The state’s goal of one day adding land to Louisiana’s coast will not happen as hoped. Emelie Gunn tells us why….
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Governor John Bel Edwards made it through three grueling legislative sessions, but ULM political science professor John Sutherlin says his work is far from over. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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Lawmakers just wrapped up the second special session without closing the deficit, and they’ve got some time to recover be for the fiscal session in 2017. Halen Doughty has more…
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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Plans are in the works for Shreveport-Bossier to get a new bridge over the Red River, and Monroe residents are asking when will the state pay for a new bridge over the Ouachita River, as there’s been talk of a new bridge in that area for decades. Ouachita parish police juror Walt Caldwell says a new bridge in Monroe would cost around $300 million, and there isn’t enough money in the state capital outlay budget to cover the cost.
The cost for the new Shreveport bridge is projected between $80 and $100 million. Caldwell says the Monroe project would require a lot of federal funding, and that money doesn’t appear to be available either.
Cut 5 (11) “dwindle dramatically”
West Monroe Senator Mike Walsworth says there were renovations on the Lea Joyner Bridge over the Ouachita River in 2013. He says Monroe-West Monroe already has three bridges essentially within two miles of each other.
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Louisiana’s major goal of stopping wetland erosion and rebuilding the coast has come to a halt. Director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Gulf Restoration Program David Muth says that’s because sea levels are expected to rise higher than previously predicted. But he says that doesn’t mean they’ll stop trying to solve coastal land loss
Muth says the state is using funding from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to build barrier islands, marshes and dredging to limit coastal land loss. He says the most important step is for Louisiana to use sediment from the Mississippi River to build up the marshes.
Muth says he’s not surprised that the prediction of reversing coastal land loss in a few decades isn’t possible anymore. But he is optimistic they can reduce the amount of land Louisiana loses every year and that’s through sediment diversions…
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The second special session is over, but ULM political science professor John Sutherlin says Governor John Bel Edwards won’t be taking a breather anytime soon.
The governor will have to make at least $300 million dollars in cuts to the state budget for next fiscal year. Sutherlin says Edwards will be involved in trying to bolster the state’s ports, roads and bridges, while also working on some job creation projects.
Sutherlin says with a Democrat in the White House it may help Edwards bring down more federal dollars from Washington for infrastructure projects. He anticipates the governor will also look to improve broadband internet service throughout the state.
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Two special sessions later, Louisiana’s budget is still not in good shape. Barry Erwin with the Council for a Better Louisiana says he’s optimistic that in the 2017 fiscal session lawmakers can start looking at long term budget reform. He says otherwise they will still be dealing with midyear cuts.
Erwin says he hopes lawmakers will be able to work towards this reform across party lines because it’s something both Democrats and Republicans recognize the state needs. He says the question still remains if they will agree to work together.
Erwin says the reform options that are out there are pretty much the same as what they looked at in the special sessions. But he says with next year’s fiscal session, lawmakers will have more time to get the job done.
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