Louisiana 2019 2019 Regular Session

Louisiana House Bill HB286 Comm Sub / Analysis

                    RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
ACT 362 (HB 286) 2019 Regular Session	Henry
New law transfers 25% of the FY 2018 surplus ($77,013,301) to the Budget Stabilization
Fund.
New law transfers $55,000,000 of state general fund from the FY 2018 surplus into the
Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund. 
New law transfers $450,000 of state general fund (direct) into the Fiscal Administrator
Revolving Loan Fund.
New law transfers $2,000,000 of state general fund (direct) into the Utility and Carrier
Inspection and Supervision Fund.
New law transfers $1,500,000 of state general fund (direct) into the Motor Fuels
Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund. 
New law transfers $2,000,000 of state general fund (direct) into the Higher Education
Initiatives Fund.
New law transfers $3,161,921 of state general fund (direct) into the Voting Technology
Fund.
New law transfers an additional $1,094,092 of state general fund (direct) into the Higher
Education Initiatives Fund for certain capital outlay projects authorized in statute.
Existing law provides for the use of monies within the Voting Technology Fund for the
acquisition and maintenance of voting machine technology. New law expands use of the
monies in the fund for general operating expenses.
Existing law provides for the annual royalty fee collected for the Hunters for the Hungry
Louisiana license plate. New law places 90% of these fee collections into the Hunters for the
Hungry Escrow Account and places the remaining 10% of these fee collections into the
Conservation Fund for administrative costs for the Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries. New law
prohibits public funds from being deposited into the Hunters for the Hungry Escrow Account
and limits the donations received by the department that are deposited into the account for 
the Hunters of the Hungry to a maximum of 75%.
New law transfers the balance of the Hunters for the Hungry Account in the Conservation
Fund to the department to be deposited into the Hunters for the Hungry Escrow Account.
Existing law provides for uses of monies within the Dept. of Justice Debt Collection Fund
for debt collection activities. New law expands use of the monies in the fund for general
operating expenses.
New law transfers $3,400,000 of state general fund (direct) from land-based casino receipts
into the Overcollections Fund if HB No. 544 of the 2019 R.S. is enacted.
New law creates the Oil and Gas Royalties Dispute Payments Fund to satisfy the obligation
of the state pursuant to existing law for oil and gas royalties payments. New law further
requires that beginning July 1, 2019, 50% of the monies in the fund be reserved for the
Lafourche Parish School Board with the remaining funds to be reserved for other eligible
school boards.
New law transfers $445,000 of state general fund (direct) into the Oil and Gas Royalties
Dispute Payments Fund.
New law transfers $450,000 of Fiscal Year 2019-2020 state general fund (direct)  into the
Oil and Gas Royalties Dispute Payments Fund. Existing law provides for the credit of collected monies for fees and taxes provided for in the
vehicle registration license taxes to the Transportation Trust Fund, the State Highway
Improvement Fund, state highway fund No. 2, and the New Orleans Ferry Fund. 
New law adds the Regional Maintenance and Improvement Fund for disposition of the
collections. 
New law re-establishes the New Orleans Ferry Fund which expired on July 1, 2018, and
requires the state treasurer, after making the allocation from state highway fund No. 2 for the
Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission, to deposit into the fund an amount equal to
the total of all funds derived from registration and license fees and taxes on trucks and
trailers which are collected in Orleans Parish, to DOTD for ferry services.
Existing law provides for the allocation of monies from the State Highway Improvement
Fund, after the compliance with the requirements of existing constitution for bonds, to the
state highway fund No. 2 and the New Orleans Ferry Fund. 
New law adds the Regional Maintenance and Improvement Fund for the allocation of
monies.  
Existing law provides that after the compliance with the requirements of existing constitution
for bonds, and after the allocation of monies to the state highway fund No. 2, the treasurer
shall deposit 50% of all funds derived from the collection of registration and licenses fees
and taxes collected in the parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, St. John the Baptist, St. Charles,
Tangipahoa, and St. Tammany into the Transportation Trust Fund.
New law sunsets existing law on June 30, 2019.  New law, beginning July 1, 2019, requires
that after the compliance with the requirements of existing constitution for bonds, after the
allocation of monies to the state highway fund No. 2, and after the allocation to the New
Orleans Ferry Fund, the treasurer shall allocate 50% of the remaining monies collected from
the registration and license fees and taxes for the parishes of Jefferson, St. Charles, St. John
the Baptist, Tangipahoa, and St. Tammany to the Transportation Trust Fund. 
New law establishes the Regional Maintenance and Improvement Fund and requires 50% of
the remaining monies derived from the collection of the registration and license fees and
taxes for Jefferson Parish into the fund.  New law provides that the monies in the fund shall
be annually appropriated by the legislature and invested by the treasurer.  New law  provides
for the distribution of the monies collected for Jefferson Parish that are appropriated to the
Regional Planning Commission for purposes of existing law.
Transfers into the Overcollections Fund and the FY 2019-2020 state general fund (direct) and
transfers into the Oil and Gas Royalties Dispute Payments Fund are effective July 1, 2019.
All other transfers are effective upon signature of the governor (June 19, 2019).
(Amends R.S. 18:21(C)(3), R.S. 47:463.167(E), 463.167(E) as amended by § 15 of Act No.
612 of the 2018 R.S. of the Legislature, and 481, R.S. 48:196(A)(intro. para.), and 197, R.S.
49:257(G)(2), R.S. 56:644(B), (C)(intro. para.), (D), and (E), and R.S. 56:644(B) and
(C)(intro. para) as amended by § 18 of Act No. 612 of the 2018 R.S. of the Legislature; Adds
R.S. 48:25.2 and R.S. 56:644(G))