BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Latest on Gov. John Bel Edwards’ budget proposal (all times local):
10:30 a.m.
Gov. John Bel Edwards’ budget proposal for next year includes pay raises for teachers and other education spending increases.
The Edwards administration presented the recommendations for the year that begins July 1 to lawmakers on Friday.
More than $140 million in spending boosts are proposed for K-12 education, including a $1,000 across-the-board pay raise for public school teachers and a $500 salary bump for school support workers. Other dollars would go to block grants for school districts.
The Democratic governor also is recommending $11 million in new public college spending.
Edwards’ budget proposal is a wish list of sorts, not based on the state’s current income forecast. It assumes Republican House Speaker Taylor Barras eventually will relent and agree to adjust the projections to match economists’ recommendations.
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10 a.m.
Gov. John Bel Edwards has given Louisiana lawmakers an aspirational budget proposal for next year, rather than one based on the current state income forecast.
The last financial forecast for the upcoming 2019-20 budget year was adopted in June.
But those figures don’t reflect the recommendations of state economists who expect tax collections to be higher. They’re also missing billions of dollars that agencies expect to receive from fees, fines and other revenue sources.
Forecast changes have been stymied by Republican House Speaker Taylor Barras.
The Edwards administration is refusing to offer a budget proposal to the Legislature’s joint budget committee that leaves cuts and gaps across state agencies. Instead, the administration on Friday proposed a $30 billion budget based on what the governor believes is expected to show up in the state treasury.
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6 a.m.
Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration is releasing its budget proposal for next year amid muddier-than-usual circumstances.
The last financial forecast for the upcoming 2019-20 budget year was adopted in June.
But those figures don’t reflect the recommendations of state economists who expect tax collections to be higher. They’re also missing billions that agencies expect to receive from fees, fines and other revenue sources.
Forecast changes have been stymied by Republican House Speaker Taylor Barras.
The Edwards administration hasn’t said publicly what it will release Friday to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.
Edwards’ budget proposal could either be an aspirational document about what the governor believes is expected to show up in the state treasury or a proposal that leaves huge cuts and gaps across state agencies.
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