Budget office reports $577 million preliminary surplus; committee approves several BA‑7 adjustments and statutory dedicaton uses

The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget received the Office of Planning and Budget’s preliminary surplus estimate for fiscal year 2025 and approved several budget adjustment (BA‑7) requests at its Oct. 16 meeting.

Preliminary surplus and spending constraints Colleen Gill, director of the Office of Planning and Budget, said the preliminary FY25 general fund surplus is estimated at $577,073,871 and summarized the legal limits on surplus spending. Gill told the committee that, under Title 39, the surplus can only be spent on six categories: 25% to the budget stabilization fund, 25% toward unfunded accrued liability, bond defeasance, capital outlay projects, coastal restoration and protection, and highway construction. She emphasized that surplus funds “cannot be used for ongoing budgetary, operational expenses.”

BA‑7 items approved The committee approved several BA‑7 items after fiscal staff and presenters described each request and members asked questions. - Department of Agriculture & Forestry (BA‑7 #1): Rhett Rayburn (Office of Planning and Budget) said the BA‑7 increases federal budget authority by $1,857,790 to replace major firefighting equipment for the Office of Forestry. OPB and the Legislative Fiscal Office recommended approval; Representative DeWitt moved approval and the motion carried. - Office of State Police (BA‑7 #2): Charles Durr presented a BA‑7 to increase federal budget authority to allow the Louisiana State Police to receive federal reimbursements through participation in ICE’s 287(g) program. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Burns said credentialed troopers (about 120) and an estimate of roughly $3.2 million in reimbursements were discussed; the request to expand budget authority was approved after Representative Eel moved and the motion carried. - Office of State Fire Marshal (BA‑7 #3): Charles Durr presented a related request to increase federal budget authority for the State Fire Marshal’s fire prevention program to permit reimbursement for participation in immigration enforcement efforts; presenters said 20 state fire marshal deputies had been credentialed. The expanded authority (about $578,000) was approved; Representative DeWitt moved approval and the motion carried. - Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge (BA‑7 #4): Jessica Warner (OPB) asked to increase statutory dedications from the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust and Protection Fund by roughly $2.1 million to buy heavy equipment to maintain and restore the 76,000‑acre refuge damaged by Hurricane Laura. FEMA was cited as expected to reimburse up to $2.8 million; the state’s share after reimbursement would be about $428,000. Representative Romero moved approval and the motion carried. - Dyslexia fund (BA‑7 #5): Colleen Gill presented a request to increase statutory dedications out of the dyslexia fund by $1,000,000 to pay up to $500 per student for diagnostic testing beyond universal kindergarten screening. Representative Adam moved approval and the motion carried.

Other items for committee review - The Office of Facility Planning reported seven change orders between $50,000 and $250,000 for informational review; no committee action was required. - The committee approved multiple clarifications of legislative intent for Act 461 of the 2025 regular session that rename or redirect prior appropriations to the intended local entities and projects.

Votes at a glance The committee recorded motions and approvals for the BA‑7 items listed above. For each BA‑7 item the committee had a presenter, a motion to approve (movers varied by item), and a recorded outcome of "motion carries." The transcript did not record roll‑call tallies for these routine approvals.

Ending: Committee members posed technical questions about several BA‑7 items but approved the adjustments with fiscal office recommendations; the preliminary surplus will be subject to statutory spending limitations and further budget‑process steps.