State Budget Shortfall Reaches $1.2 Billion

The Jindal administration told lawmakers who sit on the budget committees that the shortfall for next year's budget is $1.2 billion.

Jindal said financing used to balance this year's budget won't be available for the next fiscal year, which is why there's a huge shortfall.

Jeremy Alford, publisher of Lapolitics.com, says the news isn't a surprise to legislators, and some have already discussed rolling back some tax exemptions as a way to raise revenues.

"The problem with that is the governor has always taken the position that any rollback of the tax exemption results in a tax increase," Alford says.

Jindal will propose a budget for next fiscal year to lawmakers early in 2015. Alford says he expects the governor to come up with some creative ways on how to handle this huge shortfall.

"This past session, we saw him bring in a consulting group to pore through the finances of the state and to look for places to cut the budget, and I think he could be looking for similar means to present his budget next year," Alford says.