WEBVTT
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Yesterday was Jack McFarlane day in the Approach Appropriations Committee.
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Nine different items on the agenda. All head represented McFarland
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as the author and he joins us, now, how are you, sir?
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I'm doing good, Brian. I'm glad you could recognize it
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was the McFarland day at the Capitol.
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I mean, did not to get too personal, but did
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you know, did you another reasons fall a sleaf sit
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in a chair that long?
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Hey, listen, Uh, it was a good day for the Irish,
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how about that?
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Okay, that's fair, definitely fair to be sure. Obviously, we're
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gonna start off with the budget HB one forty seven
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billion dollars. What's it looking like moving forward?
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Hey, look, I think we got another great budget. I
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think it's another commitment by the legislature to move Louisiana
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in a better direction, especially when it comes to the budget.
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Is once again it's a standstill budget. The Executive Department,
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the Governor sent over a stan still budget. Not only
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did we maintain that, we put about eighty eight million
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dollars of one time expenses in there. That lowers our
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future expenses next year when we get into the next
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fist fiscal session, they're automatically be a reduction. Look, there's
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a thirty million dollars savings in there where we paid
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off some debt. Once again, we utilize one hundred and
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forty four million of our surplus dollars to pay down
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our lasers. Actually, we paid a laser's debt off that's
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been in existence, Brian, to get this since nineteen eighty eight.
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This is what we're still paying for the sins of
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the past. That frees up about really total eighty eight
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million dollars overall. And when you start factoring in interest
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principle and all the other costs associated with that, simnor
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double damn their doubles. Hey, look, and then even go
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further with the economic opportunities that have come about in
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Louisiana in the last two years, all these new investments
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that are being made by companies. We have made a
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commitment to have a workforce ready to go to work.
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Led committed another seventy five million dollars to them to
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continue to pursue companies that are looking at coming here,
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made a commitment to Higher Ed to work with our
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community colleges. Because of many of these jobs, Brian are
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needing those individuals job ready within two years. The community
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colleges are doing a great job of getting the necessary
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training and the curriculum ready for those individuals. Look, Louisiana
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is doing a good job. We're moving forward and I'm excited.
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State Representative Jack mc farland is with us. So it
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moves to the full house floor. Can you talk procedurally
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for just a little bit about what happens when it
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gets to the house floor, like this forty seven billion dollars,
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it is this where it's going to be? Or could
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we see movement with an individual program? And there's three
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that I want to ask you about in particular. The
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Gator scholarship program is a very very popular one that
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folks have been looking for more money on. But I mean,
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are we are? We are where it's going to be
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on that?
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Yeah, So that that eighty seven million dollars for a
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Gator program. It is still in our budget, it was
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in the governor's executive budget. We've had We've heard from
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a lot of constituents and schools that would like to
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see that remain. So that is still in place. I
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don't see that being adjusted up any higher between now
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and the floor. You know, once we go on the floor,
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we go into a committee as a whole and we'll
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go through each schedule of the budget. And as we
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do that, then we will cover each agency and members
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as a committee as a whole. Those members that don't
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serve on the Appropriations Committee will then have their opportunity
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to ask questions and also have an opportunity to look
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for more solutions and play a pivotal role. Uh.
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Two more that I wanted to ask about the GUMBO
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program with the broadband Internet. I assume everything smooth sailing
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on that front.
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Yeah, it's still moving forward. I know there's talk of
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more more dollars being committed to that, but look, it
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plays a pivotal role. Uh. Those those investments from the
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GUMBO are putting Internet access, especially in the rule of communities,
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given those individuals access that they've really never had before.
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Me and Brien, you take take where I live, I
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mean you don't. You can't even hardly talk on a
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cell phone where I was given to actually have Internet.
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Broadband is tremendous and looking it's not just about the
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educational piece and component of that, It's also about the healthcare.
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You know, we're going to more telemedicine and uh, you
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know a lot of insurance companies and doctors now or
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you you're able to do a telemedicine visit rather than
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having to go in the office. And so look at
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GUMBO is still are playing a pivotal role.
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Now absolutely, especially with the Governor's who Rural Healthcare Initiative
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getting into more rural areas. This that that will play
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you know play, you know, not just pivotal, but well
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even bigger. At this point, State Representative Jack mcfallan is
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our guest, talking a little bit about the budget. What
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other unbelievably popular program that's going to be looking for
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more dollars? Is there a possibility of finding some more
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money for the fortified roof program?
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Yeah, look, that's been a very popular program. We started
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at I guess four years ago. Now every year we're
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looking for additional dollars. And we do know that it
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does lower your insurance premiums on your home and property.
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So that is once again there are dollars in there
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that have been pawned within the Department of Insurance and
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that are actually funding the program to some degree now.
