Louisiana House and Senate reach budget compromise; Jindal says he will sign off on plan
Louisiana House and Senate negotiators have struck a deal on the state budget with less than 24 hours left in this year's legislative session. The final version of the $25 billion spending plan includes a pay increase for teachers and additional funding for school districts, a pair of bills aimed at overhauling the state's budget process in future years and a series of measures increasing revenues through trimming tax breaks and instituting a temporary tax amnesty.
The agreement has the support of the nine negotiators and Gov. Bobby Jindal, but has not yet been presented to the full membership of the chambers. Representatives said they would be bringing the plan to their delegations Wednesday night and were optimistic that a budget would be approved by the end of the session at 6 p.m. Thursday.
The deal retains many of the key proposals by many of the groups in the House, including Democrats, a group of Republicans known as the fiscal hawks and the Legislative Black Caucus
"We achieved the principal goals of each of those groups," Democratic Caucus Chairman John Bel Edwards of Amite said.
More at http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/06/louisiana_house_and_senate_rea.html#incart_river_default .