Guidelines for Capital Outlay Budget Requests
Capital Outlay Budget Requests and statutory requirements are outlined in R.S. 39:101 & 102. When preparing a five-year capital outlay plan, address both five-year
capital planning and preventative maintenance. A first-year request should reflect only those projects which must be funded in the next year. If a project or portion of funding for a
project can wait, it should be shown in Years 2-5 of the request.
For projects other than those funded from self-generated cash, federal funds or dedicated revenues, the only anticipated source of funding available is the General
Obligation Bonds. Limit Capital Outlay Projects which do not have a cash source of funding to those which have an anticipated useful life of 20 years or more and a value or cost of at
least $100,000. Examples of projects that qualify for inclusion in the capital outlay bill are:
- Land acquisition
- Site development and improvement
- Acquisition or construction of buildings or other structures
- Additions or expansions to existing facilities
- Major repair or renovation of existing facilities
- Installation, extension or replacement of utility systems
- Or major building system components
- Roof replacement
- Hazardous material abatement
- Fixed equipment which is connected to building utility systems
- Initial equipment and furnishings for new buildings
However, depending on the useful life of equipment and
furnishings, a decision may be made to fund these items through
alternative sources. In addition, agencies should explore alternative
financing, such as equipment leasing programs, for equipment such as
fiber optic or telephone cable installation or replacement, telephone
systems, computer systems, video monitoring equipment, photo enforcement, etc.
Capital outlay requests should not include any of the
following:
- Minor repair or renovation projects such as painting, flooring, etc.
- Minor roof repairs which do not extend the useful life of the roof
- Movable equipment and furnishings, except for that associated with new buildings
- Vehicles of any type
- Materials and supplies
- Repair or renovation of minor building components, such as plumbing fixtures, locks, etc.
- Routine maintenance of existing equipment
Any of these items that are needed should be addressed in
your operating budget requests. Every state agency should have a written maintenance management plan in place which
addresses these items through the operating budget, instead of
deferring maintenance until a capital outlay budget project is needed.
Capital outlay requests to prematurely replace roofs, or electrical, mechanical or HVAC equipment, due to lack of maintenance, will not receive
capital outlay funds. Instead, these costs will be absorbed in that State Agency’s operating budget.
RS 39:112 and the State Constitution compel Facility Planning and Control (FP&C) to review
Capital Outlay Requests for feasibility, and to notify appropriate legislative committees if any
project is deemed not feasible. RS 39:112 also states that any project deemed not feasible shall
not be included in the Capital Outlay Act. In order for FP&C to conduct feasibility reviews of Capital
Outlay Requests, it is necessary that the Requests contain the statutorily required contents. For
more information on this, please see STATE ENTITY or NON-STATE Entity Capital Outlay Budget
Request Memo.
FP&C evaluates each Capital Outlay Requests for feasibility in accordance with the content requirements of RS 39:102. Capital Outlay requests need to be
detailed and filled out completely including specifics on the project, what is being requested, what you have now, itemized break-out of costs, exact location of the project,
timeline for the project, and any other descriptive information you can provide to establish statutory requirements. FP&C will endeavor to work with entities to ensure that
the statutorily-mandated content requirements are included. Please submit Capital Outlay Requests in a timely manner to allow for corrections/revisions. Keep in mind that the
final application date is November 1st. Those Requests that FP&C deems incomplete will be declared "unfeasible” and appropriate Legislative Committees will be notified per RS 39:112.
Applications for Capital Outlay funds are filed electronically in the Capital Outlay Request Tracking System, eCORTS. The website for eCORTS is:
www.doa.la.gov/ecorts. Do not mail paper copies of your capital outlay requests. All requests will be submitted
electronically only.
All capital outlay requests are to be submitted electronically through eCORTS to Facility Planning and Control, Capital Outlay Section, by November 1st.
Requests submitted after November 1st cannot be included in the Capital Outlay Act unless:
- The project is an economic development project recommended in writing by the secretary of the Department of Economic Development
- The project is an emergency project recommended in writing by the Commissioner of Administration
- The project is for a non-state entity, has a total project cost of less than one million dollars, and has been approved by the Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay
on or before February 1st.
Also, R.S. 39:101 states that any project, or component of a project, funded in a capital outlay act, which is not funded through a cash or non-cash line of credit
as approved by the State Bond Commission or is not under contract in any one fiscal year shall not be considered in any subsequent year unless a new request is made.
Also, Bond Counsel has advised that if Revenue Bonds are authorized but not issued in any one fiscal year, a request should be made for the subsequent fiscal year.
State Entities
The state has a tremendous backlog of deferred maintenance that includes life safety deficiencies as well as other safety deficiencies
that could jeopardize life and property. These issues should be agency priorities in the Capital Outlay requests. Although it may be desirable
to improve the quality of the institutions by proposing new facilities; deferred maintenance cannot be ignored and must be given a high priority. Deterioration of existing facilities
through lack of deferred maintenance should be the first areas of need addressed in the Capital Outlay requests as ultimately the cost more to repair or replace will escalate.
State Department governing authorities should submit a Departmental Priority Ranking Spreadsheet showing all requested
projects in priority order, and should include the amount requested and the proposed means of financing for the first year and years 2-5
(see the sample format). Email the State Departmental Priority Ranking
Spreadsheet in Excel or Word format to CapitalOutlay@la.gov. Do not mail paper copies of the
capital outlay request.
