The first of nine constitutional amendments on the ballot in Louisiana would prevent the legislature from raiding the state’s Medicaid Trust Fund to balance the budget. But LSU Political Scientist Robert Hogan says it could also hamstring the budgeting process if Louisiana’s demographics shift.
“This continues a trend that we’ve seen in recent years of, through the amendment process, putting portions - a larger and larger portion of the budget - off-limits to the legislature,” says Hogan.
Hogan says health care and higher education are among the few areas of the state budget where spending is still discretionary and so have been the focus of recent cuts.