02.10.12 Gov. Bobby Jindal proposed a $25.5 billion state operating budget Thursday that would close prisons, eliminate more than 6,000 positions and cut rates for healthcare providers who treat the poor.

The spending plan is studded with cuts, reductions and shifts toward privatization.

The White Castle ferry would close, many state workers’ paychecks would shrink to decrease the state’s retirement costs, hundreds would lose their jobs and an Avoyelles Parish prison would be sold.

The governor’s proposal is the starting point for a monthslong debate by the Legislature on how state government should manage its finances in the fiscal year that starts July 1. Changes can be made, and many of the proposals contained in the budget hinge on separate legislation.