Louisiana Economic Development presented its FY26 executive budget to the House Appropriations Committee on March 31, telling lawmakers the department seeks additional operating capacity to support a record pipeline of potential projects and to bring key functions in house.

House Fiscal analyst Abigail Chasten summarized the department's recommendation at roughly $62.7 million in FY26, with state general fund comprising about $47.5 million of that total and personnel services and other charges among the largest expenditure categories. Chasten said the department has 213 TO positions budgeted and seven vacancies as of Dec. 30, 2024.

Secretary Susan Bourgeois framed LED's budget ask as targeted to business development and innovation work taken on since the department's reorganization, telling the committee the agency is seeking an $11,000,000 operating increase (about $8,000,000 recurring) and additional personnel and marketing to support business recruitment, foreign direct investment, and four pilot regional innovation ecosystems in New Orleans, Lafayette, Baton Rouge and Ruston.

Bourgeois highlighted two high-profile project announcements in recent weeks as evidence of the department's activity: '10,000,000,000 is what's on paper,' she said of the Meta AI center planned for Richland Parish and described Hyundai's announced $6,000,000,000 manufacturing investment in Ascension Parish, adding those projects are emblematic of LED's 'whole of government approach.'

The secretary also explained personnel and structure shifts: 68 positions from the Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) that previously performed Fast Start workforce training will be transferred into LED, producing a net increase in the department's personnel budget and moving those roles from other charges into personnel services. LED said the total department headcount will increase by about 100 TO positions when counting the new and transferred roles.

Why it matters: Bourgeois described a large, growing pipeline of projects (187 active projects in a weekly pipeline report she shared) and argued that additional marketing, CRM tools, and site-development investments will help convert prospects into announced projects. She asked the committee to fund a sites and infrastructure fund in the session to accelerate site readiness as a 'speed-to-market' advantage.

Committee discussion focused on the timing of federal grants (State Small Business Credit Initiative tranches), the mechanics of the Fast Start transfer, and regional distribution of pipeline activity. Deputy Secretary Ann Villa explained some federal grant changes are timing issues that create year-to-year variances rather than reductions in total funding.

No formal committee action was taken; LED staff committed to follow up on specific carryforward and tranche timing questions and to provide further detail on the proposed sites fund and personnel transfers.