Requests must be submitted through and prioritized by the appropriate governing authority.
Applications for Capital Outlay funds are filed electronically in the Capital Outlay Request Tracking System, eCORTS. The website for eCORTS is:
www.doa.la.gov/ecorts.
For state departments with a governing authority, your request IS NOT considered submitted
to FPC when you electronically submit your agency's capital outlay requests. The request electronically submits to a Department level eCORTS user who then reviews
and submits to FP&C only the requests the Department recommends for consideration in the capital outlay budget. Please correspond with your agency's Department
level eCORTS user for status on your submission.
R.S. 39:101.B (1)(c) requires that Capital Outlay requests be submitted no later than November 1st each year. R.S. 39:112 states that requests submitted after
November 1st cannot be included in the Capital Outlay Act unless the project is:
(1) an economic development project recommended in writing by the Secretary of the Department of
Economic Development, or
(2) is an emergency project recommended in writing by the Commissioner of Administration, or
(3) the project has been approved by the Joint Legislative Capital
Outlay Committee prior to the last day for introducing legislation in a Legislative Session.
RS 39:112 and the State Constitution compel Facility Planning and Control (FP&C) to review Capital Outlay Requests for feasibility, and to notify appropriate
legislative committees if any project is deemed not feasible. RS 39:112 also states that any project deemed not feasible shall not be included in the Capital Outlay Act. In order for
FP&C to conduct feasibility reviews of Capital Outlay Requests, it is necessary that the Requests contain the statutorily required contents.
RS 39:102 requires that Requests contain:
1. Detailed project description
2. Deasonable date of when the project will be needed
3. Location
4. Estimated construction cost
5. Cost of equipping and furnishing
6. Space utilization plan
7. Cost of opening and operating the facility for the first year
8. Estimated annual operating and maintenance costs
9. Method and source of financing
10. Estimated completion date
11. Identification of other similar facilities in area and evaluation of their capabilities to meet needs
12. Order of priority against other Requests submitted by the agency
FP&C evaluates Capital Outlay Requests for feasibility in accordance with the content requirements of RS 39:102. FP&C will endeavor to work with agencies to
ensure that the statutorily-mandated content requirements are included. Please submit Capital Outlay Requests in a timely manner to allow for corrections/revisions. Those Requests
that FP&C deems incomplete will be declared unfeasible, and appropriate Legislative Committees will be notified per RS 39:112. For more information on State Department Capital
Outlay Request Guidelines, please see STATE ENTITY Capital Outlay
Request Guidelines Memo.
Non-State Entities
Non-State Entities are defined as port and levee districts, police juries, municipalities, and non-state miscellaneous and non-profit organizations.
A Capital Outlay Request must be submitted in order to request funds for a project to be included in the Capital Outlay Budget. Submission of a Capital Outlay Request
in no way insures or implies that state funds will be appropriated to a project. Historically, requests for state funds have averaged about $1.5 billion annually, which far
exceeds the amount of new general obligation bond funding available for the Capital Outlay Budget each year. Given the limited available state funding, and the backlog of unfunded
state agency projects, priority consideration will be given to state agency projects. When submitting a Capital Outlay request, state statute now requires local match funds
of at least twenty-five(25) percent of the project cost. The source of these funds must be identified in the Capital Outlay Request. This demonstrates a local commitment to the project.
Applications for Capital Outlay funds are filed electronically in the Capital Outlay Request Tracking System, eCORTS. The website for eCORTS is:
www.doa.la.gov/ecorts. All applicants are strongly encouraged to fill out all form blanks in as much detail as possible.
FP&C will evaluate Capital Outlay Requests for feasibility in accordance with the content requirements of RS 39:102. FP&C will endeavor to work with entities to
ensure that the statutorily-mandated content requirements are included. Please submit Capital Outlay Requests in a timely manner to allow for corrections/revisions. Those Requests that
FP&C deems incomplete will be declared unfeasible, and appropriate Legislative Committees will be notified per RS 39:112. For more information on Non-State Entity Capital Outlay
Request Guidelines, please see NON-STATE ENTITY Capital Outlay
Request Guidelines Memo.
RS 39:112 and the State Constitution compel Facility Planning and Control (FP&C) to review Capital Outlay Requests for feasibility, and to notify appropriate
legislative committees if any project is deemed not feasible. RS 39:112 also states that any project deemed not feasible shall not be included in the Capital Outlay Act.
In order for FP&C to conduct feasibility reviews of Capital Outlay Requests, it is necessary that the Requests contain the statutorily required contents.
RS 39:102 requires that Requests contain:
1. Detailed project description
2. Reasonable date of when the project will be needed
3. Location
4. Estimated construction cost
5. Cost of equipping and furnishing
6. Space utilization plan
7. Cost of opening and operating the facility for the first year
8. Estimated annual operating and maintenance costs
9. Method and source of financing
10. Estimated completion date
11. Identification of other similar facilities in area and evaluation of their capabilities to meet needs
12. Order of priority against other Requests submitted by the entity
Please provide details of the project in your request such as description of the project, timeline, any funding secured or requested, what you have now, what you are proposing,
itemized break-out of costs, materials involved, property ownership, as well as the need for the project. It is suggested that the description of hte need
for the project be written into the space provided on Page 2 of the Capital Outlay Request.
