Establishes the Site Investment and Infrastructure Improvement Fund in the state treasury (RE SEE FISC NOTE GF RV See Note)
Summary
HB 433 creates the Site Investment and Infrastructure Improvement Fund as a special fund in the state treasury. The fund may receive legislative appropriations or transfers, as well as grants, donations, gifts, and other available monies. Those funds are to be invested like state general fund money, but any interest earned is credited to the state general fund, and unspent balances remain in the fund from year to year.
The bill limits use of the fund to economic development efforts, specifically site investment and infrastructure improvements. Money in the fund may be spent only when appropriated by the legislature to Louisiana Economic Development (LED), and the LED secretary is authorized to adopt rules, including emergency rules, to administer the program. The enrolled bill reflects House amendments that removed an earlier dedicated revenue source and a proposed $150 million transfer from the general fund, narrowing the measure to a fund-creation and appropriation framework rather than a guaranteed funding stream.
Impact
HB 433 adds R.S. 51:2316 to Louisiana law and establishes a new special fund in the state treasury for economic development-related site and infrastructure work. It gives the state treasurer duties to deposit eligible monies and manage the fund’s investment treatment, while directing the LED secretary to promulgate administrative rules. The bill does not itself appropriate money, but it creates the legal mechanism for future legislative appropriations to support site readiness and infrastructure improvements tied to economic development.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported in the House, passing final passage with overwhelming margins of 97-0 and 96-1. That vote pattern suggests strong agreement with the general goal of creating a dedicated economic development fund. The absence of committee transcript material limits insight into detailed debate, but the final vote history indicates little visible opposition to the measure as amended.
Contention
The main point of contention appears to have been funding structure rather than the concept of the fund itself. House Appropriations amendments removed a dedicated revenue source and eliminated a proposed direct $150 million transfer from the state general fund, which suggests concern about tying the fund to a mandatory or immediate appropriation. The amendments also shifted rulemaking authority to the LED secretary and changed the operative language from “economic development projects” to “economic development purposes,” indicating a preference for broader administrative flexibility and a less prescriptive use of the money.