BATON ROUGE - Louisiana closed the books on the last budget year with a $313 million deficit.

That's the figure Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne says will be presented to lawmakers Friday.

Dardenne says Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration hasn't yet decided how to deal with the shortfall, which is from the budget year that ended June 30.

But state agencies and public colleges have been told to prepare for cuts that could reach as much as 7 percent to 10 percent of their state general fund financing. For the LSU System, a 7 percent cut could top $24 million, for example.

Dardenne says the administration is looking at possible use of Louisiana's "rainy day" fund to close some of the gap. But he says that won't be enough and cuts will be needed.