The House Commerce Committee passed bills Monday to create a more formal process for public documentation of the state's major economic development deals. Rep. Wayne Waddell, R-Shreveport, won passage of three measures he had developed in cooperation with Department of Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret. The bills would require the agency to report regularly on the uses and impact...
The House Commerce Committee passed bills Monday to create a more formal process for public documentation of the state's major economic development deals.
Rep. Wayne Waddell, R-ShreveportRep. Wayne Waddell, R-Shreveport, won passage of three measures he had developed in cooperation with Department of Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret.
The bills would require the agency to report regularly on the uses and impact of the state's Mega-Project Development Fund and Rapid Response Fund, pots of money the state has set aside to offer as part of incentive packages to businesses to create or save jobs.
Waddell said his bills are in response to recommendations for public disclosure made last year by the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana. One of the concerns was that some projects several years ago had been given incentives without producing jobs.
He withdrew consideration of a bill that would have required the economic development agency to reveal details of pending projects before they are announced.
Moret said Louisiana would be at a competitive disadvantage to other states if it had to give up information on economic development projects before decisions are made to go ahead with the deals. Those disclosures also would tend to make the incentive packages more expensive for the state, Moret said.
"A bill like this would hurt our economic development efforts in many ways," Moret said.
Moret supported House Bills 406, 553 and 559, which call for regular reporting of job and capital investment goals and accomplishments of the companies receiving money from the funds, including compliance with performance targets and payrolls.
Moret said that as a matter of policy most of the information is reported already by the agency. Under Waddell's bills the public reporting would be a matter of law. The measures now go to the House floor.
Robert Travis Scott can be reached at rscott@timespicayune.com or 225.342.4197.