Fifty-one jobs and $44.6 million would be moved into a department that will have a nearly $9 billion budget and 7,000 employees in the 2012-13 fiscal year that begins July 1.

Previous attempts at such a merger have failed to gain traction among lawmakers. Members of the Appropriations Committee — which opened its budget hearings Tuesday — raised concerns about the idea.

"We really haven't had, I guess, an adequate explanation as to why," said Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Napoleonville.

Jindal's chief financial architect, Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater, said the office move won't reduce services, would make operations more efficient and could generate additional federal health care money for senior citizen programs.

"To us it made good operational sense. I can understand the concern because it is new," Rainwater said. But he told the committee, "The budget is not going to be cut."

Lawmakers said the office was broken off from DHH years ago because the senior citizen programs didn't get enough attention in the huge department.

"This was underneath the health department, and it was a mess," said Rep. James Armes, D-Leesville. "That's the reason it was transferred back."

"Yes, sir," agreed Manuel, who previously worked at DHH. "It didn't work."

The Office of Elderly Affairs works with local senior centers, community service organizations and volunteer programs to provide assistance with meals, transportation, counseling and personal care for senior citizens.

DHH released a letter of support from AARP Louisiana backing the merger of the Office of Elderly Affairs into the department's Office of Aging and Adult Services. In it, the organization calls the move a "unique opportunity to improve the financing and delivery of services and supports to the older adults of this state," saying it would better coordinate services.

The Appropriations Committee will spend weeks combing through Jindal's spending proposals for the 2012-13 year before voting on its version of next year's budget.

Lawmakers raised questions Tuesday about Jindal's plans to privatize more health services for the developmentally disabled and to transfer money from dedicated funds to general operating expenses.

Rep. Rogers Pope, R-Denham Springs, objected to statements from Rainwater that the elementary and secondary education funding formula has been repeatedly increased under the Jindal administration. Pope said those increases were mainly tied to growth in student enrollment.

Rep. Helena Moreno, D-New Orleans, noted the governor's spending plans assume $35 million from the sale of the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital to plug into the public hospitals' budget. She questioned whether the administration could count on the sale, which isn't yet complete.

"We feel very confident we have an interested buyer," Rainwater said.

The chairman of the committee, Rep. Jim Fannin, D-Jonesboro, told the governor's homeland security director that more efforts need to be made to consolidate emergency response programs in Louisiana.