Local infrastructure fund bill withdrawn for rewrite after questions on allocation and oversight

Representative Desautels withdrew House Bill 346, a proposed Local Infrastructure Fund, after committee members raised concerns about project vetting and allocation rules.

The bill would have directed telecommunications-related revenue created in the special session into a Local Infrastructure Fund for local projects such as water, sewer, roads and drainage. Desautels told the committee the funds were intended to return locally generated revenues to parishes and taxing districts after voters rejected an earlier constitutional change; he said money currently flows to the State General Fund.

Multiple members asked how projects would be prioritized and whether the bill duplicated or conflicted with existing programs that vet projects, such as the Water Sector Program and statewide levee/flood-control programs. Representative Desautels said some small communities were excluded from current programs; he raised examples of municipalities with high manganese in water and aging cast-iron pipes that do not qualify for existing assistance because grading rules exclude them.

Fiscal office testimony cited a fiscal-note projection of roughly $37 million in collections for fiscal 2025–26 from the tax stream supporting the fund. Committee members urged the author to provide clearer allocation rules and safeguard against politically driven appropriations. Desautels agreed to work with members on language, including a possible trigger to terminate the fund if a separate inventory-tax reform passes.

The author voluntarily withdrew the bill to draft amendments and return at a later date.