Senate panel juggles funding
by MICHELLE MILLHOLLON - Advocate (excerpt)

While other legislators celebrate Memorial Day, members of the Senate Finance Committee will be at the State Capitol deciding which side to take in a political battle. At issue is a struggle between Gov. Bobby Jindal and self-described “fiscal conservatives” in the Louisiana House on state government’s long-standing practice of using one-time money to pay bills that must be met year after year.

One-time money is funding that likely will materialize once. With state revenue in a slump, the governor wants to sell a hospital, use settlement proceeds and vaccum leftover dollars from funds scattered across state government to meet the state’s obligations, including providing health care to the poor.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to side with the governor by restoring at least some of the one-time money to House Bill 1, the $25 billion proposed state operating budget for the fiscal year that begins in July.