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But that is always a topic of conversation since we
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began it, we always knew based on history and where
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this program had worked effectively, for example in Alabama, that
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if you would invest it, it would save the state
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and it saves the homeowner money by fortifying their roof.
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So it has proven to be an effective program.
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So with all three of these, which are all effective
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pro crems, is it just a matter of we're capped
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out and there's just not more money within to get
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to them, or is it a matter of we're still looking.
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It's a matter of we're still looking. So I think
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that RC, you know, our Revenue Estimating Conference will meet
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again in May. We're optimistic hopeful that they will recognize
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some additional dollars, just based off of the last RAC
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meeting was held back in February, so things change over
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that quarter and hopefully we'll recognize additional dollars. And the
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reason we believe that is obviously all if you go
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to the gas pump, you know that all's up. That
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does for Louisiana, that does generate more money, So hopefully
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our EC can recognize a few more dollars from that.
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But there are other things that influence that, from tax sales,
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tax collections to corporate income, personal income and look, personal
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income tax collections. We lowered the personal income tax in Louisiana,
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as you remember, less than two years ago. Twenty twenty
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five was our first full year of that. And with
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the new jobs, with all the construction that's going on,
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you're seeing more income taxes received by the state from
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those individuals because of those new job creations. And look,
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that plays a pivotal role when you see those additional dollars,
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and revenue Estimating Conference does recognize those dollars that goes
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into the budget. So there are opportunities for us to
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do additional funding for the fort to five Roots program
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and many other things that are vital to Louisiana.
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Now, I fully understand when you spent the last four
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minutes with me wanting fiscal responsibility and asking for more
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at the same time, Like I think we all get that.
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You know, it's we want lower taxes and more from
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our government every single day. Stay Representative Jack McFarlane as
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our guest talking about the budget a little bit, and
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I want to get some other stuff too. We might
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have to have you back on because I mean, the
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budget is such a big deal that it's going to
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eat up the whole segment you mentioned earlier, represent McFarland
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about spending eighty eight million dollars of one time expenses
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that will lower long term spending. How does that equate, like,
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how does that look on the P and L. How
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does that turn over one time spending equals long term savings.
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Well, so for us next year, if you look at
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the what we call our continuation budget, if everything just
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remained the same, there are some programs that are going
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to be kicking in next year. We also have some
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revenue on the federal level with a big, beautiful bill
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where it reduced the federal government's commitment and their cost
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share of Medicaid. When you look at that, especially with
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the Medicaid expansion population, When you look at that, that's
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going to be some increased costs. So we know that
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in the continuation forecast where our expenses are going to
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be next year and where our revenue will be. Now,
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if you take the savings, those savings and you talk
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about the one time investments NHB one one time commitments,
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there's already a recognized reduction that we can come back
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next year and say, okay, here's eighty eight million dollars
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we spent one time, we can back that out of
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the budget to cover some of these additional costs now
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being sent down on the federal level to cover Medicaid
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and Medicaid expansion and other things like snaps. Just a
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year loan, there was a reduction by the federal government
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of fifty million dollars and just the administrative cost of
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it that the state had to pick up. Now, those
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are programs that are vital for those are those that
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are impoverished. And look, I say this about our senior
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citizens because it's often those individuals that need our help
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the most, and we like to think of it in
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other terms, but Brian, the reality is we do have
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an aging population in Louisiana. Those individuals can't get out
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and go back to work. I mean, these are seventy
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eighty year old individuals and we are responsible for aiding them.
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So I think that those programs are important. But this
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puts us in a better position next year to make
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those reductions because we will have saved that money because
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it's one time money. What it's actually one time expenditures.
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Excuse me. That automatically lowers the amount of money that
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we're going to be obligated to cover for other things
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and we can put back into the budget.
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We got about a minute left. The state Representative Jack McFarland,
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if you had timeline the rest of the budget process
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for us, it'll be up in front of the full
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House leader this week. Is there any way to know
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what kind of timeline the Senate puts on it?
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Well, look, the Senate will have six weeks. And this
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is something we've always tried to do, is the House
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has in a sixty day session like this, we try
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to have the budget for six weeks and then give
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the Senate the budget for six weeks. And look, we
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took the governor's executive budget, we massaged it to meet
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priorities that we felt were imported. The Senate's going to
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do the same thing. They're going to have the opportunity
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to look at the executive budget, the House's proposed budget,
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and then they will massage it. And look, there are
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things that do come up between now and then the session,
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things that maybe we didn't recognize that we didn't cover
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enough of the expenditures of. And also there's things that
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come up with RC. Yeah, RC recognizes more dollars, and
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then there are also other things that made need that.
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Addition, no money, we're gonna have to get you back
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in and talk about everything else you're working on. He
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is State Representative Jack McFarland. We're just straight up at
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a time today. Thank you so much for a couple
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of minutes this morning.
