Deficit that sparked special session only the latest as leaders look for stability

When Louisiana legislators meet next week, it will be to solve the state's 15th mid-year budget deficit in nine years.

The state found itself off track $319 million in the 2009 budget cycle, then $107 million two years later. In 2010 alone, there were three mid-year deficits that came in at a grand total of $828 million. More recently, the state came up about $313 million short when it closed the books on the budget that ended June 30 — and that was after resolving two separate mid-year gaps totaling more than $1 billion.

There hasn't been a single year since 2009 in which the Legislature-approved budget has been on track with what the state actually had to spend — creating a steady spiral of shortfalls. (The state calculated deficits differently prior to 2009, so it's unclear how much further back the trend may really stretch.)

Despite approving a sales tax hike and other measures that were meant to shore up finances through the current year and into a more permanent fix, the state's back in the same boat.

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