Lawmakers Retain $106M of Louisiana Surplus to Settle Later
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana lawmakers left nearly $106 million of the state’s surplus undecided when they wrapped up their special session this month.
The state had nearly $535 million in unspent cash left after closing the books from the 2018-19 budget year. The majority-Republican House and Senate decided against spending all of it because of the uncertainty of state finances with the coronavirus pandemic.
They steered about 20% of the money into a new fund, so they can decide either in the fall or early next year if they want to use the money for favored projects or move it into Louisiana’s “rainy day” fund.
(Story written by Melinda Deslatte/AP)