Louisiana is in the midst of a budget crisis and on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 14, the House and Senate began a Special Legislative Session called by Governor John Bel Edwards. Edwards gave his Executive Budget for the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year to the Joint Legislative Committee on Feb. 13. 

On Thursday, Feb. 11, due to the immediate fiscal year short fall, the state suspended the process by which colleges and universities are reimbursed for the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS). However, current students for this semester will be receiving their awards.

“Current TOPS scholarships remain intact,” said Vice President of Administration and Finance Sam Domiano. “Southeastern has been notified by LOFSA that the state will not be paying for 20 percent of TOPS payments that are due to the university. Alternative funding mechanisms for the 20 percent are being explored. Until more is known regarding potential budget cuts to higher education and the TOPS program itself in the 2016 to 2017 budget, it would be irresponsible to speculate on the future.”

TOPS is only one topic of discussion that will be brought up for the Special Legislative Session in which the Legislature and Governor will discuss the budget deficit that must be resolved before the regular legislative session begins due to the state’s constitution. 

“We now have a more than 940 million dollar budget deficit for this current fiscal year, ending June 30,” said Edwards, in a statewide governmental address on the evening of Feb. 11. “In the year that starts July 1, we are facing a two billion dollar budget deficit. And because the Louisiana Constitution does not allow us to fix either of these budget deficits in the regular legislative session this year, we have just three weeks, starting this Sunday, to make the changes we need.”

In his governmental address, Edwards proposed some ways in which he hopes to help solve the budget situation. This included a hiring freeze across the state government, a reduction in state contracts, a cut of over $160 million dollars in government spending, the use of $128 million dollars in non-coastal BP payments, an increase in alcohol and cigarette taxes and a set of revenue-raising measures that include further reducing tax credits, suspending corporate tax deductions and adding a penny of the sales to the state’s four cent sales tax. Edwards also encourages us to “focus on solutions and not allow party labels and bickering to pull us apart.”

Though these are the proposals that Edwards will be bringing up, in a recent campus budget update, President John L. Crain said he has already implemented actions in order to accommodate a potential reduction in state support through an expenditure freeze and hiring freeze. The expenditure freeze includes the expenditures for travel, acquisitions and supplies not already expended or encumbered. Course lab fee budgets, restricted budgets including those funded from Academic Enhancement fees or other student fees restricted for a specific purpose and grant budgets funded from external sources or internal restricted funds are exempt.

The university has currently been working under a hiring freeze and vacant positions are filled through the chain of command through the Vice President and President. The university will continue to follow this procedure.

“Budget unit heads should understand that requests to fill vacant positions will now be scrutinized much more closely,” said Crain, in a recent budget update.

The Special Legislative Session began at 4:00 p.m. on Feb. 14 and all work in this session must wrap up by Mar. 9. The regular session will begin Monday, March 14. To keep up with the meetings taking place for the legislative sessions, as well as to learn more about the Louisiana state Legislation, visit legis.la.gov. 

Southeastern Louisiana University is part of the University of Louisiana Systems. To learn more about the UL system, visit ulsystems.edu.  

If you would like to email your Governor through the governor’s website or learn how to get in contact with your state representatives or legislators through his website, visit gov.louisiana.gov.