BATON ROUGE, LA – Louisiana lawmakers requested $565 million Thursday to investigate how the state ended its fiscal year with $565 million still available.
Officials called the surplus a troubling gap between money collected and money successfully assigned to something.
“We owe taxpayers answers,” one legislator said. “Specifically, how did this much of their money make it through an entire session?”
The proposed study would examine revenue projections, spending restrictions and whether anyone had accidentally declined a consultant’s proposal.
Researchers would receive the full surplus to ensure their findings accurately reflect conditions under which the surplus no longer exists.
An initial draft identifies insufficient studying as a possible cause.
Lawmakers acknowledged that portions of the money must go toward retirement debt and the rainy-day fund, but said those restrictions would require additional research.
“We don’t want to rush into saving money before understanding the consequences,” the legislator explained.
The final report is expected to recommend a second study into why Louisiana no longer has $565 million.
