Lawmakers made an additional $15 million last Friday to the attorney general’s budget for payment on the ongoing Louisiana litigation --- triggered by the Gulf oil spill in 2010.
Without funding, the office of Attorney General Buddy Caldwell mentioned its case would go to a halt in the fiscal year which began this July 1.
To cover legal work fees, the legislature’s budget committee went for funding from a side fund which included taxes, penalties, and costs paid by the oil industry.
However, the fund doesn’t feature the complete amount required for litigation costs, so the treasury will need to borrow from other areas of state funds to keep tabs on the attorney general’s costs until the cost balance catches up.
Louisiana filed a suit against BP, owner of a well that spilled over 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf, which caused significant economic and environmental damage to the state. Claims are subject on the current litigation.
Close to $45 million were spent prior to the latest cash infusion.
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