[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6109062,"mediaKeyId","2764831-03f1423800ed5f7427dc365c6ef98e7a","parentId",2764831,"title","Senate finance panel reviews Department of Public Safety budget as OMV faces emergency order and system outages","audioSeconds",4438,"startMs",34490,"endMs",4472815,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2764831-03f1423800ed5f7427dc365c6ef98e7a&start=34&end=4472","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2764831-03f1423800ed5f7427dc365c6ef98e7a/thumbnail_34490.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6109062/Louisiana/Senate-finance-panel-reviews-Department-of-Public-Safety-budget-as-OMV-faces-emergency-order-and-system-outages","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6109062-d7f63bf308d9421d2d211b76c5a5dc5a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771154097&Signature=oTDzmIRp741wil9nM9ZBqfZZem0JwLINeEaUr~5RLrOg0dRmwU-5AcVIxEns5~PoxL2TrwJBStbufPmvD1sXiNkAQo5BTosAJt9VXOtQoqJVhOLcb8KnjYSYMGizv3759VrT-khhfQc6fzOX0pWuOSi9kbAImovWk4rXGphOnWZNi5ySPFE2QfEldaFAbtFvUJEljDjuamIwKiZazvn17lHZrzbLIK7z21fce~VQYalbsI-LYJo1ySmi9WdRWaMKjNMKVgS870RkwNJkftg67Ek8MzaiqDJRFp4FuB7jJiPkoa63DSv99ACJ~9kJHGDejypUwgJI9k-1DhnQXswTkw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Louisiana Legislature","date","2025-03-25T00:00:00Z","article","The Senate Finance Committee on March 25 continued its FY26 budget hearings with a detailed presentation from Department of Public Safety and Corrections staff and follow-up questions from senators about motor vehicle system outages, state police staffing and agency-specific budget adjustments.

Committee members heard that Public Safety’s FY26 recommended budget is roughly $620.8 million with 2,716 total positions (TO). The department’s budget presentation flagged statewide reductions, a $41.5 million nonrecurring carryforward reduction and several agency-level adjustments that net to an approximate $15 million reduction (about 2 percent) from the prior recommended level.

Why it matters: Committee members pressed department leaders on two immediate operational matters — outages in the Office of Motor Vehicles’ computer system that prompted a governor’s emergency order, and staffing and operational pressures on State Police after multiple emergencies this fiscal year. Both the outages and the staffing shortfalls affect daily services for drivers and the state’s public-safety response capacity.

Budget highlights and agency adjustments

- The department briefed senators on the means of finance for Public Safety: State General Fund is about 23 percent of the department budget, fees and self-generated revenue about 43 percent, dedicated funds about 20 percent, and federal and interagency transfers roughly 7 percent each. Dedicated funds for FY26 were estimated at about $125.9 million.

- State Police represents the largest share of the department budget (about 72 percent, roughly $445 million) and holds the lion’s share of TO positions (about 1,808). Motor Vehicles is roughly 14 percent of the department budget (about $83 million); the State Fire Marshal and Management & Finance are smaller shares.

- Agency-specific adjustments called out by budget staff included a roughly $50.7 million “MOF swap” where State General Fund would replace self-generated motor-vehicle fee revenue that REC (the Revenue Estimating Conference) projects will decline; a separate $3.6 million shortfall in the concealed-handgun-permit dedicated fund; and a roughly $5.3 million federal grant/grants to increase commercial-vehicle awareness of human trafficking.

Office of Motor Vehicles, outages and executive order

Committee members focused significant attention on the Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) after the governor issued an emergency executive order that temporarily suspends provisions of the procurement code and state law imposing late fees on driver’s-license renewals. Commissioner Dan Casey told senators OMV and the Office of Technology Services (OTS) are investigating intermittent outages affecting license, registration and reinstatement services.

Casey said the agency and OTS traced some recent changes to a network upgrade and are now examining the OMV mainframe and its database structure. He described a large, legacy mainframe and said the department bought a new mainframe last year but the database and the way transactions are processed appear to be stressing the system. The agency reported a short-term programmatic fix implemented for conviction data, and said additional changes to the system’s page allocation may reduce the number of transactions that cause timeouts.

Casey and Deputy Commissioner Stacy Poor told senators the current mainframe maintenance cost averages about $3.5 million, and that the five-year purchase made last year required an upfront payment of roughly $17 million. They also said procuring a modern replacement for driver and vehicle systems could take roughly 18 months for driver licensing and another 18 months for vehicle registration; the most-proven commercial software packages the agency has examined could cost in the tens of millions annually when measured over a 10-year life-cycle.

The governor’s executive order, Commissioner Casey said, will run through April 19 and waives late fees while OMV implements mitigations and seeks a more stable solution; the administration also announced that qualifying travelers may use expired class E licenses for up to a year for federal travel purposes. OMV asked noncritical customers to delay in-person visits during peak times so the office can serve commercial drivers and others with urgent credentialing needs.

