The Louisiana Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee earlier this week approved two nearly identical measures that would replace current state law on the capital outlay process with a plan supported by Gov. Bobby Jindal.
Projects are put onto the capital outlay list if they are deemed appropriate but the state does not have sufficient money in the current fiscal year to fund them. High-priority projects are eventually funded, but most others linger in limbo for several years and many never become reality.
Commissioner of Administration Angèle Davis told the committee that in January the new administration inherited a $1.4 billion backlog of capital outlay projects from former Gov. Kathleen Blanco. After a review of the projects, she said, the state approved contracts for only $74 million of the backlog.
The proposed new policy sets up a five-year capital outlay project list. Agency heads would have to submit detailed capital plans for the next five years by Nov. 1 each year. Local governments would have to file their requests for capital outlay projects with their elected representatives and the State Office of Facility Planning and Control by that date as well.
The proposed measure would allocate 80% of Louisiana’s capital outlay budget to state and regional projects, with 20% for local projects. Local governments would be required to provide up to 25% of the total project costs.
The governor would submit the capital outlay budget no later than the eighth day of a regular session. In addition to implementing the first year of capital outlay projects, the accompanying budget bill would also provide information on the remaining four years of the capital program, including the amount of bonds expected to be issued to finance the projects.
