The governor must prepare an executive budget and keep appropriation recommendations within the stated forecast and expenditure limits.
§34. Executive budget A.(1) The governor shall cause to be prepared an executive budget presenting a complete financial and programmatic plan for the ensuing fiscal year which shall include recommendations for appropriations from the state general fund and dedicated funds which shall not exceed the official forecast of the Revenue Estimating Conference. Except as provided by R.S. 39:75(E), the executive budget shall not include recommendations for appropriations from any fund in excess of the official forecast of money available for appropriation from that fund. (2) The executive budget for Fiscal Year 2018-2019 and each fiscal year thereafter shall include a listing of all incentive expenditure programs by department, including the forecasted amount of each incentive expenditure as adopted for the current fiscal year by the Revenue Estimating Conference. The incentive expenditures programs shall be stated as a separate description in the program activities of the respective department, agency, or authority of the state which administers the incentive expenditure program. Such incentive expenditures shall not be included as, nor counted towards, the operating expenses of the relevant department, agency, or authority. B. The executive budget recommendations for appropriations of any money designated in the official forecast as nonrecurring shall be made only in accordance with the following: (1) At a minimum, twenty-five percent of nonrecurring revenue shall be reserved for appropriation to the Budget Stabilization Fund. The governor may also recommend reserving nonrecurring revenue in excess of twenty-five percent for appropriation to the Budget Stabilization Fund. (2) The governor may recommend that any unreserved nonrecurring revenue be appropriated only for the following purposes: (a) Retiring or defeasance of bonds in advance and in addition to the existing amortization requirements of the state. (b) Providing for payments against the unfunded accrued liability of the public retirement systems which are in addition to any payments required for the annual amortization of the unfunded accrued liability of the public retirement systems, required by Article X, Section 29(E)(2)(c) of the Constitution of Louisiana; however, any such payment to the public retirement systems shall not be used, directly or indirectly, to fund cost-of-living increases for such systems. (c) Providing funding for capital outlay projects in the comprehensive state budget. (d) Providing for appropriation for deposit into the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Fund established in Article VII, Section 10.2 of the Constitution of Louisiana. C. The executive budget recommendations for appropriations shall not exceed the expenditure limit for the ensuing fiscal year. D. The executive budget shall contain the Five Year Estimated Revenue Loss Chart from the most recent Tax Exemption Budget prepared by the Department of Revenue. E. The executive budget recommendations for appropriations of any monies out of the Transportation Trust Fund to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of state police, shall not exceed the following: (1) For Fiscal Year 2016-2017, twenty-five million dollars. (2) For Fiscal Year 2017-2018 and each fiscal year thereafter, ten million dollars.* Acts 1989, No. 836, §1, eff. July 1, 1989; Acts 1993, No. 809, §1, eff. June 22, 1993; Acts 1997, No. 1149, §1, eff. June 1, 1997, and §4, eff. Nov. 5, 1998; Acts 2003, No. 1195, §1, eff. July 1, 2004; Acts 2008, No. 735, §1; Acts 2013, No. 419, §1, eff. July 1, 2013; Acts 2015, No. 380, §1; Acts 2017, No. 401, §1, eff. July 1, 2017. *Act 720 of the 2018 Regular Session (Const. Amend.) removed the authority to appropriate funds from the Transportation Trust Fund for state police traffic control purposes.