After a grueling, monthslong negotiation over how to balance the budget, Louisiana lawmakers on Sunday completed their third special legislative session this year with a deal that will avert hefty cuts to public colleges, tuition aid and most public safety programs.
Senators gave final passage Sunday afternoon to a sales tax renewal bill that will raise $463 million for the budget that starts in July. A 33-6 vote sent it to Gov. John Bel Edwards, who was eagerly waiting to sign it into law though it was less than he sought.
Later in the evening, the House and Senate reached an agreement on how to spend the new money, voted for it and wrapped up the session three days ahead of the deadline.
Edwards thanked lawmakers who he said “found the courage to compromise and a strong desire to put Louisiana first.”
“Nobody got everything that they were looking for, but everybody got something,” the governor said. “It is going to fund our most critical priorities in a responsible way.”
The more than $29 billion operating budget will shield most agencies from cuts, ending fears that safety-net hospitals would shutter, nursing homes would kick out patients, food stamps would be eliminated and college students would be left scrambling to offset reductions in the TOPS tuition program.
Republican House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry called it a “nice amount of compromise made between the House and the Senate.”
Democratic Senate Finance Chairman Eric LaFleur danced on the Senate floor when the budget bill passed and told senators: “Guys, this means we get to go home.”
Sunday’s adjournment ended 15 weeks of work across four legislative sessions this year. Many of those gatherings were contentious amid disputes between the Democratic governor and House GOP leaders.
The three special sessions all were aimed at passing taxes, to partially offset the expiration of $1.4 billion in temporary taxes passed by lawmakers in 2015 and 2016. Increases in other tax types offset part but not all the gap. Talk of rewriting Louisiana’s tax system last year never happened as that effort was blocked in the House.
