BATON ROUGE — The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget moved through several finance items on Oct. 16, approving budget adjustments and operating budgets presented by agency staff. Committee members voted to approve each motion on the floor; transcript entries show committee chairs or members making motions and the clerk indicating "motion carries." The committee did not provide roll-call tallies in the transcript for these items.
Items approved (as presented in committee files)
1) BA-7 Item 1 — Department of Agriculture and Forestry (Office of Forestry)
- Presenter: Rhett Rayburn, Office of Planning and Budget.
- Change: Increase federal budget authority by $1,857,790 from USDA grants to procure and replace major firefighting equipment.
- Outcome: Motion to approve; "motion carries." OPB and Legislative Fiscal Office recommended approval.
2) BA-7 Item 2 — Louisiana State Police (Traffic Enforcement Program)
- Presenter: Charles Durr.
- Change: Increase federal budget authority by $3,162,394 to allow LSP to receive federal reimbursement from DHS/ICE for activities under the 287(g) program (reimbursement-based authority). LSP estimated federal reimbursements could be about $3.2 million for the fiscal year; exact reimbursements depend on operations and ICE claims.
- Outcome: Motion to approve; "motion carries."
3) BA-7 Item 3 — Office of State Fire Marshal (Fire Prevention Program)
- Presenter: Charles Derrin.
- Change: Increase federal budget authority by $578,499 for federal reimbursements tied to ICE-related activities for state fire marshal deputies (about 20 deputies trained and credentialed for the program).
- Outcome: Motion to approve; "motion carries." OPB and Legislative Fiscal Office recommended approval.
4) BA-7 Item 4 — Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (Office of Wildlife)
- Presenter: Jessica Warner, OPB.
- Change: Increase statutory dedications from the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust and Protection Fund by about $2,100,000 to buy heavy equipment to restore the 76,000-acre Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, which sustained major damage during Hurricane Laura. FEMA will reimburse up to $2.8 million through the Office of Risk Management; the state share after the FEMA reimbursement is roughly $428,000.
- Outcome: Motion to approve; "motion carries." OPB recommended approval.
5) BA-7 Item 5 — Department of Education (Dyslexia Fund)
- Presenter: Colleen Gill, OPB.
- Change: Increase statutory dedications from the dyslexia fund by $1,000,000 to enable the Department of Education to pay up to $500 per student for diagnostic testing beyond universal screening for public kindergarten students.
- Outcome: Motion to approve; "motion carries." OPB and Legislative Fiscal Office recommended approval.
6) FY26 Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission budget
- Presenter: John McKay, Legislative Fiscal Office, with Carlton DuFreschiault, general manager.
- Request: Approval of an operating budget of approximately $31,600,000 for FY26 (a $579,000 or 1.8% decrease from FY25) and a $30.7 million capital improvement program funded from the extraordinary maintenance reserve.
- Discussion: Officials said toll revenues are forecast to decline about 3.2% (roughly $809,000) due to changes in travel patterns; the commission expects to maintain service levels without immediate toll increases.
- Outcome: Motion to approve; "motion carries." Representative Eel moved approval.
How votes were recorded
Most items were presented with agency staff and OPB or Legislative Fiscal Office recommendations. Committee members moved to approve as submitted; the clerk recorded "motion carries." The transcript does not include individual roll-call vote tallies for these items.
Ending
Committee staff told members supporting documentation was provided in meeting packets; members made no substantive amendments on the floor to the items listed above. Several members asked clarifying questions during presentations about reimbursement timing, federal match, and equipment details.