State Police staffing, recruiting and major incidents

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Burns, newly appointed to the State Police legislative team, told senators the agency has graduated three academy classes this fiscal year and expects cadet classes 107 and 108 in coming months. Burns said the department had about 300 funded-but-not-filled positions in February and that TO counts cover both sworn trooper and civilian, noncommissioned positions. He described competition in the region for recruits and cited recent pay differences with neighboring states such as Texas and Tennessee as a recruitment challenge.

Other agency updates and oversight questions

- The Office of the State Fire Marshal reported that plan-review delays have been reduced from several weeks to about a week after workflow changes and outreach to local chiefs.

- Christopher Abare, chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, gave a short update on gaming regulation, recent property rebrands and sports-wagering revenues; he noted the board’s enforcement work is supported by State Police investigators and the attorney general’s office.

- Senators asked about the department’s large payments to the Office of Technology Services (OTS). Burns and other officials said the department spent about $61 million on OTS services in FY25 and voiced concerns about transparency of OTS billing and the need for clearer project cost estimates. Burns said staff had a scheduled meeting with OTS leadership to discuss those issues.

What the committee directed or discussed

- Senators asked the department for additional detail on the $50.7 million motor-vehicle fee revenue shortfall and asked LFO and the Office of Planning and Budget to confirm which fees and forecasts gave rise to the MOF swap.

- Senators pressed OMV leadership for timeline details on the mainframe changes and on the planned replacement project; Commissioner Casey said he would provide a follow-up on projected implementation schedules and cost estimates.

- Several senators asked for metrics and reporting on State Police vehicle replacement policy, citing trooper-safety concerns for vehicles over 160,000–200,000 miles; Colonel Burns offered to provide a detailed vehicle-replacement metric by troop.

Ending note

Committee members thanked department leaders for the presentation and asked for follow-up documents on the OMV technical fixes, the REC fee forecast that generated the $50.7 million adjustment, and detailed metrics on State Police fleet turnover and vacancy trends.

Speakers quoted or referenced in this report were recorded at the March 25 Senate Finance Committee hearing and appear verbatim in the transcript excerpts provided to the committee. Where transcript numbers or figures were inconsistent in testimony, the article makes that inconsistency explicit rather than reconciling figures not clearly reconciled on the record.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Finance Mar 25, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Senate Finance Committee on March 25 continued its FY26 budget hearings with a detailed presentation from Department of Public Safety and Corrections staff and follow-up questions from senators about motor vehicle system outages, state police staffing and agency-specific budget adjustments.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature LA, Louisiana","taxId",78558,"location","Louisiana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6109058,"Senate committee hears Louisiana Department of Health plan; Medicaid, managed care and maternal health top the agenda",6550,4520340,11071047,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2764831-03f1423800ed5f7427dc365c6ef98e7a&start=4520&end=11071","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2764831-03f1423800ed5f7427dc365c6ef98e7a/thumbnail_4520340.jpg","/articles/6109058/Louisiana/Senate-committee-hears-Louisiana-Department-of-Health-plan-Medicaid-managed-care-and-maternal-health-top-the-agenda","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6109058-3f351eb492b3f6b8520e6f8276452657/orig.mp4?Expires=1771154097&Signature=Vr71~O8FAwSTyIiUrLzKLNHS9rrg2Qc2PyBKppjY6DlWPJ-XgKr1LMNyRGIZqcUQ2DsONAUXlAB-4KnloNDYmk2kKKWnmdl6xlDdIgcnZY9kwvImxRdJjUn8K3unorj5Rw-aupPXJzHIi3QU7KWQ5h3sRojBCtDww6EniK7bMKDfxXJ8LMTH9GupJ0U98XwiuClH035IFt3-zFC81aONH5GeXZoORSDf43pH-o-kaB1BTEOvQSy3JSYkU-1unPjCbANHl4dOny-6cxwNVCVqxO2kxqiAdsm0-9xw5iNEmS6Jr40ZiTNHzKzhy8Ctha3qBYrDtMRlz40lFzmuJHethw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Louisiana Senate Finance Committee on March 25 reviewed the Department of Health’s FY26 budget package, focusing on Medicaid projections, supplemental payments, managed-care oversight and targeted initiatives for maternal health and behavioral health.

Why it matters: LDH accounts for the largest share of state spending through Medicaid and associated programs. Committee members pressed department leaders on how the proposed FY26 budget balances federal matching dollars, state general fund needs and program priorities such as nursing-home rebasing, physician payment increases and services for people with developmental disabilities.

Budget totals and structure

Senate Fiscal Services presenter Heather McKnight laid out the department’s recommended FY26 totals: LDH’s recommended budget for FY26 is approximately $21.4 billion. McKnight said federal funds make up about 71 percent of the department’s financing, while State General Fund is roughly 15 percent. Medicaid remains the largest program within LDH and was cited repeatedly as the primary driver of expenditure growth.

