BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Higher education leaders urged lawmakers Monday to maintain Gov. Bobby Jindal’s plan for a new $40 million incentive fund to steer money to high-demand degree and job training programs.

The dollars are included in Jindal’s 2014-15 budget recommendations for the fiscal year that begins July 1. But lawmakers in the House are questioning whether the state can afford the creation of a new program while state finances remain tight.