Oil Spill Money Targeted For La. Colleges, Under Proposal

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Higher education leaders are eyeing Gulf oil spill recovery money as a possible long-term financing source for Louisiana's  college campuses.

The Board of Regents on Wednesday supported a proposal to be sponsored by New Orleans Rep. Walt Leger that targets money Louisiana is expected to receive from BP to pay for economic damage caused by the massive 2010 spill.

Lawmakers already have earmarked the first $1 billion in economic damages money. Leger's bill would target oil spill money above that, place it into a fund and spend the interest earnings on colleges.

The money wouldn't help colleges avoid steep cuts next year, but it could give campuses a stable stream of funding in future years. Lawmakers will consider the proposal in the upcoming legislative session that begins April 13.

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