2014 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 39 - Public Finance
RS 39:128 - Exemptions

§128. Exemptions

A. Facilities to house the legislature or any agency within the legislative branch of government shall be exempt from the provisions of this Part.

B.(1) Minor repairs, renovation, or construction of buildings or other facilities or the purchase of land, buildings, or other facilities when the construction cost or purchase price is less than or equal to one million dollars, adjusted annually in accordance with the United States Bureau of Labor Statistic's consumer price index for all urban consumers as published in January of each year, may be undertaken by or on the campus of a state college, university, or higher education facility without being included in the capital outlay budget but shall be subject to the approval of the Board of Regents and the appropriate management board or their successor. A state college, university, or higher education facility may not incur debt to fund any project that is not included in the capital outlay budget other than a short term loan not to exceed one year for the purposes included in this Paragraph. Any short term loan shall be issued in accordance with the provisions of Title 17 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, and shall not constitute or create any debt, liability, or loan of the credit of or a pledge of the full faith and credit of the state but shall be solely the obligation of the appropriate postsecondary education management board or its successor.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the provisions of Part VII of Chapter 10 of Title 38 shall not apply to professional service contracts related to minor repairs or construction of buildings or other facilities to be undertaken by or on the campus of a state college or university if the estimated construction cost is five hundred thousand dollars or less.

(3) For the purpose of this Section, "construction cost" shall not be construed to include design fees or movable equipment.

(4)(a)(i) A university or higher education facility shall be allowed to undertake any new construction, maintenance, or repair project not exceeding five million dollars solely funded from self-generated revenues, grants, donations, or local or federal funds without being included in the Capital Outlay Bill provided the project is approved by the appropriate management board, the Board of Regents, the division of administration, office of facility planning and control, and the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. The office of facility planning and control shall issue the necessary contracts for the project and shall disburse funds to pay the costs of the project. The university or higher education facility shall remit project funding to the office of facility planning and control for deposit in the state treasury at such time as may be deemed necessary by the office of facility planning and control in order to cover the amount of contracts or other project expenses. Any surplus of such project funding and any interest earned on such funds shall be refunded to such university or higher education facility by the state treasurer.

(ii) Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 39:113 and Item (i) of this Subparagraph, the division of administration, office of facility planning and control, may delegate administration of such projects as it deems appropriate to the appropriate higher education management board through a cooperative endeavor agreement provided a written request to do so is made through and by the appropriate higher education management board for the planning, design, and construction of such project.

(b) A state college, university, or higher education facility may not incur debt to fund any project not included in the capital outlay budget other than a short term loan not to exceed one year payable from fees and self-generated revenues, as provided in Paragraph (B)(1) of this Section.

(c) The exemption authorized by this Paragraph shall apply only to those projects that otherwise could not be accomplished in the normal capital outlay process due to timing or funding constraints.

C. Except as provided by Subsection B of this Section, minor repairs, renovations, or construction of buildings or other facilities may be undertaken by an agency without being included in the capital outlay budget, provided that the expenditures for a fiscal year for these undertakings do not exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars cumulatively per agency and the expenditures are first approved by the commissioner of administration and the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. For the purpose of this Subsection, "cost" shall not be construed to include design fees or movable equipment.

D.(1) Construction of buildings undertaken by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, division of prison enterprises, which have a total construction cost of five hundred thousand dollars or less, which are constructed primarily with inmate labor, and private sector labor, which are constructed on the grounds of a correctional facility, which will house revenue-generating inmate labor programs, and the construction of which is funded with self-generated funds shall be exempt from the provisions of this Part. The authority to utilize inmate labor on projects with a construction cost which exceeds two hundred thousand dollars shall terminate June 30, 2003.

(2) Prior to construction, a list describing the projects submitted in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall be provided to the Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs and the House Committee on Ways and Means for approval. No such project shall be initiated prior to receipt of such approval.

(3) No later than thirty days prior to submission for approval under the provisions of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, the division of prison enterprises shall place a notice of the proposed project in the official journal of the parish where the project will be located.

Acts 1989, No. 836, §1, eff. July 1, 1989; Acts 1995, No. 481, §1, eff. July 1, 1995; Acts 1995, No. 1009, §1, eff. July 1, 1995; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 116, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1219, §1; Acts 2001, No. 137, §1, eff. July 1, 2001; Acts 2001, No. 1128, §2; Acts 2003, No. 959, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2006, No. 78, §1, eff. May 25, 2006; Acts 2008, No. 438, §1; Acts 2014, No. 701, §1.