McKnight and subsequent LDH witnesses described departmental structure that includes 21 LDH agencies, 10 human-services authorities/districts (state–local partnerships), and a variety of 24-hour facilities. The presentation noted authorized positions and other-charge positions total about 7,753 positions across LDH (6,458 authorized positions plus roughly 1,300 other-charge positions associated with local authorities and facilities).

Key Medicaid and program adjustments discussed

- Managed care: The department requested a net managed-care adjustment of roughly $1.2 billion to balance FY26 Medicaid projections, driven by enrollment, utilization, pharmacy rebates and reimbursement changes. That increase was presented as supported largely by federal funds and other non‑SGF sources; McKnight said the FY26 net budget change required relatively modest additional State General Fund in combination with means-of-finance substitutions.

- Physician payment rates: The department said it will begin increasing physician Medicaid reimbursement toward 85 percent of Medicare in FY26, pursuant to changes enacted in the 2024 session. The transcript includes several cost figures for that change — department witnesses cited total gross-dollar figures in the hundreds of millions and a stated state share in testimony near $22 million — but those numbers were reported in multiple places and were not reconciled to a single, documented fiscal note on the record at the hearing.

- Nursing-home rebasing and other provider-base adjustments: The hearing identified nursing-home rebasing and other statutorily required rate adjustments as large FY26 drivers. Multiple figures for rebasing adjustments were discussed in testimony and committee questions; the testimony did not reconcile the differing figures on the record.

- Transfers and program moves: LDH staff said about $31.7 million in General Fund that was previously budgeted within Medicaid would move to the Office of Behavioral Health to cover services tied to implementation and court‑ordered obligations (identified in testimony as related to the Cooper/Jackson settlement). The department also described means-of-finance substitutions using the Medical Assistance Trust Fund (MATF), Hospital Stabilization Fund and intergovernmental transfers in several program areas.

Maternal health, behavioral health and other priorities

Department leadership highlighted nonbudget initiatives and grant-based investments that accompanied the FY26 request:

- Maternal health: Interim Secretary Drew Maranto and Surgeon General Ralph Abraham described awarding $6 million in HERO Fund grants in mid-April and noted Louisiana was awarded CMS’s Transforming Maternal Health Model grant to pilot system changes to reduce disparities and improve maternal outcomes. Department leaders told senators that overdose is a leading cause of maternal mortality and that the department is integrating behavioral-health interventions into maternal care pathways.

- Behavioral health and Cooper/Jackson: The Office of Behavioral Health was allocated an additional state general fund sum tied to the Cooper/Jackson settlement to maintain compliance with court obligations and to augment forensic and inpatient capacity. The department also flagged the shift of certain UCC/DISH supplemental payments into managed-care-directed payments for specific hospital payments.

- Developmental disability waivers and community supports: LDH confirmed that its NOW waivers are managed via a prioritized-offer model rather than a simple first-come, first-served list; the department said urgent and emergent needs continue to be prioritized for available slots. Committee members asked for further cost information and fiscal notes for possible expansion, support coordination compensation and nurse consultation for direct-support staff.

Federal funding concerns and grants

Senators pressed LDH leaders about recent federal changes. LDH officials reported receiving late notices from federal partners that several time-limited ARPA-funded behavioral-health grants were being terminated; the department said it was still assessing the FY26 impact from those termination notices and planned to report details to the committee.

Oversight, managed-care accountability and next steps

Multiple senators pressed for stronger managed-care oversight and clearer performance metrics, arguing that increased spending should show measurable improvements in access and outcomes. Department leaders said they are reworking directed-payment and incentive programs, standardizing managed-care incentive metrics and improving programmatic performance measurement tied to the State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP).

Senators also asked for additional follow-up materials, including detailed reconciliations of large adjustments (nursing-home rebasing, physician-rate increases), the proposed implementation timeline and fiscal-impact notes for year-two physician-payment changes, and an accounting of any federal grant terminations and their budget effects.

Ending note

Committee members thanked LDH staff for a broad briefing and requested follow-up memos and supplemental information on several specific items before final budget deliberations. LDH officials committed to provide additional detail on the physician‑payment schedule, the hospital-directed payment structure, means‑of‑finance substitutions and the department’s response to federal grant changes.","The Louisiana Senate Finance Committee on March 25 reviewed the Department of Health’s FY26 budget package, focusing on Medicaid projections, supplemental payments, managed-care oversight and targeted initiatives for maternal health and behavioral health.","actionData","errors"]

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Senate finance panel reviews Department of Public Safety budget as OMV faces emergency order and system outages

Senate committee hears Louisiana Department of Health plan; Medicaid, managed care and maternal health top the agenda