36 groups receiving state money are not playing by the rules, Louisiana treasurer says

There are 36 non-governmental organizations that are not complying with state laws requiring transparency and reporting for groups that receive state money, state Treasurer John Kennedy said Monday. The groups have until the end of August to turn in detailed financial reports or they will have to return any state funds they have received.

Under an executive order first introduced by former Gov. Kathleen Blanco and reaffirmed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, any non-governmental organization that receives state money is required to turn in detailed annual financial reports of how the funds are being used.

Until this year, any group not complying with the order would be accountable only to the department issuing the funds. But because individual departments do not operate primarily as debt recovery offices, funds owed often went uncollected.

That changed this year, when the newly created Office of Debt Recovery began providing a centralized, one-stop shop for state debt collection. Kennedy said if the three dozen NGOs fail to turn in their reports by Aug. 31, he and his staff will turn them over to the new office, which will then take legal steps to retrieve any unaccounted-for taxpayer money appropriated from the state budget.

More at http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/07/36_groups_receiving_state_mone.html .