Senate budget advances with cuts across board

Kaylee Poche and Devon Sanders

The Louisiana Senate passed the House’s proposed budget 27 to 10 on Tuesday with several amendments that shifted major cuts to fall on governmental agencies rather than health care.

However, many senators questioned the point of even passing a budget when it may not go into effect if revenue is raised during the special session starting next week. Some said that passing the budget would give false hope to Louisiana residents that the state’s budget problems were over.

“I beg you, do not give the public false hope,” Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, said. “Do not pass this bill. We’re coming back anyway. Let’s do it right and not create this farce.”

The Senate budget proposes cuts of 24 percent to most state agencies and 30 percent to TOPS funding, while fully funding health care priorities. The Republican-led House had passed a budget that would cut TOPS by 20 percent and slash state spending on health care.

Read the full article in The Ouachita Citizen.