Use Of One-Time Money Legislation Fails In Louisiana House

A dispute over the use of one-time money in the $25 Billion state budget has brought Louisiana House debate on the measure to a halt. Louisiana House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Fannin suspended debate after failing to get enough votes.

The proposed spending plan for next fiscal year contains $270 Million in non-recurring cash. Rep. Fannin says that money is necessary to fund critical items.

"You need to know what that money does to your district if it's not there. You need to know how it affects your folks back home."
Rep. Brett Geymann leads the opposition. He says he and others were trying to take one-time dollars out of the budget, when the bill was still in committee.

"We were trying to get the number, uh amount, of one time money in committee. We tried to bring people to the table to get information and we found that difficult to do at times. I think we were attempting to get to that point."

Rep. Geymann questioned Rep. Fannin on how that money is being used. He argues that the Louisiana Legislature has become dependent on using one-time money to close gaps in the budget year after year.

"The question I want to ask you is you mentioned that one-time money as a savings account that you dip into in your business and sometimes you get into emergencies and you have to use that. How many years have we used one-time money in a row to your knowledge?"
A motion to use one-time money failed by 16 votes on the Louisiana House floor. The budget bill covers state spending for the fiscal year beginning July 1st.