House Bill No. 381, introduced by Representative Brass, seeks to amend the Capital Outlay Act by increasing the population threshold for municipalities to qualify for a waiver of the matching funds requirement for capital outlay projects. Specifically, the bill raises the population limit from 6,000 to 9,500 for municipalities and maintains the existing threshold of 12,000 for parishes. This change allows more municipalities to potentially receive financial assistance for capital projects without the burden of matching funds, provided they can demonstrate their inability to provide a local match.

The bill retains the current law's provisions that require nonstate entity projects to have a minimum match of 25% of the total project cost, with exceptions for qualifying municipalities and parishes. The proposed changes will apply to projects included in the capital outlay budget for fiscal years starting on or after July 1, 2025, and the law will take effect on that same date.

Statutes affected:
HB381 Original: 39:112(E)(2)
HB381 Engrossed: 39:112(E)(2)