House committee advances state budget

By: QUINN MARCEAUX LSU Manship School News Service BATON ROUGE -- The House Appropriations Committee advanced a $49.4 billion state budget Monday that funds $2,000 teacher stipends for next year, closes a nearly $200 million shortfall and balances the books without raising taxes. To bridge the budget gap, lawmakers pieced together a solution using a mix of cuts, delayed spending and the disco...