BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND LIKE ENTITIES STATE OF LOUISIANA REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE SEPTEMBER 9, 2009 LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR 1600 NORTH THIRD STREET POST OFFICE BOX 94397 BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA 70804-9397 LEGISLATIVE AUDIT ADVISORY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE NOBLE E. ELLINGTON, CHAIRMAN SENATOR NICHOLAS “NICK” GAUTREAUX SENATOR WILLIE L. MOUNT SENATOR EDWIN R. MURRAY SENATOR BEN W. NEVERS, SR. SENATOR JOHN R. SMITH REPRESENTATIVE NEIL C. ABRAMSON REPRESENTATIVE CHARLES E. “CHUCK” KLECKLEY REPRESENTATIVE ANTHONY V. LIGI, JR. REPRESENTATIVE CEDRIC RICHMOND LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR STEVE J. THERIOT, CPA DIRECTOR OF ADVISORY SERVICES JOY S. IRWIN, CPA Under the provisions of state law, this report is a public document. A copy of this report has been submitted to the Governor, to the Attorney General, and to other public officials as required by state law. A copy of this report has been made available for public inspection at the Baton Rouge office of the Legislative Auditor. This document is produced by the Legislative Auditor, State of Louisiana, Post Office Box 94397, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9397 in accordance with Louisiana Revised Statute 24:513. Ten copies of this public document were produced at an approximate cost of $184.80. This material was produced in accordance with the standards for state agencies established pursuant to R.S. 43:31. This report is available on the Legislative Auditor’s Web site at www.lla.state.la.us. When contacting the office, you may refer to Agency ID No. 9314 or Report ID No. 70070040 for additional information. In compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance relative to this document, or any documents of the Legislative Auditor, please contact Wayne “Skip” Irwin, Director of Administration, at 225-339-3800. LOUISIANA LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR STEVE J. THERIOT, CPA September 9, 2009 The Honorable Joel T. Chaisson, II, President of the Senate The Honorable Jim Tucker, Speaker of the House of Representatives Dear Senator Chaisson and Representative Tucker: This report contains summary financial information and personnel data on 484 boards, commissions, and like entities. Although state law does not require the report to include boards, commissions, and like entities that are budget units of the state or which are included within such budget units, we have included information identifying these entities. This report is prepared to assist you in controlling the growth and costs of all boards, commissions, and like entities within Louisiana. Information in this report was provided by the boards, commissions, and like entities; it has not been audited, and, accordingly, we express no opinion on the information. Respectfully submitted, Steve J. Theriot, CPA Legislative Auditor SJT:SHE:nac 1600 NORTH THIRD STREET • POST OFFICE BOX 94397 • BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA 70804-9397 WWW.LLA.LA.GOV • PHONE: 225-339-3800 • FAX: 225-339-3870 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Report Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Licensing Agencies ....................................................................................................................................A-1 Port Commissions and Harbor Districts.....................................................................................................B-1 Levee Districts........................................................................................................................................... C-1 Other Boards, Commissions, and Like Entities ........................................................................................ D-1 Budget Units...............................................................................................................................................E-1 Index...........................................................................................................................................................F-1 - 1 - BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, & LIKE ENTITIES REPORT This page is intentionally blank. - 2 - REPORT SUMMARY Louisiana Revised Statute (R.S.) 24:513.2(E) requires the legislative auditor to submit annually to the legislature a report including summary financial and personnel information on all boards, commissions, and like entities created by law or executive order and to report findings and recommendations resulting from any analysis of the information. Based on our analysis, we submit the following information and recommendations: • As of December 2007, we identified 484 boards, commissions, and like entities created by law or executive order. • Of the 349 active entities that responded to our request, 195 pay per diem, salaries, and/or travel of the board members. The current year budgets and prior year amounts totaled $1,206,723 and $930,992 for per diem payments; $2,081,455 and $2,070,938 for board member salaries; and $2,253,970 and $1,804,081 for board member travel, respectively. • Fifty boards, commissions, and like entities that were created during 2006 or earlier have never been fully organized, have disbanded, or are currently inactive. The legislature or governor as deemed appropriate should consider abolishing these entities. • Other recommendations requiring legislative action: • Legislation establishing the Nursing Supply and Demand Commission (A-39) and the Respiratory Care Advisory Committee (A-48) as licensing agencies in the Department of Health and Hospitals should be revised, as these entities do not serve a licensing function. • Legislation providing for the governor to appoint an executive director of the Offshore Terminal Authority (E-117), rather than a governing board, should be enacted. • Ninety-six boards, commissions, and like entities, 84 of which we determined are active, did not provide the requested information. Louisiana law requires these entities to provide requested information. - 3 - BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, & LIKE ENTITIES REPORT Legislative Mandate R.S. 24:513.2(E) requires the legislative auditor to submit annually to the legislature a report containing summary financial information and personnel data on (1) boards, commissions, and like entities created by law or executive order that are made part of, or are placed in, the executive branch of state government and (2) local boards, commissions, and like entities that are specifically created by law. The statute provides for the legislative auditor to report findings and recommendations resulting from any analysis performed of the information. Trend This report identifies 484 boards, commissions, and like entities, as of December 2007. Our current and previous reports include the following number of entities: Growth of Entities Year Number of Entities 1992 338 1993 360 1994 441 1995 454 1996 456 1997 418 1998 428 1999 458 2000 481 2001 480 2002 479 2003 487 2004 513 2005 485 2006 463 2007 474 2008 484 Overall, these comparisons reflect an increase in the growth of boards, commissions, and like entities. The 1997 and 2005 decreases in the number of such entities are primarily attributable to the termination, in accordance with R.S. 49:215(C), of entities that were created by executive order. Since our last report, 13 entities were created and three were either repealed by law or terminated in accordance with law or executive order. The recommendations included in this report are intended to control the growth of boards, commissions, and like entities. Report Organization Within the report, the boards, commissions, and like entities are grouped into five categories: (1) licensing agencies; (2) port commissions and harbor districts; (3) levee districts; (4) other boards, commissions, and like entities; and (5) budget units. The entities are arranged alphabetically within each category and an alphabetical index is included in section F of this report. - 4 - REPORT SUMMARY Information Requested R.S. 24:513.2(F) directs all agencies, boards, commissions, and departments of the state and its political subdivisions to furnish information and reports as requested by the legislative auditor to fulfill his responsibilities. R.S. 39:1335 and 1336 require licensing agencies to submit information on forms that were developed jointly by the legislative auditor and the legislative fiscal office and approved by the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. The information required by licensing agency forms includes summary and detailed information pertaining to actual and budgeted revenues by source, expenditures by category, and fund balances; the number of classified and unclassified personnel; performance indicators; and certain general information pertaining to the board and its authority and functions. All other boards, commissions, and like entities, except budget units, were requested to complete and submit similar forms, except that the financial and budget information was requested in summary form only and information pertaining to performance indicators was not requested. Budget units and entities that did not receive or expend funds, although member travel and per diem may have been paid through another entity, were requested to complete and submit forms to provide general information pertaining to the entity, its members, and its authority and functions. Incomplete Responses In some instances, the submitted information was incomplete; in these instances, we have indicated that the information was not provided. No Response Received Some boards, commissions, and like entities did not respond to