Louisiana Lawmakers Plan Use of Oil Spill Recovery Money

Lawmakers want to steer Gulf oil spill recovery money to help refill Louisiana’s “rainy day” fund, an elderly trust fund that was raided to fill budget holes and another health care fund.

The plan taps into dollars that BP is expected to pay for the state’s claims of economic damage caused by the massive 2010 spill. Those claims are the subject of ongoing federal litigation, and it’s unclear when any of the money might be available.

The House gave final passage Friday to the bill that contained the plans, sending it to Gov. Bobby Jindal for consideration. The governor had proposed using the dollars for the rainy day fund, but not the other items on the list.

The bill would use up about $1 billion from an economic damages award.