Economic Development department outlines budget increases as Meta and Hyundai projects advance

The House Appropriations Committee received an FY26 executive budget overview from Louisiana Economic Development on March 31 as the agency described expanded responsibilities, new positions and targeted investments to support a rapidly growing pipeline of projects.

Why it matters: Secretary Susan Bourgeois told the committee that LED’s work to land large projects — specifically Meta’s planned AI campus in Richland Parish and Hyundai’s manufacturing investment in Ascension Parish — is increasing project volume and spurring a request for recurring operating increases to maintain a higher level of business development, marketing and site-readiness.

Secretary Susan Bourgeois described the scale of recent announcements and the department’s new operating posture: "10,000,000,000 is what's on paper" for the Meta project and the Hyundai announcement was "particularly remarkable" for its 1,500 permanent jobs and near-$100,000 average salary, she said. Bourgeois said LED’s weekly active pipeline had 187 active projects with a potential of more than 34,000 new jobs and $135 billion in potential capital investment, a roughly 300% increase from the prior year.

Budget priorities and structural changes: LED is requesting an $11.0 million increase in its operating budget for FY26, including recurring funding for business development, marketing and the innovation vertical. The department explained a transfer of 68 positions from the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) into LED for Fast Start operations, producing net movement of about 100 TO positions into LED when combined with other new hires. LED staff said the Fast Start positions historically sat at LCTCS for scalability reasons; the transfer will move personnel authority into LED and increase personnel services funding while reducing other charges where LCTCS expense previously resided.

Sites, innovation and workforce: Bourgeois emphasized site readiness and competitiveness. LED requested funds to build and own a Certified Sites portal and to invest in a sites and infrastructure fund; leadership argued that site readiness is the critical determinant of speed-to-market in large deals. The department also outlined a new "innovation vertical" and regional pilot program to create innovation ecosystems in New Orleans, Lafayette, Baton Rouge and Ruston, including four new positions and facilitation costs.

Committee questions and clarifications: Members asked about the timing of federal tranches for State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) funding and whether the removal of prior-year funding meant a permanent cut; Anne Villa, LED deputy secretary, said differences largely reflect timing of tranche drawdowns and carried-forward prior-year authority. Bourgeois said the Fast Start staffing moves are not a net headcount expansion beyond program needs but would centralize control and make workforce training more responsive to specific projects.

The committee and LED discussed predictability and permitting as barriers to site selection. Bourgeois said companies repeatedly cite ease of doing business and speed-to-market as decisive factors; she urged formalizing a whole-of-government approach to reduce barriers across permitting, local-state coordination and other cross‑agency issues. LED also signaled a forthcoming legislative request to create or fund a sites and infrastructure program to make more turnkey, market-ready properties available for large projects.

What’s next: LED will continue to brief the committee about moving positions from LCTCS into the department, the pipeline and requests for one-time site-development dollars and recurring operating increases. Bourgeois asked for modest recurring resources to scale business‑development capacity and marketing to sustain competitiveness as the department manages a larger pipeline and cross-agency implementation for major projects.