Lawmakers hammer away at budget
by Jan Moller and Ed Anderson - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE -- The two-month legislative session is heading into its final days with key pieces of the budget puzzle still unfinished, but with leaders in both chambers optimistic that a deal can be struck before adjournment. While the $28 billion state operating budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year has already been sent to the governor, the Senate Finance Committee met Sunday to approve some of the smaller budget bills that are still pending. One of them -- House Bill 881 by Rep. Jim Fannin, D-Jonesboro -- was overhauled in committee to restore much of the money that the governor has said he plans to veto from the budget bill.