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Senate passes capital outlay and bond authorization bills; leaders tout project additions
Summary
The Senate approved House Bill 2 (capital outlay) and House Bill 3 (Omnibus Bond Authorization) after floor amendments; sponsors said the measures keep P‑1 projects within capacity and add P‑2 listings to allow for future funding.
The Louisiana Senate voted to pass the capital outlay budget (House Bill 2) and the companion Omnibus Bond Authorization Act (House Bill 3), motions that allow the state to designate projects and provide the bonding authority to finance them.
Senator Foyle (floor sponsor for HB 2) described the bill as the capital outlay package that initially included some $552 million in new capacity and roughly $1.8 billion overall in P‑1 projects. He said the floor amendments add district and local projects at the request of members and that the bill remains “only slightly over on capacity — less than 1% of the overall capacity.” Foyle explained that placing some projects in P‑2 gives them a chance to secure funding later in the year as additional capacity becomes available.
The sponsor also told members the package used capital outlay savings, surplus funds and a variety of dedicated funds, including the Louisiana Economic Development funds, the Louisiana Transportation Infrastructure Fund and higher education campus revitalization funds to support projects. After floor amendment adoption, the Senate took final passage votes; HB 2 recorded 38 yeas and 0 nays, and HB 3 passed 39 yeas and 0 nays on their final roll calls.
Floor remarks emphasized that the amendments were designed to accommodate member priorities while keeping the P‑1 program tight and retaining the flexibility to advance important projects via P‑2. The companion bond authorization bill won unanimous approval to provide the bonding authority needed for projects listed in P‑1 and P‑2.
The bills proceed for enrollment; sponsors said implementation will depend on later administrative and finance actions to allocate capital outlay cash and bond proceeds to projects listed in the packages.
