Analysis: Discussion cautiously moves to spending surplus

While the Division of Administration, Treasurer John Kennedy and the legislative auditor spar over the validity of a $178.5 million surplus, and how it was calculated, some officials expect it to be up for grabs sooner or later.
Others, however, aren’t so sure. Kennedy, for one, argues that the budgeting practice has never been used before and the state doesn’t have the surplus to spend.
The legislative auditor is working on its own report on the surplus money, and whether it should be spent, but the findings won’t be made available until the turn of the year.
Meanwhile, the number-crunchers in the Legislative Fiscal Office have offered up mixed reviews, one saying it should be included in this year’s budget report and another cautioning against spending the money.
The Revenue Estimating Conference, which is charged with determining how much money the state can spend, will have its say in January.
Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols told LaPolitics she expects REC to recognize the surplus as non-recurring, which means it will be limited to construction projects, debt payments, coastal restoration or the rainy day fund.
Nichols said her top priorities are health care and education. How that would be accomplished is unknown.
The administration, in the past, has used non-recurring money to plug budget holes by filtering it through acceptable routes. Like depositing it into a coastal fund and then pulling it back out to spend as needed.
Some lawmakers, such as Rep. Kenny Havard, R-Jackson, are already pushing the administration to use the supposed surplus to mitigate the effects of health plan increases for state workers under the Office of Group Benefits.
“It is questionable whether there is actually a surplus or not, but should it be determined that there actually is $178.5 million, it should go toward the manufactured crisis created by this administration,” Havard said.
In response, Nichols told LaPolitics, “We are going to work with the Legislature on it. If this is something they want to work on, we will work with them.”
Another question in regard to the practice of using unused self-generated money and supposedly overlooked interagency transfers — the source of the new surplus — is whether the administration will try to estimate how much of that same cash will be left behind at the end of the current fiscal year. And, more to the point, if it will try to plug it into the next budget.
“I think it’ll benefit the 2016 budget,” Nichols said when asked.
Industry digs in further on coastal suit
Two blows have been dealt to opponents of the lawsuit filed against 97 oil and gas companies by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East.
First, Gov. Bobby Jindal’s efforts to restock the board have failed. Opponents of the suit seeking coastal damages were hoping to get a friendly enough membership to squash the legal action.
Additionally, District Court Judge Janice Clark has ruled that legislation passed during this year’s session to do the same doesn’t apply to the flood protection authority.
The energy industry, however, doesn’t sound discouraged.
Gifford Briggs, vice president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, insisted that a settlement is not on the table and a consent decree in exchange for a new processing fee is highly unlikely.
“The path forward doesn’t change at all,” said Briggs. “We’re going to appeal that ruling, on the basis that she had no right to make that decision. She’s overseeing a completely different case. We’ll have a ruling from either the Supreme Court or federal court, where the coastal suit is. This is going to be a very long legal battle and this is just the beginning. This could all take several years to figure out.”
With such an extended timeframe, Briggs added that the strategy of reshaping the flood protection authority’s board will always remain viable.
“That will continue,” he said.
Pat Boone calling …
Voters in the 6th Congressional District received a blast from the past earlier this month.
It was pop singer Pat Boone, the 50s and 60s teen idol, on their phone asking them to support state Rep. Lenar Whitney, R-Houma. On the recorded call, Boone touts Whitney’s anti-abortion and pro-gun stances.
“Lenar Whitney is the kind of conservative who would have made my friend Ronald Reagan very proud,” Boone said in the recording.
Chris Comeaux, Whitney’s campaign manager, says Boone reached out to them after viewing the candidate’s web video in which she calls global warming a “hoax.”
LMA forms PAC for amendments
The Louisiana Municipal Association has formed a political action committee, the Preserve Property Fairness PAC, to help pass two constitutional amendments on the November ballot.
Radio ads and paid social media launched last week, according to Ronnie Harris, LMA’s executive director.
Constitutional Amendment No. 3 would allow local governments to hire private companies to help collect delinquent property taxes and sell adjudicated property.
The other, Constitutional Amendment No. 10, would reduce the time owners could reclaim their property after it is sold in a tax sale from three years to 18 months.
“Besides being an issue of fairness, that everyone should pay their fair share of taxes and government budgets need to be made whole, local governments need the tools to effectively collect delinquent property taxes,” Harris says. “We also have an opportunity to address the equation of blight equaling unpaid taxes.”
Polling shakeup in Shreveport mayor’s race
It looks like the perception that state Rep. Patrick Williams would lead the primary in Shreveport’s mayoral race has been deflated a bit.
In a poll commissioned by The Shreveport Times and LaPolitics’ media partner KTBS-TV, fellow Democrat Ollie Tyler is leading the field with 33 percent. Victoria Provenza, a former Republican with no party affiliation, trailed with 23 percent and Williams found himself in the third spot with 13 percent.
PRISM Surveys conducted the poll with 515 likely voters on Oct. 16.
Insiders say Williams may have taken a hit in local news coverage for allegedly double billing some of his legislative expenses. His supporters, meanwhile, contend voters have become more familiar with his message since the poll was conducted and his ground game will be out in full force on Nov. 4.
They Said It
“I am the gumbo of Louisiana.” — Sen. Elbert Guillory, referring to his African, Cherokee and French heritage, in National Review
“Get in close.” — Guillory, describing how one can kill a bear in single combat, like he supposedly did, in National Review
For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Jeremy Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.