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BATON ROUGE—A $483 million increase in revenue for the state’s general spending fund is now being estimated for 2024, adding to a giant pile of money that the state Legislature has at its disposal.
Under the new projections, the state’s general fund also will take in $323.4 million more than previously expected in the current fiscal year, bringing the total surplus from the last two years to over $2.1 billion.
The new projection was made Thursday by the state’s Revenue Estimating Conference. It updated revenue forecasts for both the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, and for next year.
The increased projections come as the House and the Senate are split over what to do with all the extra money.
Under a formula that places a cap on spending, the Legislature could only spend $500 million of the surplus funds in fiscal year 2024 on recurring budget items, and the additional revenue forecasted Thursday will not increase the cap.
The biggest fight in the session is whether to try to muster a vote of two-thirds of both chambers to exceed the spending limit.
In its budget, passed earlier this month, the House voted to stay within the cap for ongoing programs and use part of the surplus funds to pay down state debt, including for teacher pensions.
The House budget did not include a $3,000-a-year raise for K-12 teachers and various infrastructure projects that had been proposed by Gov. John Bel Edwards.
House Republican leaders said that paying off pension debts would free up money that parishes could use to fund their own teacher pay raises. They also cautioned against spending too much of the surplus since the state will lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue when a temporary 0.45% of state sales tax expires in two years.
However, the Senate president, Patrick Cortez, has voiced support for expanding the spending cap to cover the rising costs of roads, bridges and other construction projects and to provide more funds for early childhood education.
The Senate Finance Committee began debate Thursday on its version of the budget.
The Revenue Estimating Conference meets throughout the year to provide updates to revenue estimates. It last met in December.
The group— made up of the Senate president, the House speaker, and two appointed members, including Edwards’ Commissioner of Administration, Jay Dardenne—unanimously approved the update for the 2023 fiscal year written by Manfred Dix, the chief economist for the state.
The estimate also included hundreds of millions of dollars in additional money for other state accounts besides the general fund.
At Thursday’s meeting, the conference also unanimously accepted the Legislative Fiscal Office’s predictions of an increase $483 million for the general fund in fiscal 2024.
Debbie Vivien, the chief economist for the Legislative Fiscal Office, emphasized that these are just conservative estimates, as anything can happen in the upcoming year.
“There’s still a lot of unknowns,” Vivien said. “It’s a pretty picture, but it’s the picture that’s in the middle. And it can change a lot either way.”

Abbeville High School is one of 300 schools from 36 states across the country to receive a $5,000 grant through the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries. This year, the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries awarded $1.5 million in library grants this year.
Many of the libraries will use the funds to update and diversify their collections.
“Congratulations to the 2023 Laura Bush Foundation Grant Recipients! I am thrilled that school librarians across the country will soon be able to update their library collections,” Mrs. Bush said.
“These funds will help AHS update its library collection and encourage reading. I applied for this grant last school year and didn’t receive it. It just goes to show that you cannot give up and should always keep trying. I look forward to seeing the Wildcats’ faces when we receive all the awesome new books! We are so appreciative of this opportunity,” said Katie Cordes, AHS Librarian and 2022-23 Teacher of the Year.
Mrs. Bush revealed her 2023 summer reading list, which includes recommendations for young readers through middle schoolers at the annual Laura Bush Book Club event, as part of the Engage at the Bush Center series presented by NexPoint, with support from H-E-B. Selections feature books on family, adventure, and gratitude. The list contains classics like The Little House as well as new releases like The Loud Librarian, featuring Dallas illustrator, Erika Lynne Jones.
 “This year’s summer reading list includes an old favorite, Charlotte’s Web, which I remember reading to my daughters when they were little,” Mrs. Bush said. “As a former teacher and librarian, I know that the most important thing parents and caregivers can do for their children is to read to them. So I hope you bring this list to your local library, and pick out a few books to read with your family this summer. Your kids will love it, and so will you.”
Grant applications for the 2023-2024 school year will open in late 2023. Visit laurabushfoundation.org to learn more.   
The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries supports school libraries with the greatest needs with the goal of encouraging all students to develop a love of reading and learning. Since its inception in 2002, it has awarded $21 million to more than 3,600 schools across the country.  
The George W. Bush Institute’s Education and Opportunity work, which houses the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries, is generously supported by The Allstate Foundation. The Laura Bush Foundation is managed as a restricted fund at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas. More information can be found at laurabushfoundation.org and www.bushcenter.org.

George W. Bush Institute

The George W. Bush Institute is a solution-oriented nonpartisan policy organization focused on ensuring opportunity for all, strengthening democracy, and advancing free societies. Housed within the George W. Bush Presidential Center, the Bush Institute is rooted in compassionate conservative values and committed to creating positive, meaningful, and lasting change at home and abroad. It utilizes its unique platform and convening power to advance solutions to national and global issues of the day by influencing policy, not politics. Learn more at bushcenter.org.

