LOUISIANA BUDGET PROJECT - House budget reflects misplaced priorities - by Paul Braun, State Budget and Tax Policy Analyst

As the annual legislative session reached the halfway point this week, the budget bill crafted by House conservatives fails to prioritize teachers, people with Medicaid coverage and parents with preschool children. [...] Louisiana’s teachers are among the lowest-paid in the South - earning, on average, $3,000 per year below the Southern regional average and nearly $13,000 per year less than the national average.2 The low pay contributes to a shortage of certified teachers in classrooms, and teachers leaving the profession after only a few years. [...] The appropriation for the state’s early childhood education system would have partially filled a $200 million hole in the agency’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year, when temporary federal funds expire. [...] The House budget also reduces the time and resources requested by the Louisiana Department of Health to update the state’s Medicaid rolls to comply with changing federal rules, a process known as “unwinding.” The decreased funding and shorter timeline comes with consequences that will affect families across Louisiana. [...] The good news is that the legislative session is only at the halfway point.