(The Center Square) – Louisiana’s boards and commissions budgeted roughly $6.7 million this fiscal year for member compensation and travel, according to the state auditor’s report to the Legislature released Wednesday.
Auditor Mike Waguespack and his staff in the report, “Boards, Commissions, and Like Entities – Annual Report to the Legislature,” noted widespread inactivity and transparency lapses that can undermine taxpayer oversight, according to a recent report from the state auditor. As of June 30, there were 489 entities up for a review.
The fiscal year cycle included 19 additions and 21 removals.
For Fiscal Year 2025, entities reported about $2.6 million in salaries, $2.6 million in travel and $1.5 million in per diems for board members, according to the report. No boards listed as inactive received funding.
The auditor’s office said 19 boards that appear inactive, including 15 flagged last year. It recommends lawmakers abolish them or take steps – appointments, funding, or legislation – to get them functioning. Examples include districts that have no record of meetings or have not been organized since creation.
One board – the Glen Oaks Area Crime Prevention and Improvement District – failed to respond to requests for personnel and financial data. The Division of Administration issued notices of noncompliance to the entity and notified relevant legislative committees, as required by law – a process designed to prompt corrective action.
Thirty-seven boards list as active but haven’t posted any meeting notices or minutes since Dec. 31, 2021; 11 of those also show no members in the state’s registry. Auditors urge the Division of Administration to press these entities to correct their status and follow posting requirements.
Auditors stress those figures come from data boards enter themselves and can change as budgets are updated, but the totals still outline a recurring cost of governance at the margins of state government. The report said 139 boards listed some combination of per diem, salary, or travel in the database, with itemized entries ranging from professional licensing boards to levee authorities.
