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Officials approve series of agency bank-account changes and create escrow for seized evidence funds
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Summary
In a routine meeting, Jack McFarland and the meeting moderator approved multiple bank-account openings and transfers for state agencies — including accounts to accept federal same-day wires and credit-card payments — and established an escrow account to hold seized evidentiary funds; vote tallies were not recorded in the transcript.
Jack McFarland and the meeting moderator approved a series of bank-account openings and transfers for state agencies and established an escrow account to hold seized evidentiary funds, according to the meeting record.
The approvals covered a range of administrative requests from several state agencies. The Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy was authorized to open a new zero-balance account (ZBA) at JPMorgan Chase to accept ACH and credit-card payments for the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District, the Natural Resource Trust Authority and other agency sections. The same department also had an existing account at Hancock Whitney Bank accepted as a transfer after the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District’s accounts were moved to the department effective Oct. 1, 2025 under Act 458 of the 2025 regular session, the moderator said.
The Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism won approval to open a Gulf Coast Bank account in New Orleans for the W.R. Erby Trust to provide online access to its funds. The Department of Health (LDH) received two approvals: a JPMorgan Chase ZBA to accept same-day federal wire transfers for federal draws and a separate ZBA to accept deposits tied to the state’s online interpreter registry (the transcript references a revised statute in that discussion; the precise citation is not specified in the record). LDH was also authorized to open a ZBA to accept credit-card payments for Safe Drinking Water Program application fees.
The Department of Justice sought to reduce banking costs by closing a Regions Bank account and opening a new account at LaCap Federal Credit Union in Baton Rouge. "They're currently paying 29.92 to JP Morgan and La Cap is only gonna charge them $3 a month," the moderator said when explaining the switch request. The meeting approved the change.
Public Safety and Corrections was authorized to open an operating account at Merchants and Farmers Bank and Trust in Leesville for a new Motor Vehicle field office at Fort Polk, with the moderator noting the closest JPMorgan branch was about 40 miles away. The Central Louisiana Supports and Services Center (LDH) was approved to move resident fiduciary funds from JPMorgan to Red River Bank in Alexandria because of JPMorgan policy changes affecting debit-card use for resident purchases.
Separately, the meeting approved creation of an escrow account for the Louisiana Evidence Control Unit to receive seized evidentiary funds that are not pending forfeiture from Louisiana State Police criminal investigations; the transcript states those funds will be deposited by state police and reconciled monthly by financial services.
Most items were presented by the moderator and moved by Jack McFarland, with the moderator or others seconding. The transcript records motions and that items "passed" or were "approved," but it does not include roll-call vote tallies or named vote counts for the motions.
The transcript does not identify the formal name of the governing body or board conducting the meeting. It also quotes a statute reference for the interpreter registry item in imprecise wording; the exact statutory citation is not specified in the record. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn.
