Panel revises capital outlay process

• By JORDAN BLUM
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: May 6, 2008 - Page: 4B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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The Jindal administration stepped in on Monday to change the process for choosing which construction projects the state will fund.

Lawmakers have sought this legislative session to simplify the construction funding setup, called capital outlay. Some legislators contend the process is convoluted and politically motivated.

But some disagree with Gov. Bobby Jindal on exactly how to change the process.

The state Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee still unanimously approved two identical bills reworking the construction process after Jindal’s budget architect, Angèle Davis, pushed to rewrite the legislation along the lines the governor wants.
A new caveat in the legislation would mandate that 25 percent of the cost of local capital outlay projects be paid on the local level, with some exceptions.

State Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton, sarcastically thanked Davis for rewriting his Senate Bill 1 capital outlay plan and submitting in the form of SB527 by committee chair, Sen. Rob Marionneaux, D-Grosse Tete.

Adley complained that SB527 still gives the governor too much power to “pick and choose” between requested construction projects. That leeway allows the governor to use his authority as a “political hammer” to force the hands of legislators in other matters, Adley said.

The capital outlay process now is essentially a wish list of approved projects without enough money to fund them all.

Projects with priority 1, 2 or 5 funding are likely to receive funds relatively soon, but those placed in priorities 3 and 4 are largely left in limbo.

The substitute SB527 dictates that construction funding would be allocated with 80 percent going to state and regional projects and 20 percent to local ones.

That split would take effect July 1, so as to not impact the current construction budget, which has 28 percent of its funds going to local projects.

The bill also spells out a $200 million maximum annual line of credit for capital outlay to be adjusted for inflation.

Davis complained that the Jindal administration took office in January in an “untenable situation” with a $1.4 billion construction backlog from former Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

On the House side, Ways and Means Committee members said Monday that they wanted to provide more input in the construction process.