BATON ROUGE - After the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation arrested a non-profit leader for using state money for personal expenses, state officials want to add oversight.

Over the years, the state has spent billions of dollars on organizations outside of the state government, and now a report found that money had been misspent, and the governor’s office wants protections put in place.

In 2025, the state approved $75,000 for Divine Kingdom Ministries in Caddo Parish for academic support and life skills training. Then last month, the LBI arrested the non-profit’s director, 35-year-old Jazmine King, following an investigation into a $37,000 advance. According to the Attorney General’s office, King was charged with felony theft and filing false public records.

House Appropriations Committee chair Jack McFarland says the incident sheds light on a system that needs more oversight.

"We are not going to allow individuals in Louisiana, operating as a non-governmental organization, to receive state funding and act anything less than appropriate and legal,” McFarland said.

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office compiled a thick list of non-governmental organizations that receive money from the state, and now the Governor’s Office wants to make sure money is spent responsibly.

A representative for the LLA says that from 2022 through 2025, the state has given $2.3 billion to non-governmental entities.

A separate report from the State Inspector General recommends that Treasurer John Fleming put up guardrails to reduce fraud, waste and abuse. They recommend deeper background checks on organizations, along with other suggestions.