Tagged: state government

Gov. Bobby Jindal's chief budget aide says he wants to hire a private company to advise him on the best way to collect more than $1 billion owed to state government.

Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater tells The Advocate the unpaid bills include medical services, college tuition installment payments, environmental quality monitoring and other expenses.

With state government struggling to pay its own bills during the economic downturn, state officials are pressing the governor to get aggressive about the debts.

Because of Hurricane Isaac, state government offices will be closed throughout Louisiana on Wednesday.

Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater said officials are watching the progress of the storm and may make further announcements about office closings.

State government offices across 22 parishes will shut down Tuesday and Wednesday because of Tropical Storm Isaac, expected to grow into a hurricane.

Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater on Monday announced the closures, which cover parishes in the tropical storm warning, hurricane watch and hurricane warning areas.

Despite efforts to shrink the number of Louisiana's governing boards and commissions, the total of such panels is higher now than when Gov. Bobby Jindal took office in 2008.

That's according to a review by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's office released this week.

The auditor's report says as of June 2012, the state had 492 boards and commissions created by law or executive order. That compares to 484 such panels in 2008. The high point was in 2004, when 513 boards and commissions were on the books.