BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana made a tiny dent in the number of state-created boards and commissions, but spending on them continues to rise.
Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera's office released its annual report on the entities, finding 472 boards and commissions, down five from the prior year.
The auditor's office tallied the panels' spending for the financial year that ended June 30 and found $1.3 million spent on per diem, $2 million for salaries and $2.1 million for travel expenses. Total spending is up $300,000 from last year's report.
A group of Louisiana lawmakers has repeatedly sought to reduce the number of boards and commissions, but with little success. As they remove some panels, lawmakers also have created new ones.
Purpera's office identified 17 inactive boards out of the 472 total.
