Panel: We'll take a raincheck
by Mike Hasten - News Star (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE — State senators said Monday that a $211 million hole in the current year's budget has to be filled and with almost no place to make cuts, there's little choice where to find the money.

The Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 128 by its chairman, Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville, that takes $204.7 million out of the Budget Stabilization Fund, commonly referred to as the "Rainy Day Fund," and sent it to the full Senate for consideration Thursday.

The constitution allows drawing out one-third of the proceeds of the fund, which at this time is more than $600 million. The fiscal year ends June 30 and most state agencies have spent all of their funds appropriated for the year.