House Plans to Debate $25B Budget for Next Year

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The Louisiana House expects to spend much of the day Thursday debating next year's $25 billion budget.

The spending plans would pay for agency operating expenses and programs in the new fiscal year that begins July 1.

At issue among conservative lawmakers is how much one-time money they want to patch into the budget, versus how deeply they want to cut. On the chopping block and most vulnerable to further reductions are health care services and public college programs.

The budget proposal contains an estimated $270 million in one-time money to pay for continuing programs and services, according to an analysis by the Legislative Fiscal Office.