The certificate questionnaire is required to be completed by non-state entities only. This form provides budgetary, tax, and local financial data for the entity requesting capital outlay funding.
Please fill out this info and enter contact information at the end of the document.
The Capital Outlay Statute requires legislative
support for capital outlay requests submitted by Non-State Entites.
If your entity is not a state department, please have a State Senator or
State Representative who represents the area the project is located write
a Letter Of Support for your project(s). Please have the letter of support
mailed to these addresses. Do not mail paper copies of your capital outlay requests.
Division of Administration
Facility Planning and Control
Capital Outlay Section
Claiborne Building
1201 N. Third Street, Suite 7-160
P.O. Box 94095
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
Email: COSupportLetters@la.gov
Legislative Fiscal Office
18th Floor, State Capitol
900 North Third Street
Post Office Box 44097
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9097
225-342-7233
Email: feigleyr@legis.la.gov
Senate Committee on Revenue & Fiscal Affairs
Senate Sub-Basement, State Capitol
900 North Third Street
Post Office Box 94183
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804
225-342-2040
Email: simpsons@legis.la.gov, hunterb@legis.la.gov, and carra@legis.la.gov
Senate Committee on Finance
15th Floor, State Capitol
900 North Third Street
Post Office Box 94183
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804
225-342-2040
Email: millerj@legis.la.gov and hessm@legis.la.gov
House Committee on Ways and Means
House Committee on Appropriations
C/O House Fiscal Staff (one copy to be shared by both committees)
11th Floor, State Capitol
900 North Third Street
Post Office Box 44486
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804
225-342-6945
Email: vermaelenc@legis.la.gov and pryora@legis.la.gov
Add New Project
All fields in this form are required unless otherwise noted below.
The project title should be a brief description
of the project showing location of the project and
can end with descriptive words such as Planning,
Construction, Equipment, Acquisition, Land Acquisition,
etc. An example would be: Widening of 123 Highway in
Smithville, Planning, Construction, and Acquisition.
Another example is: Multipurpose Center in Smithville,
Planning and Construction. For all requests except those that are for Statewide Programs such as Statewide Major Repairs, Statewide ADA, etc.
please make your requests specific to one project.
The Location is the village, town, city, regional area or nearest intersection in which the project will occur.
Please select a project class that gives a reasonable estimate of when the project is needed.
Only one classification can be selected. If another classification is selected, the currently selected classification is unselected. It is a required field, so you cannot
un-select all three.
Emergency Project: A capital outlay project can be classified as an "emergency" if it is essential to alleviate conditions that are
hazardous to life or property and court mandates. Examples include extensive roof leaks, structural defects, code violations, accreditation, asbestos/hazardous materials
abatement, and extensive breakdown of HVAC systems.
Current Program Requirements: Projects that would allow an agency to bring its facilities up to program standards set by national or regional
accrediting associations. Also, changes necessary to improve the functioning of a program. This would include measures to rectify for program achievement. It would also include
provisions for major alterations to meet or maintain current program requirements. Examples include the addition of a new program, and changes or relocation of an existing program.
Anticipated Program Needs: Projects anticipated on the basis of increased enrollments, additional service, obsolescence of existing facilities, and
changing an agency's role, scope or mission. Examples include the addition of a new program, changes or relocation of an existing program.
Department: The Department field is automatically populated based on info provided in your USER ID request.
Agency: Choose the appropriate agency from the drop-down list.
Parish: Choose one or more parishes in the array of 10 drop-down lists. At least one must be selected. Based on your parish selection, the legislator
district codes will only appear for the parishes selected. Choose the correct Senator
(http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Senators/ByDistrict.asp) or
Representative (http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/H_Reps_ByDistrict.asp) in the legislative
district in which the project will occur. Failure to properly identify the correct elected official could result in a delay in review of your submittal. "Statewide" is an
option and can be selected at the bottom of the parish list.
House & Senate District: Please enter the district number of a legislator who represents the parish in which the project is located. If you
selected "Statewide" or "Multi-Parish" for parish, you will not enter Senate or House Districts.
The contact information is very important. This information will be used to contact your entity should there be questions. Please provide accurate, up-to-date,
contact information for the entity in the below fields. Please do not use the consulting firm’s information as the contact information for the project.
User: User is the name of the agency. This field accepts only 20 characters. You may have to abbreviate. Please do not use any other name but
the name of the entity requesting funding.
Contact: Enter the name of someone at the agency, who can be contacted with questions, or for more information. Please do not use the name of a
consultant. Contact information needs to be an employee with the agency.
Address: Enter the address of the entity.
Project Address: Enter the address of the actual project or the nearest intersection.
City/State/Zip: Although these fields are self-explanatory, you may notice that the State field requires two characters conforming to the
USPS state code convention. Any lower case letters will be converted automatically to upper case. The Zip Code field will accept either 5 or 9-digit zip codes and will automatically
covert 9-digit entries to xxxxx-xxxx format.
Phone/Fax: The Phone field requires a 10-digit phone number (xxx-xxx-xxxx). It is not necessary to enter the dashes as the field will be
automatically formatted. The Fax field is not required but it is highly requested that a fax number be provided.
