Oil Price Boom Not Expected To Bail Out La.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Though oil prices are hovering around $100 per barrel as unrest in Libya threatens supply levels, Louisiana officials don't expect the price spikes to be the savior of Louisiana's budget.

The Legislature's chief fiscal analyst, Greg Albrecht, said Friday that rising oil prices "are not going to fix us."

Louisiana has a $1.6 billion budget gap in the fiscal year that begins July 1st. Public colleges and health services are expected to be on the chopping block.

Oil prices would have to remain high for months upon months to register in Louisiana's income levels. Albrecht says an annual $1 increase in oil price equals about $12 million for state coffers, and he says oil prices aren't expected to stay at their present levels.