Money from the state treasury may be drawn only under a lawful appropriation, and Transportation Trust Fund appropriations must be handled with equal priority and specific review steps.
§314. Withdrawals A. Money shall be drawn from the state treasury only pursuant to an appropriation made in accordance with law, except as otherwise provided by the Constitution of Louisiana. B.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, including any provision of any appropriation act or capital outlay act, the appropriations from the Transportation Trust Fund enacted for a specific fiscal year shall have equal priority, regardless of whether such appropriations are contained in the general appropriation act, the capital outlay act, or any other appropriation act. (2) At any point in time, if revenues in the state treasury credited to the Transportation Trust Fund are insufficient to fully fund the warrants submitted for payment from the Transportation Trust Fund, the treasurer shall allocate money for the payment of a warrant on the basis of a ratio which shall be the amount that the appropriation bears to the total amount of the appropriations from the Transportation Trust Fund for the fiscal year. (3)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, including any provision of any Appropriation Act or Capital Outlay Act, for any monies appropriated from the Transportation Trust Fund the attorney general shall do one of the following: (i) Certify that such appropriation is for a purpose for which monies in the trust fund may be expended as limited by the provisions of Article VII, Section 27 of the Constitution of Louisiana. (ii) Determine that such appropriation is not for such an authorized purpose. (b) Such certification or determination by the attorney general must be made within seven days following final passage by both houses of the legislature of any bill which appropriates funds from the Transportation Trust Fund. (c) The certification or other determination shall be transmitted to the governor, the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, the Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay, the presiding officers of both houses of the legislature, and the chairmen of the House and Senate Committees on Transportation, Highways and Public Works. Acts 1976, No. 428, §1, eff. July 31, 1976; Acts 1991, No. 384, §1, eff. July 1, 1991; Acts 1993, No. 1036, §1, eff. July 1, 1993; Acts 2005, No. 70, §1, eff. July 1, 2005.