Proposed Louisiana budget includes at least $650 million with no specific purpose

The Louisiana House moved a budget package Thursday that gives K-12 public teachers and university faculty members pay raises. It also leaves hundreds of millions of public dollars with no specific spending purpose.

The $44 billion spending plan the House overwhelmingly approved leaves at least $650 million across three different funds without specific instructions on how the money should be used. House leaders said they are still in discussion with the Senate — which starts working on the budget next week — over where those dollars will go. Louisiana’s spending plan must be finalized by the end of June.

Most of the undesignated money appears to be destined for transportation projects. Some sticking points for lawmakers include how much should be allocated to a new Mississippi River bridge in the Baton Rouge area, the replacement of the Interstate 10 bridge in Lake Charles and improvements to Interstate 49, which officials hope to eventually extend from Lafayette to New Orleans.

Approximately $152 million put in a Capital Outlay Savings Fund, which hasn’t been assigned a purpose yet, might also be used to cover construction costs overruns from existing state building projects, said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerome Zeringue, R-Houma. Inflation and unreliable supply chains have driven up the price of construction beyond what was expected.

Read more: https://lailluminator.com/2022/04/23/proposed-louisiana-budget-includes-600-million-with-no-specific-purpose/