Baton Rouge – Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis on Friday presented Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Executive Budget recommendations for Fiscal Year 2008-2009 to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. Here is the press release announced by the Jindal Administration:
“This is a fiscally responsible budget,” said Davis.“We've done a lot in a short time to initiate more accountability and reform in government, but it’s just a start. We are setting a foundation whereby we make strategic investments in critical areas while also demanding measurable results in the use of taxpayer dollars.”
Fiscal Highlights:
Recommended Grand Total Spending for FY 08-09 of $30.1 billion, a 12 percent reduction from $34.3 billion budgeted in FY 07-08
TotalState: $15 billion recommended v. $14.56 budgeted FY-0708, an increase of 3.17 percent
Reduced reliance on one-time revenues for recurring expenditures by nearly $400 million (almost half)
Eliminated 1,465 state government positions (net reduction of 1,057, factoring 149 new hires in strategic investment areas and reestablishing on budget 259 Higher Ed positions)
Eliminated and streamlined government offices
Limited new and expanding programs outside of strategic investments in workforce, education, economic development, healthcare, public safety, transparency and technology, and ethics enforcement
Strategic Investment Highlights:
Workforce Development:
$10 million in new funding for workforce training in Louisiana colleges for high-demand fields
$4.5 million in new funding for Career Technical Education in K-12 public schools
$3 million for Quick Start Program (LED) turnkey training
Education/Higher Ed:
$70.1 million teacher pay raise to maintain Southern Regional average (includes $14 million MFP)
$34.7 million to fully fund Higher Ed formula (Higher Ed)
Fully funded TOPS at $122.3 million
Economic Development:
$17.9 million for Rapid Response Fund to secure economic development opportunities (increase of $7.9 million)
$2 million for Project Specific Site Prep
$400K for Business Retention/Expansion team
Health Care:
$29 million additional for Mental Health Plan -- $13.8 million pilot plan for New Orleans
Public Safety:
$22.8 million more for interoperability system
$6.5 million for new 50-member State Trooper class
Transparency and Technology:
$1 million for online state spending transparency and accountability database
Ethics Enforcement:
$1.6 million for Ethics Commission for ethics reform implementation
$267,000 for Division of Administrative Law to administer ethics violation case
Bayoubuzz: What are your comments about the budget? Is it what you expected? Are the priorities right? Comment on our Buzzbacks, below.
