Treasurer: Louisiana has $300M-plus surplus from last year

Louisiana will have a surplus topping $300 million from the last budget year when the final numbers are settled next month, the state's treasurer said Friday.

Treasurer John Schroder said the state recently closed the books on the 2017-18 budget year that ended June 30 with a cash balance exceeding $400 million, although the figure has to be audited and double-checked.

"We have a lot of cash in the bank," the Republican elected official said. "We're going to have a surplus in excess of $300 million. We still have some work to do to absolutely firm that number up."

Schroder said his office couldn't yet pinpoint why the state has the hefty surplus, whether tied to better-than-expected tax collections or some other explanations.

Read more: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/legislature/article_52a62f1c-b85f-11e8-b7fe-b7bdf717b1c6.html