Please populate all fields: Facility, Address, City/State/Zip, Phone/Fax and Email. Facility name is the name of the entity requesting the funds.
After the field blanks on page 1 are filled in, press the SAVE NEW PROJECT button. If any information in required fields
is left unfilled, or any invalid data was entered, you will see an error message. Go back and make corrections as indicated by the error message and then click
SAVE NEW PROJECT. After a successful save of the
first page, the project will be assigned a Project ID number and then loaded into Page 1. At this point, additional data can be entered on page 1, or you can navigate to other
pages. You may wish to note the Project ID number displayed in the window header.
After filling out the first page, the request is not considered finished and is not yet submitted. Please open all the pages of the request and fill out the
request in its entirety, perform the check for errors function, and electronically submit by selecting the appropriate button after successful error check.
eCORTS Help
If you have used eCORTS before and have a USER ID and password already, you may log in to eCORTS. If you have never used the eCORTS System before, you must first
request a USER ID for eCORTS. The link to do this is located on the log in screen for eCORTS. After you submit the request for a USER ID, an email response from Capital Outlay
with your USER ID and first time log in instructions will be sent to you within three working days. Please do not call or email Capital Outlay for a status on your USER ID.
If you are locked out of eCORTS, please email CapitalOutlay@la.gov to have your USER ID unlocked.
If you already have a USER ID, it will stay active each year. If you are submitting capital outlay requests on behalf of an entity, you must fax a letter of permission
each fiscal year. Your USER ID will only be active for that fiscal year. If you forget your password and/or USER ID, go to the log in screen for eCORTS and a Password/USER ID Reminder
is available. You will be prompted to submit your email address and your USER ID and password will automatically be emailed to you. If you have questions about an existing USER ID,
please email CapitalOutlay@la.gov.
You must have Adobe Acrobat on your computer to be able to print the request you have entered. A free download is available on the Adobe Acrobat website. You can link
to this site from the eCORTS Home Page www.doa.la.gov/ecorts.
Make sure you are using Internet Explorer 6.0 or a later version for your browser. A free download is available on the Microsoft website. You can link to this site
from the eCORTS Home Page www.doa.la.gov/ecorts.
You will not submit paper copies of your capital outlay requests.
They will be submitted electronically.
If you are a state entity, you may email Departmental
Summary Sheets to CapitalOutlay@la.gov.
If you are a non-state entity (ports, parishes, municipalities,
non-profit organizations), you will still need to mail a Letter of Support from a legislator who represents
the area the project is located. Please mail a copy of the Letter of Support to each of the five offices listed:
Division of Administration
Facility Planning & Control,
Capital Outlay Section
Claiborne Building
1201 N. 3rd Street, Suite 7-160
Post Office Box 94095
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9095
225-342-0820
|
Legislative Fiscal Office
18th Floor, State Capitol
900 North Third Street
Post Office Box 94097
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9097
225-342-7233
|
Senate Committee on Revenue & Fiscal Affairs
Senate Sub-Basement, State Capitol
900 North Third Street
Post Office Box 94183
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804
225-342-2040
|
Senate Committee on Finance
15th Floor, State Capitol
900 North Third Street
Post Office Box 94183
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804
225-342-2040
|
House Committee on Ways and Means
House Committee on Appropriations
C/O House Fiscal Staff (one copy to be shared by both committees)
11th Floor, State Capitol
900 North Third Street
Post Office Box 44486
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804
225-342-6945
|
Log-In IDs
All users of eCORTS website need a log-in ID. The log in screen requires you to enter a log-in ID and password. The log-in ID is set up by the
Office of Facility Planning and Control Capital Outlay Section via an electronic Log-In ID request.
To obtain a user id, log into eCORTS website www.doa.la.gov/ecorts and click "Enter Capital Outlay Request Website eCORTS", then click on
"Click here to request a new User ID". A webpage will open with fields for you to fill out and submit. Please enter accurate and complete information. It is very important
that you provide the name of the entity requesting the funding, as this will be the entity assigned to your user id. Please use the legal name of the organization in the user id
request form if it is a non-profit or non-state misc. organization. When you submit, please wait for a user id response back to the email address you provided in the User ID
request form. Capital Outlay will assign your user id up as promptly as possible. Please do not call for a status. It can take one to three business days.
Once the user id is set up, this user id will be permanent, but the permissions terminate each year on July 1st for users who DO NOT work for the agency requesting the funding.
This can be private consultants, engineering firms, contracted employees, private grant assistants, etc. If you are an employee or volunteer of the organization requesting funds,
your user id and password are always current.
There are some entities who hire a consultant, engineering firm, private consultant, contracted employees, private grant assistants, etc to complete their
request on their behalf. They may complete a request on behalf of an entity if Capital Outlay has a letter of permission from the entity. The firm/consultant/contracted
individual will need to request a letter of permission on entity letterhead signed by an entity administrator be faxed to Facility Planning Capital Outlay Attn: eCORTS Administrator
to Fax 225-342-7624. Once Capital Outlay receives the letter of permission, the process of setting up the user id will be resumed and the entity will get an email with log-in
instructions when the user id is set up.
Check Project for Errors
This Page is designed to allow you to analyze the entries that
you have made into this application. Each project must be analyzed
separately before it can be moved up to a higher stage.
