Louisiana lawmakers have money to spend on teacher pay and other budget priorities after state revenue projections were adjusted upwards through June of  2025.

The state’s revenue estimating conference – made up of lawmakers, a gubernatorial appointee and an economist – adopted a financial forecast that increases the amount of money available to legislators for spending by $197 million in the current budget cycle and $88.6 million in the next. 

The additional funding is coming from higher interest earnings on state funding investments, as well as larger corporate and severance tax collections.

The revenue hike makes it less likely public schools teachers will see the pay cut included in the budget plan passed by the Louisiana House last month. An approximately 2,000-seat reduction in early childhood education slots may also be restored, according to interviews with legislative leadership.

Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration would also like to put more money into child welfare programs, which are experiencing chronic staffing shortages, said Commissioner of Administration Taylor Barras, who acts as Landry’s budget chief, in an interview Tuesday. 

All of those budget issues must be resolved within the $88 million newly available for the budget year that starts July 1. Legislators are not supposed to use the increase in money for this fiscal year – the additional $197 million – to cover those costs.

If lawmakers are budgeting prudently, the extra $197 million would mostly be reserved for one-time expenses, such as paying off the state’s outstanding debts, covering one-time maintenance projects or fixing roads and bridges. 

But there is a catch this year.

Legislators can only spend the entire $197 million in extra cash in the next 13 months if they vote to bust through a constitutionally-imposed spending cap. Otherwise, they will only be able to access $86 million of the $197 million over the next year, according to legislative staff.

Lawmakers have only voted to bust through the cap a few times, in 2007, 2008 and last year, when the action was controversial.

In 2023, outgoing Republican legislative leaders and Gov. John Bel Edwards pushed to remove the cap so they could spend more money on higher education and transportation projects on their way out of office.

Conservatives opposed last year’s cap lift however, painting it as fiscally irresponsible. A few legislators who fought busting the cap in 2023 are now in charge of the Legislature under Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. Now that they are in charge of the money, their viewpoint on cap-busting may  change.

Barras said he has not discussed lifting the spending cap with Landry yet, so it’s not clear where the governor might stand on breaching the limit.

“There’s been no discussion about that until today,” he said. 

This is a developing story. Please check back later for more details.

Air Liquide has started up a new large modular air separation unit (LMA), capable of producing 2,500 tonnes of oxygen per day, in Port Allen, Louisiana.

The plant is one of three LMA ASUs constructed in Louisiana to supply oxygen, nitrogen, and utilities to methanol plant expansion projects in the region.

With newer and larger-capacity LMA plants, Air Liquide is optimising energy consumption, using 25% less electricity to make each tonne of oxygen output.

In total, the plant construction took around 600,000 hours in the field. The plant was built through several headwinds, including hurricane Ida, record storms, and Covid.

Andrew Garnett, President of Large Industries in North America for Air Liquide, the investment to enhance infrastructure in the Baton Rouge and Geismar Basins demonstrates Air Liquide’s commitment to energy efficiency and its customers.

Read more: Air Liquide brings new ASU online in Geismar, Louisiana

He further notes that it highlights the robust growth of industry on the US Gulf Coast.

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Louisiana lawmakers have traffic cameras in their sights this session, filing several bills to change how — and if — the process should work.

The bills have had different levels of success.

They could have a significant impact on New Orleans’ drivers and government. The city’s traffic camera system generates more than $20 million per year in general fund revenue.

A Fox 8 investigation found the city is struggling to collect $135 million worth of uncollected tickets going back more than a decade.

Senate Bill 21, filed by Sen. Alan Seabaugh (R-Many), would take the most aggressive approach against traffic cameras, but has seen the least success. It would make the use of traffic cameras “strictly prohibited,” effectively bringing an end to all municipal or parish traffic camera programs in the state, along with the government revenue they produce.

In March, the bill was deferred in a Transportation, Highways & Public Works Committee meeting. It has remained stalled there since.

Chair Pat Connick (R-Marrero) told Fox 8 that Seabaugh has not asked for the bill to be heard, signaling it’s likely dead.

In the meeting, opponents of the bill said the systems improve safety and allow understaffed police departments to move resources elsewhere.

Sen. Heather Cloud (R-Turkey Creek) raised concerns about the spread of traffic camera systems in the state.

“The more that this happens, and I know that they’re needed in some places and not unwilling to embrace that, but we’re losing touch points to see other criminal activity that’s associated with speeding violations, like driving under intoxication, human trafficking,” she said.

Cloud filed Senate Bill 360, but also deferred it to the meeting. It’s followed a similar path as Seabaugh’s bill and Connick indicated it’s also likely dead. It would prohibit traffic camera systems from issuing tickets through license plates, a system New Orleans currently uses.

“The vehicle isn’t the one that’s speeding. It’s the person that’s behind the wheel,” she said.

That logic might see more success in Rep. Daryl Deshotel (R-Marksville)’s House Bill 652.

It requires traffic camera systems to get footage of the driver to issue tickets. It also prohibits local governments from issuing or collecting on tickets if an image of the driver is not obtained.

“A lot times, you have families that may share vehicles. You have neighbors that borrow vehicles. You have all sorts of situations where people are in vehicles that they do not own,” he said in an April committee meeting.

The bill creates guardrails for administrative challenges, creates time limits for camera use and creates requirements for how any revenue generated by the cameras can be spent.

The bill has passed out of the house and is working through the senate.

Sen. Stewart Cathey (R-Monroe) filed a bill with similar guardrails which is moving through the house.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here to report it. Please include the headline.

Subscribe to the Fox 8 YouTube channel.

Copyright 2024 WVUE. All rights reserved.