TOPS the priority as House lawmakers work on the budget

BATON ROUGE - As House lawmakers work to craft their version of next year's budget, House leaders say the main focus is on protecting the state's TOPS free college tuition program from cuts.
To help close a $600 million gap, Gov. John Bel Edwards proposed to only provide about one-third of the approximately $300 million needed to fully cover tuition costs for all eligible students in the financial year that begins July 1.
About $183 million more would be needed to fully fund the program, which i