There is a checkbox next to every page that is required for the
selected project. Click the checkbox next to each page that you
want to check for errors, then click the "Check for Errors"
button. If you want to check all pages, click on the "check all"
link. Clicking on the "uncheck all" link will uncheck all
checkboxes.
If any errors are present, a list will appear on the screen with a
corresponding page number to the left, indicating the page on which the error
can be found. Click on the page number to display the page. Correct the error
and click SAVE. Then press ALT + TAB on your keyboard to return to the list
of errors. To generate a new error list, click "Check for Errors" again.
If you want to print the list of errors, you use the browser's
menu. Click on File, then Print.
When you are finished checking the project for errors, you can
click on "Close Window". This will not exit the application, or
log you off.
Select Prior Year Projects
The Select Prior Year Projects allows the user to copy a project from a previous
year forward to edit. This keeps the user from entering the same request from
year to year if resubmission is necessary. To perform the function, log
into eCORTS and click "Select Prior Year Projects."
In the Select Prior Year Projects section, select the year the request was
submitted from the years listed under "Choose a Prior Fiscal Year." After you have
done that, the list of project titles will appear from that year. Click
on the title of the project to copy forward to the current year. A confirmation
box will appear asking if you are sure you would like to copy project from
a previous year to the current year, click "Copy Project."
You have copied that project forward. It is not submitted yet, just copied
to the current year for you to edit. When you are finished copying projects and
would like to return to the active year to edit the projects you copied forward,
click "Return to Active Year." You will be directed back to the current year. The
projects you copied will be there to click on to edit.
Print Reqests
Once the first page of the request has been filled out and saved in
eCORTS, you may print the project at any point while filling out the
request. Once you have submitted the request electronically, the request
can still be retrieved to view and print only in the "View Projects to
Print" section. When the project is error free, submit the request electronically.
Do not mail paper copies of the request.
Your computer must have Adobe Acrobat to print the request.
There is a link to a free download for Adobe Acrobat on the eCORTS Home Page at
http://www.doa.la.gov/ecorts/.
Submit Requests
The link to submit electronically will appear on the project's main menu
screen where all the page numbers are listed for that project on the lower
right side of the menu. The link to submit electronically will not appear
for you to click on UNTIL the request is ERROR FREE. If this link has not
appeared, you need to run the Check for Errors. If the link is on your menu
screen, that means your project is error free. Click this button to submit
electronically when you are finished with the request. Please do this promptly
after you finish. Once your project has been submitted electronically, it
will not be listed in eCORTS to edit.
Page 1
The project title should be a brief description of the project
showing location of the project and can end with descriptive words
such as Planning, Construction, Equipment, Acquisition, Land Acquisition,
etc. An example would be: Widening of 123 Highway in Smithville, Planning,
Construction, and Acquisition. Another example is: Multipurpose Center in
Smithville, Planning and Construction.
The Location is the city in which the project will occur.
This field only holds 15 characters, so choose them
wisely.
Emergency: A capital outlay project can be classified
as an "emergency" if it is essential to alleviate conditions that are
hazardous to life or property. Examples include extensive roof leaks,
structural defects, code violations, accreditation, asbestos/hazardous
materials abatement, and extensive breakdown of HVAC systems.
Current Program Requirements: Projects that would allow
an agency to bring its facilities up to program standards set by national
or regional accrediting associations. Also, changes necessary to improve
the functioning of a program. This would include measures to rectify for
program achievement. It would also include provisions for major alterations
to meet or maintain current program requirements. Examples include the
addition of a new program, and changes or relocation of an existing program.
Anticipated Program Needs: Projects anticipated on the
basis of increased enrollments, additional service, obsolescence of
existing facilities, and changing an agency's role, scope or mission.
Examples include the addition of a new program, changes or relocation of
an existing program.
These radio buttons are mutually exclusive, i.e., when one is clicked
another will be un-clicked, so that only one is selected at a time. It
is a required field, so you cannot un-select all three. At least one
must be selected.
A priority number is to be assigned to each new project request
in keeping with the relative importance to the achievement of overall
department goals. Prioritize your requests by number. For example, if
you have 3 requests, one will be 1 of 3, two will be 2 of 3, and three
will be 3 of 3. Indicate the priority in the "Local/Agency" field in the
Project section of Page 1. If your entity is only submitting one request, the priority will be 1 of 1.
This field is for state agencies only. Site Code and State ID numbers have been assigned to all existing
state facilities, and can be found in your SLABS (State Land and
Buildings) report or your Asbestos Management Plan. If you are unable
to locate either of these items, contact Facility Planning and Control,
Capital Outlay Section, at
CapitalOutlay@la.gov.
These fields contain six (6) characters. Proper format for a State ID
is a letter, either "L" or "S", and a five-digit number.
For more info on filling out page 1, see Add New Projects part of eCORTS Instructions.
Page 2
Information on the estimated project as a whole is entered on computer page 2. The total under cost estimates should equal the total Proposed New Funding on
computer page 3. Also, the construction estimate furnished on computer page 2 should match the Total Construction Cost at the bottom of computer page 11. We recommend that your
entity complete computer pages 9, 11, and 12 before completing computer pages 2 and 3. The information for construction costs, equipment costs, and facility requirements is completed
on computer pages 9, 11, and 12 and will need to be transferred or duplicated in the fields on page 2 in construction and equipment costs. On page 3, the amount requested is entered,
and after having completed the computer pages 9, 11, and 12, the amount you need to request and the amount you have as a match, if any, need to match the amount estimated for the project
on computer page 2. It is recommended that you print out the request after you have completed computer page 1, and use that to organize your project costs so you’ll have the information
you need to enter into eCORTS on those pages.
