In 1993 Louisiana voters approved a constitutional amendment that changed the rules for state legislative sessions. Since then, the Legislature has been barred from considering tax measures when they meet for their regular sessions in even-numbered years, such as 2018. This limitation on the regular session is particularly problematic this year, because members were unable to agree on any substantial tax measures during the abbreviated special session that ended on Monday. The Advocate’s editorial board:

Today, the special session that should have dealt with the fiscal crisis at the State Capitol is in ruins. But the regular session will go on, apace, without the flexibility for lawmakers to try to reconcile their deep differences on taxes; a budget may be passed in the regular session, but it is likely to be only a placeholder for a June special session — at which revenues can be part of the mix. So we face another special session, at up to $60,000 per day of partisan bickering. “Our constitution ties our hands,” said Rep. Gary Carter, D-New Orleans, at the end of the first special session of the year, because it is now inevitable that there will be a second. Let’s rethink the whole idea.

New family budget calculator

The federal poverty limit is often used as a threshold for determining eligibility for state and federal assistance programs, but it does not actually reflect the cost of living in a particular city or state. The Economic Policy Institute has released a new and improved version of its Family Budget Calculator, which provides a more accurate representation of how much a family must earn to afford the basic necessities based on where they live:

The Family Budget Calculator takes into account geographic differences in cost of living and factors in a broader range of expenses—including housing, food, transportation, child care, health care, and other basic necessities. Improving on previous iterations, the calculator contains detailed local-level estimates on such costs as food and transportation, where only state or national data were previously available. In order to keep the budgets modest, the calculator notably does not include many expenses associated with a middle-class lifestyle, such as paying off student loans or saving for college or retirement.

Trump tariffs could hit Louisiana hard

Louisiana is a huge importer of steel, which makes the state particularly vulnerable to the trade disruption that would be caused by the steel import tariffs announced by President Donald Trump last week. Max Bouchet and Joseph Parilla with The Brookings Institution reveal how the economies of states like Louisiana would suffer as a result of the tariffs, even as the intended goals of the policy change likely would never be realized:

Louisiana presents a particularly notable example. Oil and gas drillers and petrochemical producers in that state rely on imported steel and aluminum to support their operations. The Port of New Orleans imported 2.48 million tons of steel in 2017, accounting for 30 percent of its tonnage. …These proposed tariffs are unlikely to achieve their intended goals of pressuring trade partners suspected of creating market distortions from subsidies and dumping. Instead, they are increasing uncertainty over the coherence of America’s trade strategy and antagonizing its trade partners. At minimum, these tariffs will disrupt those firms, industries, regions, and states that rely on steel and aluminum imports, which at this point is still a relatively small segment of U.S. trade.

LDH goes on the road

The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) is seeking feedback on its Medicaid managed care program and is coming to a city near you. As department staff begin the contracting process to select new managed care insurance providers, they want to hear from patients, doctors and other health care stakeholders about how to improve the system that provides health insurance to 1.5 million Louisianans. In a new white paper, the agency describes its goals for the next round of procurement of Medicaid managed care organizations, or MCOs:

Compared to past procurements, the Department’s expectations will be higher for successful bidders. The Department is looking for experienced MCOs with which it can partner to improve access to care, quality of care, and ultimately the health of Medicaid managed care enrollees in Louisiana. LDH is planning to increase requirements placed on contracted MCOs in terms of access to and use of primary care, the integration of physical and behavioral health care services, and the adoption of provider payment reforms to support delivery system  As part of the procurement process, the Department expects MCOs to bring greater focus on continuous quality improvement initiatives, program integrity, and improvements in health information technology. The Department is in the policy development and information gathering stage for this future procurement and is taking unprecedented steps in public engagement

Click here for a list of dates and locations of the LDH public forums happening this month.

Number of the Day

$75,680  – Annual earnings needed to afford the basic family budget for a household with two parents and two children in the Baton Rouge metro area   (Source: Economic Policy Institute)