BATON ROUGE (AP) — The threat of closure for a 26-year-old business program that helps small businesses apply for government contracts appears to have been averted.
Gov. Bobby Jindal included the $185,000 needed to save the Louisiana Procurement Technical Assistance Center, known as PTAC, in his budget proposal for next year.
Legislative support is expected.
Though the state financing needed for PTAC is small, questions were raised about its survival because Louisiana is grappling with a $1.6 billion budget shortfall. The U.S. Department of Defense provides money for the program, but requires a dollar-for-dollar match.
Supporters say PTAC has helped businesses across 54 parishes obtain $4.5 billion in government contracts since it opened in Louisiana. The program is housed at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and has four counseling centers around the state.