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Oh thank you, Brian,
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Yesterday was Jack McFarlane day in the Approach Appropriations Committee.
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Nine different items on the agenda. All head represented McFarland
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as the author and he joins us, now, how are you, sir?
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I'm doing good, Brian. I'm glad you could recognize it
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was the McFarland day at the Capitol.
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I mean, did not to get too personal, but did
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you know, did you another reasons fall a sleaf sit
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in a chair that long?
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Hey, listen, Uh, it was a good day for the Irish,
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how about that?
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Okay, that's fair, definitely fair to be sure. Obviously, we're
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gonna start off with the budget HB one forty seven
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billion dollars. What's it looking like moving forward?
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Hey, look, I think we got another great budget. I
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think it's another commitment by the legislature to move Louisiana
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in a better direction, especially when it comes to the budget.
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Is once again it's a standstill budget. The Executive Department,
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the Governor sent over a stan still budget. Not only
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did we maintain that, we put about eighty eight million
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dollars of one time expenses in there. That lowers our
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future expenses next year when we get into the next
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fist fiscal session, they're automatically be a reduction. Look, there's
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a thirty million dollars savings in there where we paid
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off some debt. Once again, we utilize one hundred and
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forty four million of our surplus dollars to pay down
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our lasers. Actually, we paid a laser's debt off that's
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been in existence, Brian, to get this since nineteen eighty eight.
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This is what we're still paying for the sins of
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the past. That frees up about really total eighty eight
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million dollars overall. And when you start factoring in interest
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principle and all the other costs associated with that, simnor
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double damn their doubles. Hey, look, and then even go
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further with the economic opportunities that have come about in
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Louisiana in the last two years, all these new investments
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that are being made by companies. We have made a
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commitment to have a workforce ready to go to work.
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Led committed another seventy five million dollars to them to
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continue to pursue companies that are looking at coming here,
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made a commitment to Higher Ed to work with our
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community colleges. Because of many of these jobs, Brian are
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needing those individuals job ready within two years. The community
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colleges are doing a great job of getting the necessary
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training and the curriculum ready for those individuals. Look, Louisiana
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is doing a good job. We're moving forward and I'm excited.
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State Representative Jack mc farland is with us. So it
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moves to the full house floor. Can you talk procedurally
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for just a little bit about what happens when it
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gets to the house floor, like this forty seven billion dollars,
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it is this where it's going to be? Or could
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we see movement with an individual program? And there's three
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that I want to ask you about in particular. The
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Gator scholarship program is a very very popular one that
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folks have been looking for more money on. But I mean,
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are we are? We are where it's going to be
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on that?
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Yeah, So that that eighty seven million dollars for a
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Gator program. It is still in our budget, it was
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in the governor's executive budget. We've had We've heard from
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a lot of constituents and schools that would like to
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see that remain. So that is still in place. I
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don't see that being adjusted up any higher between now
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and the floor. You know, once we go on the floor,
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we go into a committee as a whole and we'll
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go through each schedule of the budget. And as we
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do that, then we will cover each agency and members
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as a committee as a whole. Those members that don't
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serve on the Appropriations Committee will then have their opportunity
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to ask questions and also have an opportunity to look
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for more solutions and play a pivotal role. Uh.
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Two more that I wanted to ask about the GUMBO
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program with the broadband Internet. I assume everything smooth sailing
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on that front.
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Yeah, it's still moving forward. I know there's talk of
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more more dollars being committed to that, but look, it
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plays a pivotal role. Uh. Those those investments from the
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GUMBO are putting Internet access, especially in the rule of communities,
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given those individuals access that they've really never had before.
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Me and Brien, you take take where I live, I
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mean you don't. You can't even hardly talk on a
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cell phone where I was given to actually have Internet.
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Broadband is tremendous and looking it's not just about the
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educational piece and component of that, It's also about the healthcare.
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You know, we're going to more telemedicine and uh, you
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know a lot of insurance companies and doctors now or
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you you're able to do a telemedicine visit rather than
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having to go in the office. And so look at
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GUMBO is still are playing a pivotal role.
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Now absolutely, especially with the Governor's who Rural Healthcare Initiative
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getting into more rural areas. This that that will play
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you know play, you know, not just pivotal, but well
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even bigger. At this point, State Representative Jack mcfallan is
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our guest, talking a little bit about the budget. What
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other unbelievably popular program that's going to be looking for
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more dollars? Is there a possibility of finding some more
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money for the fortified roof program?
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Yeah, look, that's been a very popular program. We started
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at I guess four years ago. Now every year we're
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looking for additional dollars. And we do know that it
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does lower your insurance premiums on your home and property.
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So that is once again there are dollars in there
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that have been pawned within the Department of Insurance and
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that are actually funding the program to some degree now.
