Senate panel restores $340 million to state budget cut by House
by Jeff Adelson - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE -- A Senate panel plugged about $340 million back into Louisiana's budget Monday, rejecting cuts demanded by the House that would have fallen heavily on higher education and health-care services. The Senate Finance Committee also signed off on using $204.7 million from Louisiana's "rainy day fund" to help close a $220 million shortfall in the current year's budget and restored money to keep the state Inspector General's office running. The additional money, which includes about $267.7 million in one-time money for recurring expenses that was stripped from the budget by House Republicans, could set the stage for a showdown between the two chambers as the session heads into the final week before mandatory adjournment June 4.