By: Steve Spires
The 2012-13 budget shortfall: $895 million.
That’s what Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration told the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget last Friday when the “continuation budget” was released. The continuation budget represents what it would cost to maintain current levels of government services, and the shortfall—unfortunately—was larger than many were expecting.
The Associated Press broke down what is driving the budget gap. Most significant, and troubling, is that the shortfall is in large part of result of all the “one-time money” the administration used to plug last year’s budget hole:
“At least 40 percent of the gap is tied to the use of one-time money that propped up parts of the current budget and that is expected to fall away in the new fiscal year that begins July 1, most of it used in the state’s Medicaid program. . . Click to continue »
