Better Than a Bailout: Spending Cuts and Transparency

Last week Gov. Bobby Jindal outlined six fiscal policy reforms that will bring greater flexibility, accountability and transparency to the state budget. Specifically, these reforms will:

• Raise the cap on cutting budgetary spending units
• Eliminate the two-year limit on dedicated fund reductions
• Enhance dedicated fund accountability through performance reviews
• Enact a four-year sunset for statutorily created funds
• Increase transparency in K-12 education spending
• Create a user-friendly website that provides comprehensive information about schools

Spending cuts, accountability and transparency. These proposals won’t solve all of Louisiana’s problems, but they may spare Bobby Jindal from this fate.