almandares also kicked three field goals for Louisiana, while Fields threw scoring passes of 20 yards to Tavion Smith and 44 yards to Lance LeGendre. Keyon Martin had a pair of interceptions to lead the Ragin’ Cajuns’ defense, which broke up nine Troy passes.
In addition to the 1-yarder to Swartz, Caldwell’s touchdown passes covered 30 yards to Ross, six yards to Brody Dalton and four yards to Jackson Worley. Caldwell also threw two-point passes to Ross and Landon Parker.
Troy finishes the season at home next week vs. Southern Miss, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The game will stream live via ESPN+.
It’s the final home game of the season for the Arkansas Razorbacks as they host the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in a pivotal matchup at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Advertisement
With kickoff set for 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+, the stakes couldn’t be higher for the Razorbacks, who are eyeing bowl eligibility in their final push of the 2024 season.
Jonas Nantze #60 of the Arkansas Razorbacks runs onto the field before a game against the Texas Longhorns at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on November 16, 2024 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Jonas Nantze #60 of the Arkansas Razorbacks runs onto the field before a game against the Texas Longhorns at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on November 16, 2024 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
How to Watch Arkansas vs Louisiana Tech:
Date: Saturday, November 23, 2024
Time: 4:00 PM ET
Channel/Stream: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+ (watch now)
For Arkansas, this game is about seizing an opportunity to secure bowl eligibility after falling short in two previous attempts. The Razorbacks enter the matchup at 5-5, fresh off a 20-10 loss to Texas where offensive struggles and costly turnovers proved to be their undoing. With only two games left in the regular season, this matchup is a must-win for Arkansas to punch their ticket to the postseason.
On the other side, Louisiana Tech is playing spoiler while clinging to its slim bowl hopes. The Bulldogs are 4-6 but riding high after a gritty 12-7 victory over Western Kentucky last week, where their defense served the Hilltoppers their first conference loss of the year. This will be a battle on Saturday, make sure to tune in.
WATCH: Arkansas vs. Louisiana Tech on ESPN+
If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.
Louisiana voters will decide whether to make it easier to send younger teenagers to adult prisons in a constitutional proposal next spring.
The Louisiana Legislature approved Senate Bill 2 Friday with a 70-25 vote in the House of Representatives and 28-10 vote in the Senate. The measure will be on the March 29 ballot that will also feature a major rewrite of state financial policy.
It would remove constitutional limits on crimes that can get people under age 17 sentenced as adults. Legislators would then have to enact new laws outlining how courts could send those minors to adult facilities.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry backed the proposal and sat in the Louisiana House of Representatives as legislators debated and voted for the bill Friday. Still, it barely made it through the legislative process. The proposal only received 70 votes in the House, the exact number it needed to advance to voters.
Advertisement
Ahead of the narrow victory, Republican leaders appeared anxious to get through the House vote quickly and moved to cut off debate and questioning early. House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, also told Rep. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, she had missed a deadline to amend the legislation and refused to let her bring up her proposed change for debate or a vote.
One of the sponsors of the legislation, Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, also made a last-minute change to the bill to limit the offenses for which youth could be moved to adult prisons to just felonies, in part to address reservations lawmakers had about moving more young people into adult facilities. Prior to that change, the amendment would have allowed the Legislature to draft new laws to move minors to adult prisons for “any crime.”
Fifteen- and 16-year-olds, and in more restricted circumstances 14-year-olds, already face adult prison sentences for limited crimes without the constitutional amendment. Those offenses include murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated battery, a second or subsequent burglary of an inhabited dwelling and a second or subsequent violation of some drug crimes.
Youth advocates have said the broadening of that list to new offenses would do lasting harm to young teens caught up in the criminal justice system.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
Advertisement
Teenagers transferred into adult prisons are at much higher risk for sexual abuse from other inmates and don’t receive the same counseling and educational services available in the juvenile system. Adult sentences are also often years or even decades longer than what youth in juvenile facilities serve, advocates said.
Supporters of the constitutional amendment, which include the Louisiana District Attorneys Association and Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association, have said prosecutors need a larger list of crimes in order to hold younger teens accountable.
Advertisement
Villio and Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek, the sponsors of the legislation, mentioned a few crimes they think should be added to the list. Cloud said she would like to make the law applicable to carjacking, drive-by shootings and human trafficking. Villio said she was interested in adding fentanyl offenses.
Attorneys who represent youth in criminal matters said many of those offenses can be used to transfer teenagers to adult prison under current law.
They also questioned why human trafficking was being brought up as a concern because prosecutors rarely charge adults with that crime. Any teens accused of the offense are also likely being trafficked themselves, advocates said.
In an interview Friday, Villio said her intention is to get more crimes that “involve serious bodily injury” added to the list. Youth in the juvenile justice system who attack security guards and other workers at those facilities should receive harsher punishment, she added. Villio’s proposal comes on the heels of another law that greatly expands the transfer of teens to adult facilities. Earlier this year, Landry and lawmakers passed legislation that treats all 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system. The measure took away discretion from district attorneys to put accused 17-year-olds through the juvenile justice system instead of adult courts.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25739950/247386_Elon_Musk_Open_AI_CVirginia.jpg "Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI")
