EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

April 26 The Advocate Louisiana budget At the mid-point of the annual session of the Legislature, what’s going in the right direction?

We see several encouraging developments.

There remains a good bit of political discussion around the budget, with lawmakers rushing spending bills through the House to tee up action in the Senate. The party angle? If Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards should veto something, Republican legislators want to still be in session, the easier to override any of his decisions.

That may not seem the most judicious option, but in fact, and as Edwards himself observed, the budget is closely following some of his key priorities that we also think are wise. A teacher pay raise is included as well as much-needed raises for university faculty, who are constantly being poached by other states’ institutions.

New federal money is being focused on one-time spending, rather than recurring expenditures, another wise judgment from the GOP leadership in both House and Senate.

And legislators and the governor are jointly committed to using one-time money to pay off a lingering debt owed to the U.S. government. The massive levee improvements built after Hurricane Katrina required a $1.1 billion state match.

If the debt is not dealt with promptly, as the Public Affairs Research Council commented, the state could be obligated for interest charges that could rise to the billions.

The Louisiana delegation in Congress as well as state authorities have worked hard to make repayment as easy on the Louisiana taxpayer as possible. The second installment of $400 million is in the budget that is now at the halfway point.

That’s good news, and another responsible step the Legislature is in the process of making this year.