House committee restores TOPS funding at expense of health services

Posted on April 16, 2018April 19, 2018 by manshipxgr

Representative Patricia Haynes Smith, D-Baton Rouge (far left) and Committee Chairman Representative Cameron Henry, R-Metairie (center) spent the past five weeks hearing presentations by staff and department heads.

By Tryfon Boukouvidis

After a contentious debate, the House Appropriations Committee voted Monday almost along party lines to approve a state budget that would fully fund TOPS while slashing health services for the state’s most vulnerable citizens.

A set of amendments sponsored by the committee’s vice chairman, Franklin Foil, R-Baton Rouge, would allocate $233 million to fund the popular TOPS scholarships and $13 million to fund Go Grant, a program that provides need-based financial aid.

Read the story in The Bossier Press-Tribune.