The enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has led to nearly $787 billion in stimulus funding for the country. In Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal has proposed using approximately $1 billion in his Executive Budget to offset some of the budget cuts in fiscal year 2010. To help ensure transparency and accountability, the federal government has created a website that illustrates the spending of these stimulus dollars. Several states have created websites that track how the state is spending their stimulus dollars. However, Louisiana is using its preexisting LA TRAC, under the Department of Administration, to monitor how Louisiana is spending its money from the ARRA.
March, 2009
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Tracking Stimulus Dollars in Louisiana
Friday, March 20th, 2009Surplus Dollars for Higher Education
Thursday, March 19th, 2009Governor Bobby Jindal recently announced in a press release that he is requesting $98.4 million of the 2008 surplus funds be spent on several capital outlay projects at the two- and four-year higher education institutions throughout the state. Louisiana has a $1 billion backlog in capital outlay and using these dollars will make funding immediately available to reduce it. The Governor believes this shows the state’s commitment to higher education, especially during a time of reduced revenue and state spending.
Currently, the state has $866 million left over from the 2007-2008 budget. Of this amount, the constitution requires $67 million be allocated to the state’s “Rainy Day” fund. This results in $798 million for the state to use to fund one-time expenditures such as these.
