Jindal plan would cut $341 million

• By MICHELLE MILLHOLLON
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Dec 31, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Gov. Bobby Jindal proposed a plan Tuesday to cut $341 million in spending by reducing health-care costs, laying off workers and scaling back on BlackBerries.

“Some think the job of government is simply to collect taxes and spend money. I do not subscribe to that view,” Jindal said during a news conference at the State Capitol.

Jindal was able to immediately cut $162 million in the current budget year that ends June 30. The rest of the cuts are merely a recommendation unless legislators agree to them at a meeting next week.

The recommended cuts to health care and higher education are lower than anticipated but still sizable.

The state’s public colleges and universities, for example, initially were told to expect to trim spending by $109 million. Instead, Jindal is recommending $55 million in cuts.

Health care would lower costs by $118 million, partly by reducing the number of prescriptions that many Medicaid recipients can receive per month.

The governor said the state has to live within its means in light of a reduction in revenue.

Economists attribute a downturn in state revenue to slumping oil prices and the national recession. The revenue drop forced the governor to make midyear cuts to the state operating budget for the fiscal year that ends in June.

Through an executive order, Jindal cut $163 million. The state constitution allows him to trim 3 percent of the state general fund by budget unit.

The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget will have to approve the remaining $178 million in cuts that the governor is recommending. The committee meets Jan. 9.

Jindal’s proposal calls for health care and higher education to bear the brunt of the cutbacks because of the amount of state general fund revenue they receive.

The balance of the state’s general fund is lower than expected because of slumping mineral revenue and decreased tax collections.
The governor said he wants to shield the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the state’s community colleges from cuts.

He said higher education still received an increase in state general fund dollars compared to last year even with a $55 million reduction.