BATON ROUGE, La. -- Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Dog parks in Terrebonne Parish. The Hot Air Balloon Festival. A gym in Covington. The Knock Knock Children's Museum of Baton Rouge. Fishing tournaments, ballparks and tennis courts around Louisiana.

They're all slated to get millions of state taxpayer dollars, thanks to lawmakers who slipped their favored organizations, parks, festivals and museums into budget bills before wrapping up the legislative session this week.

An Associated Press review of next year's $29.9 billion budget turned up $55 million in local add-ons for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Another measure to spend excess state cash this year included at least $12 million.

The earmarks for local pet projects top the levels of similar spending in past years, despite a slew of new legislators at the state Capitol and repeated discussions of the need for fiscal restraint. But proponents say such spending represents a tiny fraction of the budget and allows towns and cities to have items they need but can't afford.

"The bottom line is not much changed. I think (it's) still a very popular part of the budget," said Jim Brandt, president of the nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, which monitors state government.

"Not much reform, that's for sure," he said.

Gov. Bobby Jindal has threatened to strip some of the earmarks with his line-item veto, but the threat was directed solely to non-governmental organizations that don't meet certain criteria. Jindal said each project must have regional impact, be a state agency priority and have been openly discussed during the legislative session. Proper disclosure forms about the organizations must also have been filed with the House and Senate.

How rigidly the governor will adhere to the criteria is unclear. Jindal has until early July to act on the budget bills. On Tuesday, he said his staff plans to go through them "line by line," but he wouldn't offer further details about what spending he might remove.

"We don't know yet whether the new guidelines the governor proposed for these types of projects will have any teeth," Brandt said.

Each year, lawmakers add millions of dollars in so-called "member amendments" into the budget. As Louisiana's revenues have risen to record amounts with skyrocketing oil prices, the number of earmarks have continued to grow as well.

"Every district in this state has some local dollars so you can go back and help the local people," Rep. Jim Fannin, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, told House members as they worked on next year's budget.

Proponents of the spending say tiny towns and municipalities around the state don't have enough money to repair sewage lines, buy new police cars and build playgrounds. They say the spending represents a tiny sliver of the multibillion-dollar state budget. And they say the nonprofit organizations to which they give money provide much-needed tutoring, domestic violence intervention and economic development programs.

"It provides for many local constituency needs," said Fannin, D-Jonesboro.

Opponents of the add-ons say while the causes may be worthwhile, the impoverished state has more needs than it can fund and lawmakers shouldn't be giving state money away to organizations and towns and parishes.

"There are, without a question, some fine organizations on here that we should write a personal check to if we want to, but should we use our taxpayer dollars to fund them?" asked Rep. Joseph Lopinto, R-Metairie, when he unsuccessfully tried to remove some of the earmarks from next year's budget.

Among some of the items included in next year's budget are local senior citizens centers, town fire hydrants, wastewater systems, police cars and playground equipment. Some of the amendments are payments to towns with no explanation of how the money will be used.

The city of Eunice will get $110,000 for tennis court construction and expansion, $150,000 will help build a ballpark in Evangeline Parish, Terrebonne Parish will receive $50,000 to construct dog parks and the Sabine River Authority will get $20,000 for fishing tournaments.

One of the biggest-ticket items is an $800,000 earmark for the planning and construction of a baseball facility and recreational center in Ville Platte. Meanwhile, $240,000 will be split evenly for a pedestrian bridge in Mandeville and a gym in Covington.

An array of organizations are in line for cash, too. The United Christian Music and Video Association will get $150,000 for a "business development program." The Tipitina's Foundation is slated to receive $400,000 to "support Louisiana's music community." STAR Boot Camp in Caddo Parish will get $300,000. The Dryades Street Young Men's Christian Association is in line for $650,000. The Community Foundation of Acadiana will receive $500,000.

"I think we should all feel confident that we all were taken care of," said Sen. Nick Gautreaux, D-Meaux, told senators last week, explaining they all got money for local projects back home.