Rivaling the smoldering Baton Rouge heat, debate over what to do with the state budget is reaching its boiling point in the last few days of the 2009 legislative session. Gov. Bobby Jindal said at a news conference Monday he is willing to restore $200 million to next year’s budget for health care and higher education — a move that may spark a compromise between the bickering House and Senate.Since the session started two months ago, disagreements on how (or if) to restore money to higher education have run rampant at the Capitol. Jindal’s original $28.7 billion state spending budget had higher education taking a $219 million cut in order to make up for an expected $1.3 billion drop in revenue next year. The state Senate sought ways to restore the cuts to public colleges and universities, proposing the use of the rainy day fund and dollars generated from an income tax break delay to fill the gaps. The Louisiana House, meanwhile, proposed the use of a tax amnesty program to restore only part of the cuts, forcing the state to tighten its belt and review its expenses. Jindal vowed last week to strip $278 million from the state’s budget because the money is tied to the passage of legislation he doesn’t agree with. Among that legislation is SB 335, which would delay a planned income tax break to generate $118 million to restore a large chunk of higher education’s expected cuts. Senate President Joel Chaisson, D-Destrehan, recently proposed a resolution that would take $256 million out of the state’s rainy day fund — formally known as the Budget Stabilization Fund — and spread the funds across three years for budget relief. But Jindal’s plan only uses $86 million from the rainy day fund and draws the rest from other places — including $75 million from the expired Louisiana Incentive Program fund, $20 million from the Medicaid Trust Fund for the Elderly, $18.5 million from incentive money the Shaw Group vowed to return to the state and $5 million in unused money from a college scholarship fund. Jindal said he wants to use the one-time funds to restore $70 million to higher education, making their cuts $149 million if the plan is supported by the House and Senate. The session ends Thursday at 6 p.m. The University’s budget plan is expected to be released this week, but a bill that increases graduate school tuition gained two-thirds Senate approval Monday, sending the legislation to the House for final approval.  The University supports HB 872.The bill, by Rep. Hollis Downs, R-Ruston, allows colleges to raise tuition by up to $30 dollars per credit hour. That means a student taking 15 hours per semester may see a $900 hike in tuition starting July 1.Under the bill, veterinary school tuition at the University would increase by up to $1,500 a year and the state’s master’s of business administration programs by up to $2,000 a year. Dentistry and law school programs are not included in the bill, but the LSU Health Science Center is included.—–Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]