Governor's Executive Budget Proposal

Dear Faculty and Staff,

The release of the governor’s executive budget today provides a starting point for the University’s budget planning for the 2015-16 fiscal year.

It’s early in the budget adoption process. There is still a way to go before we will know the final amount of financial support that we will have from the state for our University as the legislature considers the governor’s budget proposal and ideas for adopting a statewide budget.

The governor has proposed to cap several refundable tax credits. By doing so, he projects that $372 million would be redirected to higher education. That would reduce, not eliminate, a cut to our funding. Higher ed funds are proposed to decrease by $211.3 million, which is less than initially projected. The governor’s budget also calls for fee hikes for students, offset by a tax break for those additional fees.

UL Lafayette will continue to work with the legislature during the process to improve our final state budget.

I want to express my appreciation for your dedication to the success of our students, to the research and creative activities that are a core part of what we do as a research university, and to the community engagement so integral to our University.

Sincerely,

E. Joseph Savoie
President
president@louisiana.edu