BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. Bobby Jindal's plan to close a $103 million midyear deficit with a mix of cuts and stopgap funds is coming before lawmakers for consideration.
The Legislature's joint budget committee decides Friday whether to support the plan, which cuts spending by $61 million and uses $43 million in piecemeal financing to account for the impact of falling oil prices.
If approved, more than 130 state workers will be laid off. Museum hours will shrink. Three state historic sites will close. Plans to expand a program that provides home-based aid to people with developmental disabilities will be scrapped.
It's the second deficit to emerge in the $25 billion budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30. The financial picture worsens next year, when the state faces a $1.6 billion shortfall.