Gov. Edwards Signs Bill Funding Critical State Projects

Statement

Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed legislation from the second special session that provides funding for critical state construction projects. As promised, Gov. Edwards has taken a bold approach to this year's capital outlay spending -- eliminating over-budgeting and prioritizing projects to take a realistic approach with the state's construction projects. Gov. Edwards exercised his authority to line-item veto more than $44 million in construction projects from the legislation. Given the state's fiscal crisis and Gov. Edwards' commitment to develop a responsible construction budget, this action eliminates projects that the state simply cannot afford at this time.

"My commitment to the people of Louisiana was and is to prioritize the state's construction budget and be realistic with the limited financial resources we have at our disposal," said Gov. Edwards. "Given our historic budget shortfalls, the people of Louisiana stand to benefit most from better roads and other infrastructure. For too long, the capital outlay process gave false hope to the people of Louisiana that construction dollars were on the way when, in fact, they were not. I've promised to budget openly and honestly with the people of Louisiana, and this capital outlay bill is representative of that approach."

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