BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana lawmakers shouldn't celebrate too much about getting projects in this year's construction plan until they actually get the funding, a state lawmaker handling the bill warned Thursday.

Rep. Hunter Greene, R-Baton Rouge, waited until the final minutes of the session to pass House Bill 2, the Capital Outlay Bill, and did so with a warning.

"If you have something in the bill, it doesn't necessarily mean you'll get it," Greene said. "Just because it is in the bill doesn't mean it's going to be funded.

"Get your letters in fast" urging the Division of Administration and the State Bond Commission to approve them, he said.

The capital outlay budget includes $310,000 in Priority 2 funds to provide sidewalks and upgrade Pinecrest Drive between Military Highway and Pinecrest Supports and Services Center in Pineville.

Rep. Jim Morris, R-Oil City, was among the seven House members who voted against concurring with Senate amendments to the bill.

"I'm mad because they stuck member amendments in the bill," Morris said. "In a year when we've got a deficit, they had no business being in there."

As the House approved HB 2, every project had a chance of being funded because no extras wee included. But when the bill was in the Senate, the Jindal administration worked to get about $15 million more into the bill "just in case" some projects would not be ready to construct during the fiscal year.

Greene said he agreed "some projects will not, for one reason or another, be ready to fund next year."

As approved, the bill has about $10 million more in projects than available funding.

Greene said that contrary to what was said in the Senate, the original projects in the bill in lawmakers' districts were decided by the administration, not the House.

"I'm not at all happy with this bill," said Sen. Rob Marionneaux, D-Livonia. "It started out looking like a cucumber but now it looks like a watermelon."

As approved, HB 2 totals $2.68 billion. About $1.6 billion is in Priority 1, the top priority that contains many projects funded with cash and projects that have received funding in previous years. Priority 2, which will be funded with bonds to be sold, totals $122 million.

Priority 5 has $904 million in projects that could be begun with non-cash lines of credit or moved up to Priority 2 if funds become available.

In past years, projects have been plugged into priorities 3 and 4 but not funded for years, if ever.

For the first time in four years, $3.2 million was inserted into Priority 3 and $15.9 million into Priority 4, projects that Greene and Marionneaux warned lawmakers not to brag about until they get the funds.

A total of $340 million in projects can be funded with bonds to be sold.

Some of the projects inserted into the bill in Senate have not yet been worked into the final bill.

To see the projects approved by the House in the 134-page bill, go to www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/streamdocument.asp?did=750780. The bill is searchable for projects in specific cities and parishes.'

It was approved 89-7.

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