Planning Cost is a fee for professional services for planning/ designing.
This figure should be 10% of construction cost. If you know that planning
costs are not 10%, the information may be entered into the comment fields located
at the bottom of Page 4 in the Comments Field below the Agency
Impact Statement. Miscellaneous or incidental expenses not already
listed, including insurance, legal fees and testing are calculated
as 10% of construction cost. The program will automatically
calculate these costs as a percentage of the construction cost.
Enter the dollars you plan to spend capital outlay funds on equipment.
The amount you put here must be the same as the total for equipment on page
12 Equipment Costs. If no dollars of capital outlay funds will be used for equipment,
please leave the Equipment field on page 2 blank and do not fill out page 12 at all.
Please enter an estimated number of months for planning and construction.
This is a required field. If you do not have this information yet, or it is not
applicable to your project, please enter "1".
Page 3
Prior funding refers to prior years actual funding (i.e. cash and lines of credit);
and all funding in the current Capital Outlay Act (i.e.
cash or lines of credit). The funding source (means
of financing), amount, year, act number and bond priority level
should be identified. Only prior funding for the project being
submitted need be listed. Check off Bond if the proejct was a General Obligation Bond project.
If your project received an appropriation for General Obligation Bonds in a prior year, but did not receive a line of credit from the State Bond Commission,
do not enter that funding under "Prior Funding". Prior Funding is only funding actually committed for the project.
This is where you put how much you are requesting from capital outlay: either new
funding or funding that got in a previous year's capital outlay bill and didn't get a
line of credit.Proposed new funding refers to the funding required in addition
to actual funding in prior years and current year (i.e. cash, bonds
sold or lines of credit). Proposed new funding should include current
year bond funding which was not granted a line of credit by the October Bond
Commission, plus any additional funding you would like to request.
Please make sure you have reflected all project funding on computer page 3. Prior Funding total plus Proposed New Funding total should be equal
to the Cost Estimates total on computer page 2.
- State Funds: Please enter the amount you are CURRENTLY requesting from the state.
Bonds or other evidences of indebtedness whose debt service
is payable from the Bond Security and Redemption Fund, and for which the full faith
and credit of the state is pledged to the repayment; or reallocation/reappropriation of the
proceeds from previously sold bonds; or inter-agency transfer; or reallocation/reappropriation
of previously appropriated cash.
- *Local Funds:
For departments of the State of Louisiana: Any other type of financing not covered in the list of proposed new funding sources, including
donations, etc. For non-state entities: Indicate any local matching funds. This should include
any local bond issue proceeds, millage, or other forms of local participation.
- *Reimbursement Bonds (State Departments Only): General obligation bonds whose debt service is payable, through a
reimbursement agreement, by revenues derived from the operation of the agency for which the bonds
or other indebtedness are issued.
- *Fees/Self-Gen Rev (State Departments Only): Self-generated cash from revenues derived from the operation
of the agency.
- *Revenue Bonds (State Departments Only): Bonds whose debt service is payable from revenues derived from the
operation of the agency for which the bonds or other evidences of indebtedness are issued. The
full faith and credit of the state is not pledged to the repayment of Revenue Bonds.
- **Statutory Dedications (State Departments Only): Cash from revenues derived from statutory dedications, awarded,
or received for the project.
- *Federal Funds: Any federal grant, loan, etc., that has been
applied for, awarded, or received for the project.
*The
specific source of funds for Items 2-7 listed above should be identified
if included in the funding for any part of the project.
**The
specific name of the statutory fund for Item 6 should be identified. Statutory Dedications are for Departments of the State of Louisiana only.
Page 4
This statement is a "sign-off" by an appropriate State
Department authority or non-state entity. The name, title and date are required fields. It is recommended that you complete this page with information about your project.
The comments field has a variety of functions. You may use this field for a
justification of your request. You may also use this field if you run out of room in
another field or for any additional information, description, or miscellaneous info
you would like to include on the request. In addition, please note discrepancies in funding if there are any in your request. If costs for your project have changed
from a previous year’s request, please note the difference and reason for increase/decrease. Please note that while you are in eCORTS, the session will time out after approximately
twenty (20) minutes, so please save your pages frequently.
This page can be used to list itemized break-out of costs, materials involved, property ownership, timeline for the spending of the funds, etc.
Please provide any pertinent information on your request here.
Page 7
These fields are read-only. Make any
changes to them on Page 1.
The description needs to be a brief sentence or two describing the project.
Please put something different than what you have for the title of the project. This field is not for entering a justification or need for the project,
only a description of what the project is in a brief form. Use Comments section on computer page 4 to add additional description information.
These are drop down boxes. Please select the fields most applicable for this project.
You must select Project Type first, then Facility Type second.
Please enter a brief comment on the service, or program, that will be provided as a result of this project.
Please enter the project’s long-range plan, timeline for the project and/or funding and construction requested timeline. Also give a summary of your
agency or organization’s strategic plan for the project or program.