April 14, 1941 ~ May 17, 2023

ABBEVILLE — Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m.  on Wednesday, May 24, 2023  at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville honoring the life of Dorothy Toups Peré, 82, who died Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at Calcutta House. She will be laid to rest at St. Paul Cemetery with Reverend Louis J. Richard officiating the services.  
Dotsie, as she was known by family and friends, is remembered to be gracious, assured, and deeply loving. She brought warmth and care to every home, every card game, every dining table, and every baseball field she met in her 82 years. Her memory will continue to bless us all wherever we go.
Dorothy is survived by her son, Wayne C. Peré and husband, Waymond Dale; daughter, Jodi P. Choate and husband, Donnie; three grandchildren, Kyle N. Choate, Tyler P. Choate and Tanner M. Choate; brother, Mickey Toups and wife, Lisa; and sister, Julia Choate.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Wilton Toups and the former Lorena Touchet; husband, Donnie D. Peré; and brothers, Ronald Toups and Dalton Toups.
The family requests that visiting hours be observed at Vincent Funeral Home - Abbeville, 209 S. St. Charles St., on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 from 4 p.m. until   8 p.m. and Wednesday, May 24, 2023 from 8 a.m. until time of services. 
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.vincentfuneralhome.net.
All funeral arrangements are being conducted by Vincent Funeral Home of Abbeville, (337) 893-4661.  

Joe Biden is under fire from all sides, with nearly two-thirds of Democrats saying they think the party should nominate someone else, and critics elevating anti-establishment challengers like Robert F. Kennedy Jr as well as mounting attacks with third-party candidates.
Kennedy’s choice to challenge Biden for the Democratic nomination for president has wide implications for the Democratic primaries, as well as for former President Trump’s chances of splitting the Democratic vote in the general. However, the fact that Kennedy, an avid critic of big government covid mandates, corporatism, and Anthony Fauci is rapidly rising in the polls proves anti-establishment sentiment is on the rise on the left as well as the right.
Under the Biden Administration’s draconian leadership, Fauci and Democratic legislators had the American people and the economy as a whole in a stranglehold during the pandemic, and a growing share of the left is critical of harsh mandates and lockdowns and views them as a gross misuse of power.
Mass economic shutdowns caused millions of Americans to suffer job loss and reduced employment, and vaccine mandates all but removed the concept of personal choice and privacy from medicine. Draconian government mandates and highly politicized narratives did little to ingratiate the CDC and globalist organizations like the World Health Organization to a broad swathe of the public.
There is no doubt the optics of the pandemic were terrible from a public policy standpoint, and many Americans no longer trust the establishment in the wake of the way the pandemic was handled, which is one reason R.F.K and other alt-left candidates are amassing enough support to worry the Democratic Party elite.
This comes on top of news that former Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut Democrat turned Independent who is a self proclaimed centrist, recently announced he’s actively engaged in the process of finding a third-party candidate to challenge and defeat Biden. Lieberman was vocal about supporting Biden in 2020 but believes Biden has governed too far to the left and is seeking a third-party candidate with the hope of unseating Biden. Lieberman stated that “centrists and moderates feel that [Biden has] governed more from the left than they hoped. He hasn’t been able to be the unifier that he promised to be.”
Meanwhile, alternative candidates like Marianne Williamson and R.F.K are gaining traction in recent polls, despite being discredited as long-shots by the mainstream media who continue to prop up Biden.
Comparing the recent numbers to a previous poll conducted by Morning Consult just a month ago, Kennedy’s support has doubled from 10% to 21% per Emerson, while Williamson’s has also increased from 4% to 9%. These findings indicate a substantial surge in support for alternative candidates who are willing to challenge the status quo.
Kennedy’s popularity is particularly strong among women, voters over the age of 65, and non-college educated Democrats. On the other hand, Williamson performs well with women, younger voters, and college-educated Democrats.
A recent Morning Consult poll reveals that 13% of women, compared to 7% of men, would back Kennedy as a primary challenger. Among voters over the age of 65, 17% express support for Kennedy, while younger age groups hover around 9%. Similarly, 12% of non-college Democrats support Kennedy, compared to 10% of college graduates. These findings suggest that Kennedy holds an advantage among the working-class and older voters.
Over the same time period, Biden’s approval rating has declined substantially, particularly among Democratic women. While 78% of men say they’d support Biden in the primaries, only 61% of women share the same sentiment, representing a nearly twenty-percentage point difference.
When Democratic leaners were asked if the party should nominate Biden again or opt for someone else, a notable 58% favored choosing another candidate. These numbers were even higher among younger individuals and Independents who lean Democrat. Among young Democrat leaners, a striking 76% preferred another nominee, while 64% of non-white Democrat leaners expressed the same viewpoint.
There is a widespread consensus among the public that President Biden is unfit for his job, and concerns regarding his health and age extend to the next six years. Democrats, Democratic-leaning individuals, and swing voters, including young people, women, and Independents, are increasingly of the opinion that the Democratic Party should nominate someone other than Biden for the 2024 election.
The surge in support for anti-establishment candidates like R.F.K and challengers from the center as well indicate a fracturing as the left begins to eat its own. Leftists who challenge the status quo and find fault with the Biden Administration’s handling of issues like the pandemic, the Ukraine war, and health policy are finding alternatives like R.F.K more appealing, while the Party Elite remains beholden to their globalist handlers. The party labels are becoming increasingly meaningless, and there are more opportunities for alternative candidates to make their arguments against the status quo, as the American people are hungry for change.

Bill Wilson is a former president of Americans for Limited Government.