Barbour: Budget plan will have gov't restructuring

The Associated Press

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JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says the budget proposal he'll release next Monday will include plans to restructure parts of state government.

The Republican says the cuts won't be "Draconian" for the fiscal year that begins next July 1. But he also says the state can't afford "business as usual" because of the struggling economy.

Barbour spoke Tuesday from Baghdad, where he and three other governors are visiting troops on a trip sponsored by the U.S. Defense Department.

The governor's budget presentation is one of several steps in preparing a state spending plan. Top lawmakers will release their own recommendations Dec. 2, then the full House and Senate will vote on a budget early next year.