La. House; Senate approve State budget

By: ELIZABETH WEST
Managing Editor

By a vote of 56 to 44 the Louisiana House of Representatives narrowly passed a $28 billion budget late Wednesday, which was then swiftly passed by the Senate two days later.
The House’s decision came after being forced into a special session when lawmakers failed to agree upon a budget for the year beginning July 1 during the regular session.
Following the passage of the budget, Governor Edwards released a statement applauding the House’s decision.
In the release, the Governor states, “This budget represents an overall compromise.”
According to Gov. Edwards, the budget passed by the House “still imposes cuts across state government,” but “it does so in a responsible way that adequately funds our needs without negatively impacting the most vulnerable among us.”
Gov. Edwards also said in the release that this budget will continue a practice that his administration began this fiscal year, “whereby funds are set aside in reserves from state agencies to address possible cuts throughout the fiscal year.”
According to the release, the budget will also “fully fund higher education for the first time in a decade, fully fund TOPS, honor our commitment to our veterans,” and it “contains no new taxes.”
Friday morning around 10:45, the budget was passed by the Senate with a vote of 26 to 9.
From there, the bill made its way to the Governor’s desk where it was signed into law.