Even with health care services and public colleges on the chopping block, Louisiana lawmakers are pushing to spend state taxpayer dollars on boat launches, local museums, the Girls Scouts and Boys Scouts and other nonstate entities. More than $11 million was added to next year’s budget by the House Appropriations Committee for a host of legislators’ favored local projects, according to a tally of the add-ons by The Associated Press. Senators are expected to add more when they work on the budget. The Princess Theater in Winnsboro would get $15,000. The Southeast Louisiana Council Boy Scouts of America would receive $100,000. The Algiers Economic Development Foundation, in the area where House Speaker Jim Tucker lives, would get $250,000, and the Algiers Economic Development District is up for $300,000.
Most state agencies are poised to take a hit in the budget as lawmakers struggle to balance a budget with a $1.3 billion drop in general fund revenue. To explain the earmarks, lawmakers say their local communities, museums and nonprofit organizations also are suffering in tight budget times. They say the organizations, neighborhood associations and local government agencies provide needed services and generate jobs. Critics question if the state should spend money on local needs when it can’t afford statewide programs. They also say state dollars shouldn’t be funneled to local groups through backroom deals that rely on the favoritism of a legislator.
