Southwest Louisiana members of the House split their votes Wednesday on a Senate resolution raising the state’s  expenditure limit that was approved 85-19.

Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, is sponsor of Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 that raises the spending limit this fiscal year by $250 million and by $1.4 billion for the next fiscal year. The House amended the resolution so it goes back to the Senate that previously approved it unanimously.

Voting to raise the spending limit were Reps. Ryan Bourriaque, R-Grand Lake; Dewith Carrier, R-Oakdale; Wilford Carter, D-Lake Charles; Les Farnum, R-Sulphur; and Troy Romero, R-Jennings.

Reps. Brett Geymann, R-Moss Bluff; Charles Owen, R-Rosepine; Rodney Schamerhorn, R-Hornbeck; and Phillip Tarver, R-Lake Charles, voted against raising the spending limit.

Much of the increased spending will go to finance transportation projects, which could include additional funding for new Interstate 10 bridges at Lake Charles and Baton Rouge.

Funds will also be used for $2,000 teacher and $1,000 support worker pay increases, a law enforcement supplemental pay increase, to take care of delayed maintenance at colleges and universities and to pay down retirement debt.

Rep. Jerome “Zee” Zeringue, R-Houma, and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the expenditure limit needed to be increased so conference committees could work on the state’s major money bills that were amended by the Senate.

Zeringue then asked and got the House to reject three of those bills and to concur on a fourth measure. He indicated some major changes may be made in the legislation.

House Bill 1 is the appropriations measure that contains  state government operating expenses for fiscal year 2023-24 that begins July 1. Senate changes were rejected and the bill will be reworked by a conference committee.

The three House members of a conference committee are the author of the bill, the chairman of the committee that reported the bill, and one member appointed by the speaker. The Senate president selects the three members of its conference committees.

Also rejected were Senate changes to House Bill 550, which provides for the transfer, deposit, and use of monies in state funds, and changes to House Bill 560, which makes supplemental appropriations for 2022-23, the current fiscal year.

The House rejected House Bill 2 by Rep. Stuart Bishop, R-Lafayette. It is the capital outlay bill that contains many statewide projects.

Lawmakers have to adjourn their fiscal session by 6 p.m. today, so all conference committee reports will either have to be accepted by that time or reworked and approved before that time.