Recent editorials from Louisiana newspapers:
May 19
The Courier, Houma, La. on making more cuts at Nicholls State:
Nicholls State University, along with its students and the broader community it serves, has a lot on the line in the current legislative session.
Nicholls State stands to lose another $7.7 million in state spending if the current version of the state budget makes it through the Senate as it is.
To put that $7.7 million in perspective, that would bring to $19.9 million the reductions in state money that Nicholls has lost since the 2008-09 state fiscal year. In other words, the university will have lost 56 percent of its state money in just a few years.
That is draconian by any measure.
The deep state cuts have already taken a large toll on student services. ...
Nicholls State President Stephen Hulbert said the latest proposed cuts — and they are still just proposed — would force the school into some even tougher situations than those it already has faced. ...
Our state faces severe budget difficulties, a fact that demands tough choices. The choice, though, cannot always be to automatically take money away from health care and higher education.
There are ideas being floated in Baton Rouge that could lessen the dire financial straits the state faces. Some ideas include limiting state spending on contracts and using attrition to cut down the state's workforce.
These options are not necessarily the answer, at least not by themselves. But the answer is certainly not yet another round of deep budget cuts where the state can least afford them, in the education of tomorrow's leaders.
The budget is still in the state Senate, and there is still ample time for our officials in Baton Rouge to take action that will salvage the little state funding Nicholls and other state universities still receive.
That must take place before Louisiana cuts our institutions of higher learning so severely they might never recover.
Online:
http://www.houmatoday.com
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May 17
Nicholls State President Stephen Hulbert said the latest proposed cuts — and they are still just proposed — would force the school into some even tougher situations than those it already has faced. ...
The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, on the Restore Act:
When a final transportation bill is worked out by Senate-House negotiators, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., says that it will include a measure to direct 80 percent of BP oil spill fines to the Gulf Coast.
That provision, known as the Restore Act, is critically important to Louisiana and its regional neighbors. Boxer is chairing the conference committee, and her optimism is encouraging. Passage would be a significant victory for states that experienced environmental and economic damage when the Macondo oil well spewed millions of gallons of oil off Louisiana's coast two years ago.
Sen. Boxer has been a key ally for the Gulf Coast on this issue, and her support, as well as the tenacity of the Louisiana delegation, has helped steer the provision through a notoriously difficult legislative environment.
"It's in both bills, so it will be included," Boxer said, pointing out that the Senate version passed by a vote of 76-22.
Directing the majority of money to the affected states is a simple matter of fairness. Fines stemming from the disaster could range from $5 billion to $22 billion, depending on whether BP and other responsible parties are found negligent or grossly negligent. That certainly would be a windfall for the Treasury. But for the states that were harmed in the spill — like Louisiana — the money isn't an unanticipated bonanza: It's an urgently needed resource for recovering from an environmental disaster.
There are differences between the Senate and House versions of the Restore Act that will have to be reconciled, which is the job of the conference committee. Some details of the Senate version have already sparked debate in the committee, which met for the first time recently. Two House Republicans objected to using interest money from the oil spill fines to pay for an oceans study and providing funding for a Land and Water Conservation Fund that's opposed by some Western Republicans. Both of those provisions were included to win Democratic support for the Senate bill.
But the central provision of the Restore Act — that the Gulf Coast should get 80 percent of the Clean Water Act fines — doesn't appear to be in jeopardy, and that's what matters.
Online:
http://www.nola.com
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May 17
The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La., on a new one-stop-shop for the state's sunshine laws:
We're glad the Public Affairs Research Council has updated its website to include a one-stop resource for information on Louisiana's "sunshine laws," which are meant to promote transparent government.
The laws get their nickname from the idea that a strong light on government proceedings is necessary to ensure the public interest is being served. Louisiana's two major transparency laws are the Louisiana Open Meetings Law, which generally requires meetings of Louisiana public bodies be open to the public; and the Louisiana Public Records Law, which generally requires the documents of state and local government be available to the public.
For years, PAR has provided the public with its popular Citizens Rights Card, a pocket-sized guide to the state's transparency laws. That card is being revised. PAR also is updating its online resources for transparency issues under the banner, "Sunshine Headquarters." The public can access these resources at louisiana.com/sunshineheadquarters.cfm">http://www.parlouisiana.com/sunshineheadquarters.cfm. PAR is making these resources available in Spanish and Vietnamese, too.
PAR has a long tradition of promoting transparency in state and local government, and we're glad this tradition is being extended with these updated guidelines.
Online:
http://www.theadvocate.com