BATON ROUGE — The Jindal Administration says Louisiana has ended the 2014 fiscal year with a $178.5 million budget surplus.
Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols said Thursday that creating a “fiscally responsible” plan for the surplus is the administration’s next step with health care and higher education as the top priorities.
The surplus is from the fiscal year that ended June 30.
Any determination of how the money is spent will be handled when the Legislature convenes its annual session in April. The state Constitution limits the way in which surplus money can be sent to items like paying down debt, construction projects and other one-time expenses.
A budget status report will be presented to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget at its meeting Oct. 17.