Jindal Proposes Mix Of Cuts, One-time Fixes To Close Deficit

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. Bobby Jindal is proposing to use $43 million in stopgap funds and nearly $61 million in cuts to close the state's latest budget deficit this year.

The Jindal administration released its budget rebalancing plan Friday. Lawmakers will consider the recommendations on Feb. 20.

Jindal wants to shift dollars from a gaming enforcement fund to plug budget holes elsewhere, drain the remaining dollars from a nursing home trust fund and tap into other one-time pools of available cash to lessen the depth of cuts.

But cuts also will be spread across most agencies. Only public colleges were spared reductions in this latest round of slashing.

The more than $103 million midyear deficit stems from falling oil prices. The gap must be closed before the fiscal year ends June 30.