BATON ROUGE – After a 30-minute meeting with no debate, a Senate committee voted 9-0 to advance the state budget Thursday, removing the $43.5 million expansion of the school voucher program that had been included in the House and governor’s budgets.
The Revenue Estimating Conference had reduced next year’s state general fund forecast by $104 million on May 8, prompting the Senate Finance Committee to advance amendments to remove the expansion to the Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise voucher program.
The committee also removed the change in the public-school funding formula that would increase per-student spending.
The cut in LA GATOR and education funding would amount to a $75 million reduction in spending.
The committee added an amendment that would allow the Legislature to spend $800 million from the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund, with $387 million of it used for transportation projects. Economic development, local projects, capital outlay, higher-education projects and Medicaid rate increases for disabled residents accounted for the rest of the spending.
These changes were made after the Revenue Estimating Conference met two weeks ago and reduced the current state general fund’s forecast by $113 million and lowered next fiscal year’s forecast by $104 million.
No one on the committee objected to the amendments or the advancement of the budget, including Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, who introduced the original LA GATOR bill in 2024.
Before the committee amended the budget, Sen. Glen Womack, the committee chair, R-Harrisonburg, said most of the governor’s proposed budget went unchanged when the House passed it.
The cut to LA GATOR was the biggest change to the governor’s budget. Landry has supported the school voucher program since it began.
In his opening address to the Legislature in March, Landry said, “We must find a path so that the hard-earned money of parents follow their child to the education of their choice.”
The Pelican Institute, a conservative think tank based in New Orleans, posted a statement on social media saying lawmakers had missed an opportunity to support an expansion to school choice.
“Once again, the Louisiana Senate Finance Committee has chosen politics over students,” the institute said. “On behalf of the thousands of families who will, once again, be left on a waiting list, we are deeply disappointed in this outcome.”
Womack said in a press release that the state’s projected finances led to having to make hard choices.
“There is some really good legislation out there that we are simply having to delay for now, due to financial constraints,” Womack said. It is not clear whether he was referring to the LA GATOR program, which he voted against in 2024.
“When the Revenue Estimating Conference tells us we are $113 million short in revenue for the current year ending June 30, 2026 and we have $104 million less in expected revenue next year, we have to press pause on expanding programs or starting up new programs for now, said Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie. “That’s the responsible thing that our constituents sent us here to do.”
Henry voted in favor of Edmonds’ LA GATOR bill.
The committee also advanced House Bill 312, which addresses the current year’s reduced forecast by reducing the state general fund by $53.1 million, limiting what the Legislature can dedicate.
The bill also decreases expenditures for agencies such as the Division of Administration, Department of Children and Family Services and Department of Corrections until July 1.
Although there was no opportunity for public comment, people crowded the hallway and filled the committee room to fill out cards expressing their support or opposition to the budget.
Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, in response to the number of people who showed up, joked, “House Bill 1 has been properly advertised.”
The House passed the budget on April 16. McFarland said the budget was fiscally responsible given the future budget shortfalls the Legislature expects to face.
Both the House and governor’s budgets were based on the December Revenue Estimating Conference meeting, where the current forecast increased by $217 million, and next fiscal year’s forecast increased by $214 million.
The committee also cut the $18 million in House Bill 983 that would have continued the salary increase judges received in 2025.
The committee did not remove the salary increase for corrections officers, which would cost $17 million.
These changes come after last Saturday’s election in which 58% of voters rejected an amendment to empty three education trust funds for local school districts to permanently raise teachers’ salaries by $2,250.
After the election, Landry posted on X, “In light of Amendment 3 falling short, I want to make it very clear – if our teachers don't get a permanent raise this year, nobody in state government gets a pay raise. I mean nobody.”
Before the election, the House passed bills to raise legislators and the governor’s salary.
Since the amendment provided for a teacher salary increase, the raise was not included in the budget. The committee did not address the issue during the meeting.The committee also did not acknowledge the governor’s statement.
In previous years, the Revenue Estimating Conference has predicted higher forecasts in May meetings, allowing the Senate to increase spending while the budget advances through committee.
This year, the Senate needed to make cuts to the budget before the Legislative session ends June 1.
The Senate floor will vote on the changes the committee made to the budget next week.
