Lawmakers complained about—but didn’t reverse—$61 million in cuts that Gov. Bobby Jindal levied across state agencies to close a midyear deficit.
The Associated Press reports members of the Legislature’s joint budget committee raised objections Friday to reductions to state parks, agriculture programs and health care services. But they couldn’t get enough support from colleagues to derail the cuts.
However, lawmakers did stall part of Jindal’s plan to use stopgap financing to offset deeper slashing, including a proposal to shift $6 million from road work to state police operations. The Jindal administration will rework the plan for consideration at a later meeting.
The deficit is tied to the impact of falling oil prices. It’s the second deficit to emerge in the $25 billion budget for the year that ends June 30.
