Louisiana

DALLAS — Louisiana Treasurer John Kennedy criticized the Legislature and Gov. Bobby Jindal on Monday for developing what he called a precariously balanced fiscal 2011 budget that doesn’t come to grips with the state’s tenuous fiscal situation.

The Louisiana Revenue Estimating Conference on Monday accepted a forecast by state economists that general fund revenue for fiscal 2010 would total $7.28 billion.

The St. Helena Parish School District has asked a federal court in Baton Rouge to impose a property tax on residents to support bonds that would help rebuild its aging schools.

DALLAS — Louisiana lawmakers sent a $26 billion operating budget to Gov. Bobby Jindal on Sunday night after the House reluctantly agreed to the Senate’s version of the fiscal 2011 spending plan.

DALLAS — Louisiana will transfer at least $500 million into the general fund from its capital outlay escrow fund to pay its bills for fiscal 2010, which ends June 30.

DALLAS — The Louisiana State Bond Commission on Thursday selected an underwriting team for the planned sale of $500 million of fuel tax revenue bonds to finance a constitutionally mandated road and bridge construction program.

DALLAS — Louisiana Treasurer John Kennedy yesterday said he supports the $20 billion oil-spill escrow plan announced by President Obama and BP executives to handle claims arising from the Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.

DALLAS — State economists told the Revenue Estimating Conference on Friday that Louisiana’s budget deficit for fiscal 2010 has ballooned by another $261.4 million from April’s revised lower estimate.

DALLAS — Louisiana Treasurer John N. Kennedy has urged Gov. Bobby Jindal to develop a financial contingency plan in case BP Corporation North America Inc. declares bankruptcy due to the enormous costs associated with its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

DALLAS — State and local officials dealing with the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico criticized BP’s response to the incident during Wednesday’s special two-hour briefing to the Louisiana Legislature.

DALLAS — The Louisiana House Ways and Means Committee has backed an 11-point outline of how the state should finance transportation projects.

DALLAS — Louisiana state senators have endorsed key elements of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s fiscal plan for dealing with a revenue shortfall estimated at $3 billion over the next two fiscal years.

DALLAS — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday he would attempt to negotiate a budget dispute that is hampering the state’s efforts to deal with a revenue shortfall in fiscal 2010.

DALLAS — The Louisiana State Bond Commission gave its approval yesterday to refunding and restructuring $300 million of fuel-tax bonds issued in May 2009 to finance a portion of a constitutionally mandated transportation program.

Louisiana disclosed this week that it has been providing information to the Internal Revenue Service for the last 13 months as part of an ongoing audit of $650 million of general obligation refunding bonds it sold in 2005.

DALLAS — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal plans to close a $366 million budget gap over the next 10 weeks with funds earmarked for resolving a dispute with the federal government and money from a settlement with a pharmaceutical company.

DALLAS — The Louisiana State Bond Commission has temporarily postponed refunding $500 million of outstanding state general obligation bonds until the Internal Revenue Service completes a routine audit of some of the issues.

DALLAS — Louisiana lawmakers and Gov. Bobby Jindal must fill a $319 million revenue gap in the fiscal 2010 budget in less than three months following the latest revision in expected revenues.

Plans to build a state hospital in midtown New Orleans with revenue bonds can go forward following a ruling by a U.S. district judge last week that the planning process complied with federal law.

DALLAS — The largest business lobby in Louisiana will fight Gov. Bobby Jindal’s efforts to loosen constraints on two constitutionally protected state funds.