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But that is always a topic of conversation since we
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began it, we always knew based on history and where
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this program had worked effectively, for example in Alabama, that
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if you would invest it, it would save the state
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and it saves the homeowner money by fortifying their roof.
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So it has proven to be an effective program.
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So with all three of these, which are all effective
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pro crems, is it just a matter of we're capped
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out and there's just not more money within to get
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to them, or is it a matter of we're still looking.
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It's a matter of we're still looking. So I think
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that RC, you know, our Revenue Estimating Conference will meet
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again in May. We're optimistic hopeful that they will recognize
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some additional dollars, just based off of the last RAC
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meeting was held back in February, so things change over
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that quarter and hopefully we'll recognize additional dollars. And the
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reason we believe that is obviously all if you go
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to the gas pump, you know that all's up. That
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does for Louisiana, that does generate more money, So hopefully
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our EC can recognize a few more dollars from that.
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But there are other things that influence that, from tax sales,
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tax collections to corporate income, personal income and look, personal
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income tax collections. We lowered the personal income tax in Louisiana,
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as you remember, less than two years ago. Twenty twenty
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five was our first full year of that. And with
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the new jobs, with all the construction that's going on,
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you're seeing more income taxes received by the state from
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those individuals because of those new job creations. And look,
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that plays a pivotal role when you see those additional dollars,
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and revenue Estimating Conference does recognize those dollars that goes
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into the budget. So there are opportunities for us to
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do additional funding for the fort to five Roots program
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and many other things that are vital to Louisiana.
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Now, I fully understand when you spent the last four
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minutes with me wanting fiscal responsibility and asking for more
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at the same time, Like I think we all get that.
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You know, it's we want lower taxes and more from
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our government every single day. Stay Representative Jack McFarlane as
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our guest talking about the budget a little bit, and
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I want to get some other stuff too. We might
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have to have you back on because I mean, the
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budget is such a big deal that it's going to
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eat up the whole segment you mentioned earlier, represent McFarland
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about spending eighty eight million dollars of one time expenses
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that will lower long term spending. How does that equate, like,
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how does that look on the P and L. How
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does that turn over one time spending equals long term savings.
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Well, so for us next year, if you look at
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the what we call our continuation budget, if everything just
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remained the same, there are some programs that are going
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to be kicking in next year. We also have some
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revenue on the federal level with a big, beautiful bill
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where it reduced the federal government's commitment and their cost
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share of Medicaid. When you look at that, especially with
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the Medicaid expansion population, When you look at that, that's
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going to be some increased costs. So we know that
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in the continuation forecast where our expenses are going to
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be next year and where our revenue will be. Now,
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if you take the savings, those savings and you talk
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about the one time investments NHB one one time commitments,
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there's already a recognized reduction that we can come back
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next year and say, okay, here's eighty eight million dollars
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we spent one time, we can back that out of
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the budget to cover some of these additional costs now
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being sent down on the federal level to cover Medicaid
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and Medicaid expansion and other things like snaps. Just a
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year loan, there was a reduction by the federal government
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of fifty million dollars and just the administrative cost of
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it that the state had to pick up. Now, those
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are programs that are vital for those are those that
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are impoverished. And look, I say this about our senior
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citizens because it's often those individuals that need our help
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the most, and we like to think of it in
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other terms, but Brian, the reality is we do have
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an aging population in Louisiana. Those individuals can't get out
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and go back to work. I mean, these are seventy
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eighty year old individuals and we are responsible for aiding them.
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So I think that those programs are important. But this
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puts us in a better position next year to make
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those reductions because we will have saved that money because
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it's one time money. What it's actually one time expenditures.
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Excuse me. That automatically lowers the amount of money that
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we're going to be obligated to cover for other things
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and we can put back into the budget.
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We got about a minute left. The state Representative Jack McFarland,
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if you had timeline the rest of the budget process
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for us, it'll be up in front of the full
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House leader this week. Is there any way to know
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what kind of timeline the Senate puts on it?
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Well, look, the Senate will have six weeks. And this
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is something we've always tried to do, is the House
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has in a sixty day session like this, we try
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to have the budget for six weeks and then give
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the Senate the budget for six weeks. And look, we
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took the governor's executive budget, we massaged it to meet
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priorities that we felt were imported. The Senate's going to
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do the same thing. They're going to have the opportunity
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to look at the executive budget, the House's proposed budget,
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and then they will massage it. And look, there are
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things that do come up between now and then the session,
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things that maybe we didn't recognize that we didn't cover
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enough of the expenditures of. And also there's things that
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come up with RC. Yeah, RC recognizes more dollars, and
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then there are also other things that made need that.
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Addition, no money, we're gonna have to get you back
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in and talk about everything else you're working on. He
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is State Representative Jack McFarland. We're just straight up at
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a time today. Thank you so much for a couple
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of minutes this morning.
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Oh thank you, Brian,
