House kills contribution disclosure bill

• By MARSHA SHULER
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Jun 4, 2009 - Page: 6A

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The House on Wednesday nixed inclusion of the governor and other statewide elected officials into a bill requiring disclosure of campaign contributions by those they appoint to government positions.

The House then later killed a “watered down” version of the disclosure bill when 38 representatives supported it while 60 opposed it.

The legislation got caught up in a crossfire between state Rep. Neil Abramson, D-New Orleans, who wanted all elected official to disclose contributor-appointees, and Gov. Bobby Jindal, who rejected the idea.

Opponents said the legislation — House Bill 243 — went too far and the information was available already through campaign finance reports although it would take a little digging to match up contributors with appointees.

Abramson said requiring the officials to file separate disclosure reports listing their appointees who contributed in excess of $1,000 would provide “greater transparency” and the information would be available in one place.

The House had — without a single no vote — approved legislation last year similar to what Abramson proposed to the House on Wednesday.

That bill won final legislative passage only to be vetoed by Jindal who cited a drafting error. In the veto message, Jindal said he liked the idea of transparency.

This time around Jindal intervened, getting a House committee to alter Abramson’s bill to exempt the governor and other statewide elected officials out of the reporting requirement.

Abramson asked the full House to restore the officials to the reporting for whom the panel had carved out an exception.

But the House rejected it on a lopsided vote.

State Rep. Mert Smiley, R-St. Amant, then asked the House to kill the bill, saying Abramson had gone back on his word not to try to change the House-passed legislation.

“This bill would have been killed,” said Smiley if Abramson had not made the pledge.

“It’s an issue unfortunately where there is a strong opponent to it — the governor,” said Abramson. “He is the only opponent to it. So be it. I think that good government and transparency doesn’t stop at the third floor. Everybody has a right to have access to the information.”