Senators back budget overhaul bill
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The Senate approved legislation Monday that would change the way the state handles funding for construction projects.
However, one lawmaker complained that Senate Bill 808 does not go far enough in loosening the governor’s grip on the state construction budget.
“(I) wanted to remove the political club that had been held over agencies, departments, schools and legislators for years,” state Sen. Robert Adley said. “That is the ability of a governor to sit as king and pick and choose projects.”
The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Rob Marionneaux, said the legislation is a start.
“Johnny didn’t get up and start running. First he crawled and then he walked,” said Marionneaux, D-Grosse Tete.
Every year, lawmakers stuff the state construction budget with far more projects than can be funded in a year.
The governor ultimately decides which projects move forward.
The situation is especially prickly this year because Gov. Kathleen Blanco committed state government to several years worth of projects before leaving office in January. The commitments left Gov. Bobby Jindal and legislators with little room in the budget to add new projects.
The budget typically is a mix of state and local projects.
SB808 would require local governments to pay 25 percent of a project’s cost in order for the state to pick up the rest.
In another change, the local projects would have to undergo a feasibility study conducted by the state Division of Administration. The purpose of the study would be to determine the project’s merit.
State Sen. Troy Hebert, D-Jeanerette, said the way to truly fix the state’s construction — or “capital outlay” — system is to address the priority designations that projects receive.
Currently, the state uses a five-tier priority system to sort state and local construction projects.
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