The purpose field is required. Please check off any that apply to your project.
Page 8
"Applicable Guidelines" refers to any mandates that your department
or agency must follow to acquire federal funds, grants, etc. that are
particular to you. It is not necessary to list NFPA, ADA, etc. in this
area because ALL agencies are expeted to follow these codes and
regulations. For example, if the federal regulatory agencies for
correctional facilities require that every inmate has a cell of at least
80 square feet, then this should be listed. This is very important to
Corrections, and Facility Planning needs to be aware of this guideline;
however, this guideline does not affect any other agency. List the
publication and the specific guideline in the blanks provided. If the project is located in an area that has project or other restrictions and/or local or federal
requirements, guidelines, etc. please indicate those guidelines.
This field is to enter the name of the feasibility study preparer. If no feasibility study was performed for this project, leave this field blank.
In order to enter data into these two fields, you must first click the checkbox above them on the right.
Please indicate if it is suspected or known that any part of the project involves hazardous materials. Also, please indicate if that info is unknown.
This is a required field. Please provide this information relative to this project you are proposing in comparison with other similar projects in the area.
If no similar projects exist, please indicate that. Evaluate the comparison facility to the facility you are proposing, provide info on how they would be similar, how they
would be different, the age, size, useful life for each if a building is involved, etc.
These fields are enabled only for non-state entities (Departments 36 or 50).
Page 9
If your project does not involve renovation or construction of an existing or new building, check “No Space”, fill out the Preparer’s Name and the current date and
save the page. The rest of the information is not applicable. For any construction project involving a building, this information is required to be filled out, in addition to the
table on computer page 11. The information from computer page 9 defaults to computer page 11, so complete computer page 9 first.
In the "Facility Requirements" section, the type of space is to
be entered. If several areas are the same, each area does not need
to be listed individually. For example, if the area is to be "office"
space, it is not necessary to list each office separately. Also, file
rooms, break areas or other similar spaces can be lumped into the category
"Office". The number (#) column is for the number of people to be housed
in this space. It is not the number of rooms. Typically, at this point,
most agencies have not prepared programs and do not actually know the number
of rooms. They should, however, know the number of people that need to be
housed. Examples of occupants are employees, clients, students, etc.
If your project does not have space requirements, does not involve renovation
or addition to a new or existing building or space, click the checkbox for "No Space"
for Space Requirements. Please check "New Space" or "Existing Space" in reference to the proposed building project.
Whether or not you are required to complete this page, these two fields are required.
Put the name of the person who is completing the table on that page and the current date
the page is being filled out. If this page is not applicable to your project, enter your
name and current date in those fields.
Net Area/Person should reflect the area/space needed per person.
For example, if the agency requests a classroom to house 30 students
at 30 square foot per student, the Net Area Required is 900 square
feet. The program will automatically calculate this figure.
Net area required for each functional space type (number of
people times the net area per person required).
The total gross area equals the product of the total net area
times the burden factor (see section entitled "Burden Factor").
The burden factor is a percentage that is allowed for building
support areas such as lobbies, elevators, stairwells, and primary
circulation. An efficient burden factor is usually around 20%.
More often, the burden is 25-30%.
The burden area is the difference between the gross area
and the net area. The program will calculate this area.
Additional Program Requirements refers to those areas that are
not spaces as such. For example, loading docks, public roadways,
utility tie-ins, etc. that are required for the project should
be listed here.
Page 10
If the project is new construction and involves
relocation of a program or personnel from an existing facility, please
describe what will become of the existing facility. If it is a renovation,
please provide a listing of any major renovations that have occurred, such
as installation of a new HVAC system. It is not necessary to list minor
renovations such as addition of walls, new carpet, etc. To determine
whether asbestos is present in the facility, consult the "Asbestos
Management Plan" books housed at the site's physical plant or contact
Facility Planning at
CapitalOutlay@la.gov.
Provide the age and condition of the roof and any
rooftop equipment in the blanks provided. If your project does not include renovation or addition to a building,
some of the fields on this page may not apply to your project. Fill out what is applicable to your project.
Page 11
This page is required information to show cost break-out for the project. This information is not applicable for equipment-only requests.
Otherwise, please use Construction Cost table for space costs and Additional Line Item table for any other itemized costs besides equipment. If your project
does not involve a building, the Additional Line Item Expenses table may still be used to enter itemized costs for materials involved in the project.
The total construction cost on page 11 should match the construction cost estimate amount entered on computer page 2. It is recommended that
page 9, 11, and 12 be filled out before computer page 2. Computer page 9, 11, and 12 are worksheet pages that help produce figures related to project materials and costs.
The figures may then be plugged into the Cost Estimates table so that all figures on the request are consistent.
Under Construction Costs, "List Special Cost
Affecting Factors" refers to any item or requirement that drives the square foot cost to
a level that is higher than standard. For example, a laboratory
space will require fume hoods, separate zoning of the HVAC, installation of
specialized equipment, etc. These requirements are going to affect the overall
cost of the project and should be listed
here. In this table, the space types that are similar can be grouped
as they were in the "Facility Requirements" section. Each type of space that
is a different cost, i.e. warehouse, lab, office, etc. should
be grouped separately. Space type and net area will be copied for
your convenience from Page 9.
