On Monday, Governor Jindal spoke to the Baton Rouge press club, outlining the multi-year nature of the fiscal challenges facing the state and previewing his reform agenda for the Legislative session.

Here's the opening of the story in The Times-Picayune today:

Warning that the state's budget crunch is likely to get worse before it gets better, Gov. Bobby Jindal on Monday cautioned legislators against restoring money he is seeking to cut because it would only create bigger problems in the years ahead.

Jindal said the $1.3 billion drop in state general-fund revenue forecast for the 2009-10 budget year pales in comparison to the budget problems the state will face next year and in 2011-12, when the federal economic stimulus payments run out.

"We need to remember that we are facing a multiyear budget challenge," Jindal told the Press Club of Baton Rouge.

As a result, lawmakers need to permanently downsize a state government that grew rapidly during the post-Katrina economic boom, Jindal said. "If we choose to ignore our budget challenges this year, we will see continued budget challenges next year and even greater problems down the road," he said.

But, as the Monroe News Star reports, the Governor stressed that cooperation will be necessary during the session:

Gov. Bobby Jindal said the problems facing the state this year will only worsen in the future, so he and the Legislature must work together to find solutions….

"We will work with legislators," Jindal said. "We want their support in making these changes."

Most lawmakers agree with the governor's proposal for reshaping the budget process so higher education and health care are not the only big-ticket items subject to cuts.

Read the whole story here.