re: Louisiana State Budget & TOPS

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Isn't most of LA's budget protected other than health care and education?

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No. That is largely propaganda by Jindal and LABI.

The legislature creates the budget and decides what programs should exist and what the expenditures should be for each program. Some revenue sources like licenses, fees, gas taxes, gambling revenue, etc must be used for specific programs but the legislature ultimately decides where the priorities are. They can set aside a rainy day fund with those cost-savings but they can't just return the money without also passing lower taxes or refusing to renew taxes.

The constitutional protections everyone talks about simply prohibits the governor from just willy-nilly cutting programs without the legislature's approval. Many billions of dollars could be unlocked if the legislature would do their jobs.