New rule lacks teeth
posted Thursday, May 26th, 2011 @ 4:11 pm

A new rule approved by the House of Representatives earlier this week requires the House to approve by a two-thirds vote the use of one-time revenues to balance a budget.

Offered by Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles, the new rule altered the state's fiscal posture heading into the 2011-2012 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The Legislature is in the midst of a regular session, working toward approving a roughly $24.9-billion budget for the new fiscal year. Advocated by the Jindal administration, the proposed budget for the new fiscal year contains about $500 million in one-time revenues, or revenues that won't necessarily be available for the Legislature to spend in the 2012-2013 fiscal year.