When the Revenue Estimating Conference revised the state’s revenue forecast earlier this month to realize $346 million in tax receipts, the House Appropriations Committee designated $60 million to Medicaid. An additional $32 million was designated to safety-net hospitals when the budget bill was debated on the House floor. Unfortunately, the safety-net hospitals remain $173 million below current year state funding levels. Some argue that the Senate can “fix” the budget, but there’s just one problem: the state still lacks $648 million. LBP’s Jeanie Donovan outlines the only two choices that the Senate has:

The budget bill (House Bill 1) is now being reviewed by the Senate, which has two basic choices: They can try to pass the bill with existing revenue, which would mean deep cuts to health care programs that support Louisiana’s most vulnerable citizens. Or they can put the budget aside until the Legislature can come together around a package of revenues that replaces some of the $1.4 billion in taxes that fall off the books on July 1. Rather than going through the exercise of trying to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear, the Senate should hold off on trying to pass the budget during the regular session altogether and wait until the Legislature has another opportunity to address the fiscal cliff.

The Medicaid shortfall amounts to a $1.8 billion cut with the loss of federal matching funds.

Setting the record straight on Medicaid expansion

The critics of Louisiana’s Medicaid expansion keep insisting, against all evidence, that it is hurting the state’s economy when the opposite is true. Extending Medicaid coverage to low-income adults, using mostly federal dollars, has brought billions of dollars in new revenue into the state that supports doctors, hospitals and other professionals who care for patients. LSU’s Jim Richardson sets the record straight.

The LSU team conducted a detailed analysis of the economic impact of Medicaid expansion in Louisiana and found the same positive economic and fiscal impact for Louisiana as many other states have discovered and documented. In state fiscal year 2017, Medicaid Expansion created 19,195 new jobs, added $74.6 million in tax collections to local governments and another $103 million in new tax revenues to state government. And, in the long-run, appropriate healthcare can upgrade the workforce, an important component of increasing the state’s productivity.

Political posturing almost derails interstate plan

A $600 million infrastructure plan was in jeopardy on Thursday, as some members of the State Bond Commission attempted to block Citigroup and Bank of America from doing business with Louisiana. The unsuccessful effort, led by Attorney General Jeff Landry and Treasurer John Schroder, would have prohibited the two banks from being eligible to underwrite the financing. The anger centers on the banks’ firearm restriction policies. The AP’s Melinda Deslatte reports:

In March, in response to a deadly high school shooting in Florida the previous month, Citigroup announced it would end relationships with businesses and clients that sell firearms to people who haven’t passed a background check or that don’t enact restrictions on gun sales for people under the age of 21. The bank also will not allow its customers to sell rapid-fire devices known as bump stocks and high-capacity magazines. Bank of America said it will stop doing business with certain gun manufacturers.

Gov. John Bel Edwards applauded the commission’s vote to move forward, as Greg Hilburn of USA Today Network:

“As a West Point graduate, Army Ranger, and avid hunter, I’m a staunch defender of the Second Amendment,” Edwards said. “However, today’s Bond Commission meeting was an ugly display of political posturing that could have jeopardized a massive infrastructure plan for the state of Louisiana. “My administration’s approach to invest more than $600 million in infrastructure projects in Louisiana has received bipartisan support in the legislature and praise from Louisiana’s citizens and business groups. The State Bond Commission voted today to move forward with these critical projects, while at the same time reserving the right to consider the policies of the financial institutions that will finance the projects at a later date in a public meeting.

New TOPS award advances

A bill that would create a new TOPS award advanced out of the House Education Committee with unanimous support on Thursday. Senate Bill 394, by Sen. Bodi White, would create TOPS-Tech 2Plus2, which is aimed at community college students planning to enroll into a four-year school upon completion of an associate’s degree. SB 394 now movies to the full House for debate. Nola.com/Times Picayune’s Wilborn P. Nobles has the story.

Students are currently eligible for the Tech award if they graduate high school with a grade point average of 2.5 and obtain a score of 17 or better on the ACT college readiness test. Under White’s bill, students graduating high school during or after the 2021-22 school year would be eligible for the TOPS-Tech 2Plus2 award after they accepted the Tech award. Tech 2Plus2 recipients would also have to maintain a 3.2 GPA during their two years at a community or technical college, and they must earn their associate’s degree within the two academic years after they accepted the TOPS Tech award. Once Tech 2Plus2 recipients enroll at a four-year university, they would have to maintain a 2.5 GPA to keep TOPS.

While the effort to create a new award for TOPS received virtually no opposition, other efforts to change the popular program remain elusive. The Advocate editorial board examines why some changes to TOPS are a non-starter for lawmakers.

Why are these kind of common-sense proposals such a tough sell? Part of it is demographics; the mostly middle-class families who receive the Opportunity award are much-prized as likely voters and view it as their entitlement program. Legislators react accordingly. About 52,000 students currently get the generous assistance. And more and more students are getting the award. For the first time, in the Class of 2017, more than half of Louisiana’s high school graduates qualified for TOPS.

Number of the Day

$82 million – Amount of revenue Louisiana would receive under the newly expanded Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (Source: The Daily Advertiser)