(The Center Square) – The credit card program used by Louisiana’s universities, health department and other state entities is due for an inspection, according to officials who cite high levels of governmental inefficiencies.
Expenditures on the LaCarte procurement card will be examined as part of a broader crackdown by the Louisiana Fiscal Responsibility Program. The program, modeled after the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, has found almost $1 billion in inefficiencies across state government, Gov. Jeff Landry announced Wednesday.
The Louisiana Legislative Auditor hasn’t fully reviewed the state’s credit card program since 2021, when it reported spending had risen from $161 million to $192 million from 2016 to 2019.
In various departmental audits, the auditor has noted poor controls and noncompliance. A 2024 audit of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources found issues with incomplete documentation and delayed deactivation of card access for employees who had changed roles or left the department.
Four out of 19 enrollment forms were missing proper approval signatures; 10 out of 21 deletion forms for departing employees were incomplete; and access was not terminated in a timely manner for 14 out of 21 people, with delays ranging from three to 206 days, according to the audit.
Much of the card’s spending runs through Louisiana State University. From 2016 to 2019, LSU’s credit card spending totaled more than $300 million and accounted for 34% of all statewide card transactions.
The 2021 audit of the program noted that LSU ran a total of 520,000 transactions. The next highest was the University of Louisiana Lafayette at 187,000 transactions, followed by the Department of Health at 181,000 transactions.
Because LSU’s Board of Regents has granted LSU “operational autonomy,” the state does not audit or monitor its expenditures under the credit card program.
The Office of State Travel, which administers the program, said it agreed to the arrangement because LSU met the Regents’ standards for operational autonomy, “audits 100% of card transactions, and has staff who are knowledgeable of the card programs.”
The state does not require LSU to provide the Office of State Travel with the results of its monitoring.
The Office of State Travel said it has no similar agreement with any other entity that allows an agency to oversee its own card programs.
This was news to Angele Davis, an official with the state Fiscal Responsibility office, who told The Center Square that “you’ve given me something to look into.”
