Our Views: Senate slush added to bill

• Advocate Opinion page staff
• Published: Jun 10, 2009 - Page: 8B

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

Legislators plan on keeping their goodies, even as they put colleges and the sick on crash diets.

That’s the conclusion one draws from the Senate’s action in adding local or “nongovernmental” projects to the state budget. The House earlier had added its own collection of slush-fund items to the appropriations bill.

It’s as if there is no budget crisis at all.

The House added about $11 million for pet projects and nongovernmental organizations — called NGOs — to the $28.7 billion proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The Senate added about $14 million in projects.

Among the lucky winners of the legislative lottery: The Awesome Ladies of Distinction — a mentoring program — is slated to receive $25,000. The Caldwell Parish Police Jury gets $80,000 for a firetruck, courtesy of the state. The state is set to contribute $75,000 toward construction of a judicial building in St. James Parish.

In ordinary times, the slush funds were just pure politics.

With deep cuts proposed for colleges and for health care, the politics this year are deeply offensive.

C.B. Forgotson, the blogger and former House Appropriations Committee staffer, notes the erosion of local responsibility — and the resulting expansion of state power — because of this legislative paternalism. “If state government only funded state responsibilities there would be no shortage of money for any state function,” Forgotston said.

“It’s fine if Tallulah wants to build new sidewalks,” he noted. “It’s not fine if Tallulah wants to build new sidewalks and tax the people of Newellton to pay for them.”

That is what is happening here: Legislators are buying votes with other people’s money — that of the state’s taxpayers. We hope Gov. Bobby Jindal will ruthlessly cut these items. Rhetoric about tightening the state’s belt means nothing if such projects remain safe from the governor’s veto pen.