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Program Authorization: R.S. 36:101 et. Seq.; R.S. 51:2386 et. seq; R.S. 36:4(Q); R.S. 36:109(C); R.S. 51:1751et seq; R.S. 51:935; R.S.51:2331 et seq; R.S. 51:2312.1

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The mission of the Administration Program is to develop and implement policies/programs designed to promote growth opportunities for business, facilitate meaningful employment opportunities to Louisiana citizens and market the state as a location for business and industry.

The goals of the Administration Program are:

1. Provide timely, accurate and high quality information and services to internal and external clients.
2. Develop Human Resources to meet the continuing demands of DED programs/policies.
3. Improve internal communications to promote greater understanding of the Office of Management and Finance services/activities.
4. Strengthen management skills of certified economically disadvantaged businesses to enable them to stabilize and grow.
5. Assist Louisiana companies to become more globally competitive, create stronger research/development initiatives and foster the development and expansion of federal technologies available for commercialization through the science and technology activity.
6. Execute, manage and monitor employer assistance programs to encourage location, expansion and stabilization of job creating entities in Louisiana.
7. Provide timely and accurate response to legal needs of the Department.

During FY 1998-99 the Department of Economic Development provided financial assistance to facilitate the location/expansion of new and existing businesses, and workforce development and training programs through the Economic Development Award Program and Workforce Projects. Some of the projects that were provided assistance during the FY 1998-99 are as follows:

Economic Development Award Projects

Time Trend Computers: ($500,000) for renovations to three buildings in England Airpark for the manufacturing, sales, and distribution of Time Trend Computers due to projected increases in production volume.

Volth Sulzer/Field Container: ($500,000) for a new frontage road along the south side of Interstate 20. There is currently only one entrance to the West Monroe plant site. The Frontage Road is needed to accommodate expanding operations in West Monroe and the high volume of trucks leaving in and out of the industrial center.

Yuba Heath Transfer: ($425,000 dedication from the legislature) for land acquisition and site improvements in the Livingston Parish Industrial Park for the start-up of Yuba’s new facility. The company will manufacture shell and tube heat exchangers, feed water heaters, and offer after market repair to oil refineries and chemical companies. Yuba will construct a building at a cost of $1,870,000 and invest $1,787,000 in capital equipment.

Yuba Heat Transfer: ($250,000) to train 63 new employees and 3 current employees at its new facility in Walker. The skills covered include: safety training and standard personnel courses as mandated by federal law, etc.

West Telemarketing: ($250,000) to provide training to 1,394 new employees at its new Baton Rouge facility. This facility will be a combined call center providing two different types of services to clients: Direct Response and Custom Operator Services. The facility will staff the following positions: direct response telemarketing and custom operator services telemarketing representatives, trainers, advisors, technicians, computer technicians, maintenance technician, and other administrative and support personnel

CenturyTel Service Group, Inc.: ($250,000) for training 144 employees in the fields of network engineers, internet administrators, network operations center technicians and security systems monitoring technicians.

Cytec Industries: ($132,072) to train 408 current employees at one of their 20 plants, the Fortier Manufacturing Complex, located in Waggaman. The training will be accomplished through the use of CD ROM and intranet training in the following areas: (1) Generic – Programs that will provide more generic job knowledge and basic literacy training. (2) Job Specific – Cytec has tentatively agreed to purchase the ATR "PRISM" software training modules. This includes training documentation, CD developer, test developer and troubleshooting software. This is necessary to track the CD ROM and intranet training and to provide a method for creating their own job specific training.

Status Report

Phase 1

Phase 1 of the U.S. Navy Information Technology Center will be completed by February 20, 1999. This phase of the project includes the completion of the construction of two buildings to house 1,000 positions at a cost of $24 million over four years. Phase 1 is currently in its third year of funding.

Phase 2

Phase 2 of the project will begin in March 1999. This phase of construction will consist of the addition of a third building that will staff an additional 500 jobs. In addition, a parking garage will also be added. The garage will hold approximately 1,000 cars. It is anticipated that the building will be completed and fully occupied by January 2000 at a cost of $25 million over the next 4 years. The project is currently in its second year of funding.

Louisiana Statewide Consortium

In an effort to meet the increasing demand of technology-related jobs, the Louisiana Statewide Consortium was established. The Consortium is a partnership consisting of participants from the business sector, higher education, and government. Approximately 40 companies are participating in the Consortium. Among the 40 companies participating in the partnership, approximately 25% are Louisiana based.

Vision 2020, Louisiana’s strategic plan, will be used as a state-of-the art marketing tool for the Governor, Legislature and economic development entities statewide. The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget will use it as a blueprint to prioritize state spending and budgeting. The plan is exciting, visionary, and image-enhancing and reflects the vision, mission and philosophy of the state for generations to come.

Status:

The Louisiana Economic Development Council is charged (Act. No. 30, H.B. No. 26) with developing a 20-year master strategic plan for economic development for the State of Louisiana. In accordance with Act 30, a series of eight public hearings were held in each of the state’s planning districts to present the plan and receive input, comments and suggestions. Additionally, the plan was posted on the Internet. All comments and suggestions from the public were reviewed and incorporated into the plan prior to its completion.

