KEY TAKEAWAYS: A legislative auditor’s report found that Louisiana agencies report payments to nongovernmental entities inconsistently under the TRUST Act. The report tracked nearly $3.3 billion over four fiscal years. Annual payments across 25 departments rose about 30%, from $723.7 million in fiscal 2022 to $942.4 million in fiscal 2025. The Department of Education accounted for about 82% of the increase, mostly through required funding for charter and nonpublic schools. The auditor suggested that lawmakers clarify which organizations, payments and agencies the law covers. The report did not find any improper spending.   Louisiana agencies report payments to nongovernmental entities inconsistently under a state transparency law, according to a legislative auditor’s report that tracked nearly $3.3 billion in payments over four fiscal years. The Oct. 7 report says agencies may classify the same organization differently, causing a recipient to appear in one agency’s reporting but be excluded by another. The public database is intended to show recipients, amounts, purposes and whether organizations fulfilled their agreements or met performance goals. Annual payments across the 25 departments reviewed increased from $723.7 million in fiscal 2022 to $942.4 million in fiscal 2025, a rise of about 30%, according to The Center Square’s calculations using the report’s figures. The spending included public charter school funding, services for domestic violence survivors, economic development programs, disaster preparedness and purchases such as janitorial services. It also included direct legislative appropriations to individual organizations. The Transparent Responsible Use of State Tax-dollars Act, known as the TRUST Act, took effect June 30, 2025. It established reporting requirements for appropriations to nongovernmental entities and a searchable database maintained by the Division of Administration. However, the report says the law leaves key terms undefined and does not clearly identify which agencies must report. It also says it is unclear whether payments from agency operating budgets, including purchases of goods and services, fall under the requirements. The division adopted rules in July 2026 requiring entities outside the LaGov procurement system, including universities, boards and commissions, to submit information for the database. As of August, applicable agencies had not begun reporting those payments, according to the report. Those reporting requirements extend beyond the scope of the auditor’s spending compilation, which excluded higher education and several other categories. The auditor suggested lawmakers clarify which organizations, payments and agencies are covered. Education accounted for most of the money reviewed and most of the increase. The Louisiana Department of Education paid nearly $1.93 billion over the four years. Its annual payments grew from $401.4 million to $580.2 million, accounting for roughly 82% of the overall increase, according to The Center Square’s calculations. According to the department’s explanation in the report, most payments involved constitutionally required Minimum Foundation Program allocations to public charter schools operated by nonprofit boards and statutorily required programs for nonpublic schools. The Executive Department accounted for $370.7 million through 14 budget units. Its largest payments came through the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the Office of Elderly Affairs and the Office of the State Public Defender. Treasury payments totaled $267.2 million, including direct legislative appropriations for which Treasury has no discretion over recipients, amounts or purposes, according to the report. The Louisiana Department of Health paid another $266.3 million. Louisiana Economic Development’s payments rose from $13.5 million in fiscal 2024 to $48.8 million in fiscal 2025. The latter included $10 million to the New Orleans Super Bowl Host Committee for Super Bowl recruitment. Department of Children and Family Services payments increased from $6.1 million to nearly $13 million over the same two fiscal years. The review was an informational report rather than a performance audit conducted under Government Auditing Standards. It did not establish that the spending was improper. The compilation excluded capital outlay, local governments and other categories in addition to higher education. Federal payments were generally excluded, although payments from statutory dedicated funds were classified as state funds even when those funds could contain federal money. ...read more read less