The Louisiana House voted 69-25 today in favor of agreeing with changes the state Senate made to the operating budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year. That means HB 1 – the state’s $28.7 billion budget – now heads to Gov. Bobby Jindal for final approval. Many lawmakers wanted to keep debate going on the bill, prompting a lengthy debate. With two weeks left in the session, many felt the decision to concur with Senate changes was rushed. If the House voted to not concur with the Senate, the bill could have been sent to a conference committee, where differences between the Senate and House would have been debated and eventually worked out. The Senate added $118 million to HB 1 for higher education, using a tax break delay in order to get the funds. But that means the budget is now not balanced.Jindal could strip the money away from the budget in order to balance it, meaning higher education will be looking at about $170 million in cuts. The House included a tax amnesty program in the bill that would restore about $50 million to higher education. The 2009-10 fiscal year starts July 1. —-Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]