(The Center Square) – The budget of Louisiana’s Office of State Inspector General would more than double under a spending plan proposed by Gov. Jeff Landry, who wants the agency to start finding ways to cut government costs.
Landry’s executive budget, presented Friday, increases the office’s current $2.38 million budget to around $5.5 million for the next fiscal year.
Budget documents suggest the expansion would not include a significant increase in staff. The office is budgeted for 15 positions for the next fiscal year, unchanged from the current one. Around $3 million is slated for “professional service contracts,” according to the documents. The office could not be reached for comment on the contracts before publication.
The inspector general’s office has traditionally been the state’s government watchdog, staffed with criminal investigators who examine complaints of white-collar crime and public corruption.
In mid-January, Landry announced it would have a new leader, Angele Davis, and a focus on finding “optimization and efficiency within state government” that could support his goal of eliminating Louisiana’s personal income tax.
Landry has said the reforms will reduce redundancies with the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, whose office investigates waste, fraud and abuse.
“When you look at it, the legislative auditor’s function is very similar to the inspector general’s office,” Landry said at a recent news conference. “Is somebody else doing the same work as the inspector general?”
Davis replaces Stephen Street, who led the office for 18 years. A commissioner of administration and budget chief for former Gov. Bobby Jindal, she will be known as the state’s “chief integrity officer,” Landry said.
Some of his proposed changes, including the increased budget, will need approval from state lawmakers, who convene in March for the 2026 legislative session.
