BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) " Gov. John Bel Edwards is circulating a list of more than $600 million in budget cuts that he says his administration has made during its two years in office.
The Democratic governor is trying to bolster his argument that he's reduced some government spending to fill gaps, as he asks lawmakers to replace $1 billion in expiring taxes.
But Republican lawmakers say the Edwards cut list is inflated.
More than one-third of the items are one-time cuts that don't yield permanent state savings. Other items are counted twice, for each budget year Edwards has been in office.
Republicans say part of the tally appears to involve delayed payments to health providers that care for Medicaid patients " an obligation that remains owed and has to be paid in the future.