Plan advances to tackle $2 billion repair backlog at Louisiana colleges

The LSU Library sits in the middle of campus on Monday, March 20, 2023, in Baton Rouge, La. (Matthew Perschall for Louisiana Illuminator)

Louisiana lawmakers are moving forward with a plan to divert state savings to a new fund to fix a lengthy list of crumbling infrastructure on state college and university campuses. 

The Legislature approved House Bill 940 by Rep. Chris Turner, R-Ruston, which would provide money for maintenance work without going through the annual state construction budget. The bill cleared both chambers Friday unanimously. 

Presently, each university system gets a few million dollars each year to address these deferred maintenance projects, far from enough to keep up with new projects added to the list each year. In total, there are approximately $2 billion worth of repairs needed at public colleges and universities in the state. 

Turner said higher education leaders have asked instead for a set amount of money annually, which they could then decide how to spend themselves. This would prevent long-needed maintenance projects from filling up House Bill 2, the state construction budget, he said.

Lawmakers are considering using some money that would typically go into a state savings account to set up the College and University Deferred Maintenance and Capital Improvement Fund. About $70 million destined for the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund will be diverted to the new fund, Senate President Cameron Henry said. The Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund currently has about $2.3 billion in it. 

The nearly $2 billion deferred maintenance backlog presents a considerable problem on university campuses. Poor infrastructure manifests in Americans with Disabilities Act compliance issues, leaky libraries, disruptions in laboratories and myriad problems that impact student life, working conditions and faculty research.

Turner’s bill sets up a 10-year program through which the Legislature could appropriate up to $2 billion dollars, approximately equal to deferred maintenance costs for all four state higher education systems, excluding those at university hospitals that could be paid for with federal dollars. 

Of that amount, the Southern University System would be allocated $153 million, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System would get $253 million, the University of Louisiana System would receive $523 million, and $1.07 billion would be set aside for the LSU System. 

Turner also wants to use funds from the state’s 1998 settlement with tobacco companies, though it would take a constitutional change to do so because the money is currently set aside for other purposes.

If a constitutional convention or a special session on constitutional amendments isn’t convened this year, Turner said he would consider filing a constitutional amendment next year to access the tobacco funds. The settlement fund can yield up to $98 million annually, a spokesperson for the state Treasury said, which could all go into the campus repair fund if lawmakers and voters amend the constitution.

Further funds could also be borrowed. 

Turner said he hoped the fund could clear deferred maintenance backlogs within seven to 10 years.

Addressing the deferred maintenance backlog is an important tool for recruiting and retaining students, he said.

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