Cost of construction, renovation, repair, demolition or other
work, excluding land acquisition, professional fees, and other
costs. This should include the cost of all fixed equipment, such
as bathroom fixtures, laboratory and kitchen equipment, etc.
Additional Line Item Expenses such as parking lots, utility
tie-ins, etc. should be listed and described. This should be
entered as a unit cost (if available) and total cost.
Page 12
Equipment costs are listed as item and total. If this is a first
or current year request, an itemized breakdown should be attached
on a separate sheet showing unit costs and estimated useful
life of the equipment. If you entered equipment cost data on this page,
you must also indicate equipment cost information on Page 2, Cost Estimates,
and vice versa. These are corresponding fields.
Please use categories to list equipment proposed for this project and comments section on computer page 4 to give specifics on equipment to be purchased,
who will own the equipment, if it is new or used, itemized costs, condition of equipment at purchase, timeline for purchase of equipment, if construction or another aspect
of the same project is involved, at what point in the project is the equipment needed, what the useful life of the equipment will be, etc.
Page 13
The Operating Budget section should be used to indicate the
increase or decrease in the operating budget as a result of the
proposed state agency project. For state agencies, it should match the BR-1 and
BR-2 submittals to the Office of Planning & Budget. It is
necessary to meet with your Fiscal Officer or Budget Officer to
prepare this correctly. It is also necessary to meet with this
person so the operational funding will be requested to support the
project in the agency's budget submittal. If the project is not
feasible from an operations standpoint, your fiscal officer can
indicat this at this time. Of course, if this is the scenario,
there is no need to submit the request.
The first column of the table shows the current operational
funding. The second column indicates the change in required
funding due to the proposed project. The top half of the table
shows expected expenditures. The bottom half shows the proposed
means of financing. The proposed financing should equal the
anticipated expenditures. If not, modify your entries so that the
table will balance.
This data represents Total Expenditures over the next five (5)
years. Since this is a request for operational funds, it may not
be necessary to increase your operating budget in the first fiscal
year. For example, if a project has 12 months of planning and 18
months of construction, it will probably be three years before any
additional operational funds are needed. Therefore, request the
additional funds in the third year. Unless a major change is
anticipated in the operating budget, we generally increase the
funding request by 4% (a typical inflation rate for each following
year).
Page 14
This data represents Total Expenditures over the
next five (5) years. Since this is a request for operational funds, it may
not be necessary to increase your operating budget in the first fiscal
year. For example, if a project has 12 months of planning and 18 months of
construction, it will probably be three years before any additional
operational funds are needed. Therefore, request the additional funds in
the third year. Unless a major change is anticipated in the operating
budget, we generally increase the funding request by 4% (a typical
inflation rate for each following year).
Page 16 (Departments of State of LA only)
If you selected "yes" while completing the budget request on Page 9 under Facility
Requirements, then you are required to complete a Space Utilization Plan. It will
be Page 16 in the eCORTS application.
R.S. 39:102 requires the Capital Outlay Budget Request to
include a space utilization plan for the requesting agency. The
intent of this legislation is to determine whether existing space can be
utilized to provide needed space and avoid construction of new
space. A space utilization study must be submitted for all project
requests that involve construction of new or additional space. It
is not necessary to submit a space utilization plan for projects such as
Asbestos Abatement, Roof Repairs, Road Repairs, Sewer Improvements, etc.
It shall be based on the following criteria and/or any other
applicable guidelines.
Explain how the agency determined that a new facility or addition was required.
The purpose of this evaluation is to show a before/after scenario and its relationship
to a recognized benchmark or standard. One way of expressing this relationship is to
first show all existing usable square footage (s.f.) that is of a similar type.
For example, if you are requesting
a new laboratory building, all existing laboratory square footage should
be shown. Also, any other
square footage that could be converted to a lab should be shown,
separately. Next, compare the
existing space and its usage with any benchmark or standards.
The benchmark used should be one
that is recognized among most institutions within your industry.
The intent of the comparison is to
measure the s.f./person, number of beds or number of cells, etc. as it
relates to the benchmark. The
maximum or peak and average or typical occupancy of the facility should be
considered in the evaluation.
For areas that are not "occupied", such as a loading dock, consider
the equipment and other space requirements.
Once total existing usable s.f. has been calculated, add
the proposed project s.f. to the existing s.f. and recalculate the
s.f./person, etc. and show how the addition of the proposed project
affects the relationship you have established with the benchmark.
This study of existing space should assist you in the decision to request
additional space, renovate, or re-examine the efficiency of your existing
facilities. If existing space is determined to be inadequate for
conversion or renovation, explain why and what will become of this space.
For example, will this space be renovated and fall into another
space category? The square footage of this space should be shown
and its deletion from the existing space indicated.
All standards, guidelines, and definitions used by the requesting agency shall be
submitted for comparison and clarification.
The space utilization study shall
include gross and usable area as explained in the following section
Definitions. If another means for
calculating area is used, please include the methodology.
Gross Area - This is the sum of
the floor areas of all levels of a building which are totally enclosed
within the building envelope.
Usable Area - This is the floor
area of a facility that can be assigned to occupant groups. Usable
area includes the area of interior walls, building columns and projections
and secondary circulation. Usable area excludes exterior walls,
major vertical penetrations, primary circulation, building core, and
building service areas.
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