Boosted Judicial Budget Wins Final Legislative Passage

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — While lawmakers are still negotiating over budget cuts, the House and Senate have agreed to raise spending $3.5 million next year for the state judiciary.

The House voted 94-0 Tuesday to give final legislative passage to a $179.6 million budget that finances the Louisiana Supreme Court and other parts of the state judiciary for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Senators disagreed with the House decision to provide a standstill judicial budget and added more than half of the spending hike sought by the Supreme Court justices. The House vote approved the Senate increase, sending the beefed-up budget to Gov. Bobby Jindal.

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House Bill 801: www.legis.la.gov

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