Ten task forces developed nearly 100 measurable benchmarks in five-year reporting increments. The benchmarks will be placed under the appropriate goals of the plan and become part of the final document. The Council will meet to review the final plan in February, then a meeting of the Council and Cabinet Advisory Group (CAG) will be held in March to review the plan. The plan will then be presented to the House and Senate Commerce Committee Chairpersons for their review and comments. Hearings with the Executive Committee of the Council may be held if deemed necessary by the Chairpersons. House and Senate Commerce Committees will then forward recommendations and comments to the Louisiana Economic Development Council.

In March, 1999, the Council will meet with the Governor presiding to adopt the final plan. It will then be submitted to the Legislature for the Spring 1999 Session. At that time, the Legislature will review a resolution to accept the plan and vote for amendment, rejection or approval. Following approval of the plan by the Legislature, the Executive Committee of the Council will meet quarterly with the Cabinet Advisory Group to exchange information and facilitate implementation of the annual action plans.

Annually, the Council is to submit to the governor, president of the Senate, speaker of the House of Representatives, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce and the chairman of the House Committee on Commerce a report entitled, "Economic Development Action Plan." As outlined in Act 30, it will consist of recommended strategies and action plans for implementation in the next fiscal year, including budgetary, legislative, regulatory, program, and private sector initiatives. Strategies and action plans will have measurable goals and objectives integrated with the master plan.

The Administration Program includes the following activities: Executive Administration, Legal Division, Office of Management and Finance, Office of Policy and Research, Economically Disadvantaged Business Development, Louisiana Economic Development Council, Economic Development Award Program, Regional Initiatives Program, Workforce Development and Training.

OBJECTIVES AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Unless otherwise indicated, all objectives are to be accomplished during or by the end of FY 1999-2000. Performance indicators are made up of two parts: name and value. The indicator name describes what is being measured. The indicator value is the numeric value or level achieved within a given measurement period. For budgeting purposes, performance indicator values are shown for the prior fiscal year, the current fiscal year, and alternative funding scenarios (continuation budget level and Executive Budget recommendation level) for the ensuing fiscal year (the fiscal year of the budget document).

RESOURCE ALLOCATION FOR THE PROGRAM

SOURCE OF FUNDING

The sources of funding for this program are from the General Fund, Interagency Transfers, and Fees and Self-generated Revenues, Statutory Dedications and Federal funds. Interagency Transfers include funds from the Office of Commerce and Industry , Louisiana State Racing Commission , the Office of Financial Institutions, the Louisiana Board of Cosmetology, and the Louisiana Economic Development Corporation; these agencies, all within the Department of Economic Development, provide Interagency Transfers for fiscal, human resources, purchasing, information systems and legal support services through the Office of the Secretary - Administration Program. The Fees and Self-generated Revenues are reimbursements for fiscal support services provided in conjunction with the sale of the Directory of Louisiana Manufacturers. Statutory Dedications are derived from 1) the Vendors' Compensation collections for the Workforce Development and Training Fund to provide funding for customized and specialized training programs to existing and prospective Louisiana businesses, and for a Marketing Education grant to support and promote entrepreneurship in public schools 2) the La. Economic Development Fund, based upon Act 1306 of the 1997 Legislative Session, 3) the Small Business Surety Bonding Fund will be used to provide financial assistance to small businesses to mitigate the gap in the state bond surety bond-market, and the Marketing Fund created by Act 50 of 1998 for marketing education. (Per R.S.39:32B.(8), see table below for a listing of expenditures out of each statutory dedicated fund). Federal Funds are provided from a grant to support the implementation of the statewide economic development strategic plan of the Louisiana Economic Development Council

ANALYSIS OF RECOMMENDATION

The total means of financing for this program is recommended at 61.2% of the existing operating budget. It represents 53% of the total request ($53,638,720) for this program. The major changes reflected in the analysis of recommendation include: decreased funding for a non-recurring carry forward for the Economic Development Award Program (EDAP) -$13.4 million; decreased funding for a non-recurring adjustment for expenses associated with economic development in the Town of Coushatta -$780,000; decreased funding for a non-recurring adjustment for expenses associated with economic development in the City of Colfax -$2,300,000; decreased funding for a non-recurring adjustment for expenses associated with economic development for the Natchitoches Police Jury -$40,000 ; decreased funding for a non-recurring adjustment for Economic Development Award Projects -$2,550,000; increased funding for the Reengineering of the Department of Economic Development $200,000; increased funding for the Biomedical Research Foundation $100,000; increased funding for the LSU Economic Development Foundation $294,000; increased funding for the Summit of Digital Infrastructure $50,000. There was also a Means of Financing adjustment to replace non-recurring Statutory Dedications with an increase in general fund to maintain commitment for the U.S. Navy Information Technology Center - Phase II $3,250,000.

PROFESSIONAL CHARGES

OTHER CHARGES

ACQUISITIONS AND MAJOR REPAIRS

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