Gov. Bobby Jindal aims to cut Louisiana state budget into shape
by Jeff Adelson - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Baton Rouge -- Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration is planning to fill a $210.5 million shortfall in revenue this year solely through cuts and consolidation even as legislators are warming to the idea of using the state's "rainy day fund" to keep the state in the black through the end of June. The Division of Administration will propose a plan that focuses on restructuring and streamlining government agencies, "accelerating what we're already doing," Commissioner Paul Rainwater said Friday. The division, which is meeting with Cabinet members, departments and legislators to work out a bill, is focused on reductions that "protect critical services," Rainwater said. But concerns about the impact such deep cuts would have, and the ability to close the gap in two months remaining in the state's fiscal year, has House members from both parties looking toward tapping the rainy day fund, officially known as the Budget Stabilization Fund.