A A Written by Barbara Leader Filed Under News Local News Bobby Jindal Families on the waiting list for services for the disabled, some for as many as eight years already, may have to wait yet another year after Gov. Bobby Jindal vetoed the expansion of a program that provides in-home services, said ARCO executive director Roma Kidd. The cut was one of dozens of line-item vetoes by Jindal on Friday, along with cuts to additional arts funding which was designed to replace part of the funding reductions the group has suffered over the past five years. Kidd said she will look more closely at the impact of the cuts over the coming days. “The cuts that we’ve sustained over the past five years have made it extremely difficult for us to be able to provide the level of service that is needed,” she said. “We’ve had some horrific cuts.” Northeast Louisiana Arts Council CEO Tommy Usrey said the vetoes by the governor are a “direct slap in the face of the legislature.” “We are surprised,” he said Saturday. “For him to go in after the legislature has left town and to do something like this, I think the legislators were shocked.” Usrey said the $500,000 which was added in a line item for the arts would have helped to replace money cut by the Jindal administration. “Six years ago we were at $5.2 million, but every year Jindal has been cutting it in half,” he said. “We’ve hit rock bottom. This was a chance to begin the climb back up.” According to Usrey, the governor’s budget contains $1.9 million for the arts in the next fiscal year. Rep. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, believes a special legislative session to override these vetoes and others may be necessary. “There were cuts made to citizens with disabilities and domestic violence in favor of bigger government,” Jackson said. “The money was moved back into the (executive branch) without explanation.” Jackson said she plans to meet with constituents affected by the line-item vetoes along with other legislators on Tuesday to assess the changes. “Jindal has campaigned for years on decreasing the size of government, but when the legislature passes an independent budget that deals with the needs of the state and it’s people, it all ends up back in the department,”
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 17:38:30 +0000
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