FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 18, 2008
Contact: Michael DiResto, 225-342-7000

Commissioner Davis names Directors of Budget Policy and Management, Legislative Services, and Accountability and Research

Baton Rouge - Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis today announced that Ray Stockstill will continue to serve as Director of Budget Policy and Management, and named John Carpenter as Director of Legislative Services, and Steven Procopio as Director of Accountability and Research at the Division of Administration.

'It's just a major asset to be able to rely on the extraordinary level of experience and expertise represented in these members of my leadership team,' said Davis. 'I am confident they will contribute greatly in implementing major reforms to make Louisiana government, and government spending, more responsive, transparent, and accountable to the taxpayers.'

On his first full day in office Governor Bobby Jindal signed two Executive Orders, a limited statewide government hiring freeze, and a sweeping call to improve the level of transparency and accountability throughout government, which the division will serve an integral role in implementing.

Ray L. Stockstill, 64, of Baton Rouge, has served as the Director of Budget Policy and Management for the division since 2005. Stockstill has worked for the division since 1976 in various positions within the Office of Planning and Budget, including Deputy State Budget Director and State Budget Director. The Office of Planning and Budget has primary responsibility for the execution of performance-based budgeting in the Executive Branch of Louisiana state government, including development, monitoring and control of the annual operating budget. Stockstill is a member of the National Association of State Budget Officers, having served on the Executive Committee, and as Committee Chair for the Committee on Tax, Commerce, Physical Resources and Transportation. He holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from LSU.

Prior to joining the division, John D. Carpenter, 60, a Northeast Louisiana native of Winnsboro, served as the Budget and Policy Officer of the Office of Budget, Policy and Disaster Recovery in the Louisiana House of Representatives. In that capacity, Carpenter also served as staff director for the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget and as a participant on the Revenue Estimating Conference, a position he held from the inception of the conference.

Previously, Carpenter worked in the Fiscal Division of House Legislative Services for the House of Representatives for 24 years, where he twice served as director. During his career he has also been active in the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC), as well as a member of the National Association of Legislative Fiscal Officers. He was appointed by several Speakers of the House to membership to the SLC Fiscal Affairs and Government Operations Committee.

Carpenter's past work experience has included service on the Economic Estimating Conference, including being the first chairman of the conference. He also served as principal staff to the House Special Committee on Disaster Planning, Crisis Management, Recovery and Long Term Revitalization and the Steering Committee for the special committee.

Carpenter holds a bachelor of science in accounting from Louisiana Tech University and a juris doctorate from the Louisiana State University Law School.

Steven T. Procopio, 36, who grew up in Alexandria, joins the division from the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, where he held the same position of Director of Research and Accountability. Previously, Procopio served as the Director of the LSU Public Policy Research Lab, where he conducted research on a variety of policy issues and oversaw a research lab of three full-time employees, 12 graduate students, and 90 student workers. </ br>Procopio has also served as Manager of the Advance Planning and Research Division, and Coordinator of the Land Use and Special Studies Section of the East Baton Rouge City-Parish Planning Commission. Procopio has also taught upper-level courses in public administration and government at Southeastern Louisiana University and Indiana University, and has published four public policy research papers and presented more than a dozen papers at academic conferences. For his work with the SGA on hurricane response efforts, Procopio earned the 2005-2006 LSU SGA Faculty of the Year Service Award.

Procopio holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Indiana University, and a B.A. and M.A. in Political Science from Louisiana State University.