Louisiana House committee rejects attempt to override gov's refusal of some stimulus money
By: MELINDA DESLATTE
Associated Press
05/13/09 5:00 PM EDT
BATON ROUGE, LA. — An attempt to override Gov. Bobby Jindal's rejection of $98 million in federal stimulus dollars to expand Louisiana unemployment benefits failed Wednesday, likely dooming the effort for the legislative session.
The House Labor Committee voted 6-3 against legislation by Democratic Rep. Rickey Hardy that would have been the first step in sidestepping the Republican governor's decision. Committee Chairman Avon Honey, a Democrat, sided with opponents of the measure.
Hardy, D-Lafayette, said unemployed workers need the expanded benefits to help them take care of their families and cope with the national recession.
"Surely we can agree that we would like to see our citizens benefit from the money being offered by the federal government ... It's their money and they want it now," he said.
The stimulus money would give unemployment benefits to thousands of people who normally wouldn't be eligible for them, like certain part-time workers and people who leave jobs because of domestic abuse or a family member's disability, and it would expand benefits to some others, including those with dependents.
Opponents, including Jindal's labor secretary Tim Barfield and business groups, argued the acceptance of those funds would force businesses to pay higher unemployment taxes. Barfield said that could cripple their ability to recover from the recession.
Companies' unemployment tax rates are tied to three years of their unemployment claims history. Barfield said if benefits are expanded, businesses' claims history could increase, driving up their tax rates in the future.
"It's certainly our position that we not accept this money because it does come with strings attached," Barfield said.
Hardy's legislation would state the Legislature's intention to accept all stimulus dollars available from the federal government, even those rejected by Jindal. A separate bill would be needed, however, to change Louisiana's unemployment laws so the state could be eligible to receive the expanded benefits money. Jindal has said he would veto such a bill if it passed.
That bill appears unlikely to reach his desk. Two bills that would let Louisiana tap into the unemployment stimulus money have been scheduled for hearings twice in the House Labor Committee but pulled from consideration by their sponsors.
Other GOP governors have refused to accept the unemployment dollars, expressing the same opposition as Jindal.
However, despite his outspoken criticism of the stimulus package, Jindal intends for Louisiana to accept most of its share. He's proposed plugging $1 billion in stimulus money into next year's state budget and a similar amount a year later.
