Jindal bill vetoes include disclosure of contributors
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Gov. Bobby Jindal vetoed more bills Thursday, including one that would have required disclosure by the governor and other elected officials of their hiring or appointment of campaign contributors.
“I support the bill’s expansion of transparency, but have concern about a drafting error,” Jindal wrote in his veto message for House Bill 176.
But the bill’s sponsor said Thursday that there’s no error.
State Rep. Neil Abramson questioned Jindal’s commitment to “disclosure and transparency in the political process.”
HB176 was designed so the public could see whether “political jobs and appointments were political paybacks and patronage, or legitimate decisions. My bill was true transparency, real ethics reform and a good government bill,” the New Orleans Democrat said Thursday.
“Despite the amendments made to my bill to deal with the governor’s concerns, the final version of my bill can still be read to require the governor, himself, to make the disclosures and that unfortunately might be the ‘technical’ reason (for the veto),” Abramson said.
Abramson had filed similar legislation during Jindal’s February ethics special session. It died. He proposed the legislation again in the 2008 regular session and got it passed, including changes suggested by the Governor’s Office.
“My concern is the governor is for ethics reform and good government when it doesn’t apply to him,” Abramson said. “My bill applied to all elected officials across the board, yet my bill was singled out because it included the governor’s office.”
Under HB176, elected officials from voting districts having a population of 5,000 or more people would have been required to include on their annual disclosure report information about campaign contributors whom they later hire or appoint.
“By all accounts, including confirmation from (Abramson), the bill was intended to require that elected officials report information about their own contributors, not those of another elected official,” Jindal wrote.
Yet, he wrote, language in the proposed law “states otherwise” and could be read to require disclosure by officials of other officials’ hirings and appointments.
“I respectfully decline to sign into law a bill containing penalties based on an expectation that the individuals subject to those penalties will act according to what the Legislature intended, rather than what it plainly stated,” Jindal wrote.
Also Thursday, Jindal vetoed State Police-backed legislation that would have allowed an exception to state nepotism laws when it involved the hiring of police cadets.
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You look up all of Jindal's appointees at followthemoney.com - and find that they all donated money to Jindal's campaigns. These are just the ones under their names, many are listed under the appointee's businesses, employees, or family member's names. No wonder he doesn't want to disclose this information. He is appointing his CRONIES left and right.
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At some point, hopefully folks will wake up and realize that this supposed emphasis on ethics by Jindal is a sham! In fact, he's set ethics enforcement and administration back considerably, by removing the power of the Board to hear and decide cases, and by raising the burden of proof to show a violation....two things that any lawyer will tell you help the accused elected official. And now the entire board, plus its administrator, has quit in protest. Governor Jindal's "focus" on ethics will make it harder to expose and punish elected officials who violate our laws...which of course is precisely the point. So please don't be surprised when you see him veto a bill like this -- the LAST thing Bobby Jindal wants is more sunshine and ethics enforcement in government...particularly his corner of the government. The child emperor is buck naked (and he's very, very small...or maybe it's just very very cold?)
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If our former governor (Blanco) did this - there would be a rush on the mansion to hang her!!
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We never had a Board of Ethics.
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Jindal will see this bill again, if for no reason other than the pay raise veto. Thanks to burke for the followthemoney.com reference. Sure looks like the bloom is off the rose and the crooked grin isn't working anymore for the Gov.
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I am tired of Jindal's attitude and indifference to those of us in the gay community.
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Jindal's political banner should read......REFORMulation of Old Politics
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He's just another crook in Louisiana.
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Let's not forget the process folks. Now the leaders of the house and senate can call a thier own special session for the purpose of overriding this veto. If they don't, they are just as guilty as young Bobby. Are we willing to put the same amount of pressure on them now to do what we want as we did regarding the raise?
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Bobby, you're working really hard at being a one term governor....
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followthemoney.com is just an ad site for Capital One
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The contributions are only legalized bribes, especially to get the legislators to vote in their favor. A previous story reported on disclosure of some legislators income related to gaming and there were so many bills in this past legislature on gaming issues. Wonder how those legislators voted on those bills?, I'm sure in their favor. I feel quite sure that the governor and other elected officials have hired contributors. It stinks, but that's the way they work.
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Here we go again. Mr. Jindal, you are letting us down. This bill is a no-brainer and of course huge contributors should not be automatically rewarded with jobs. This is what's known as government for sale--the exact thing he said he would root out. What's up, governor?
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Jindal has LIED, and that is That!!! No one can ever resurrect themselves from the flames of having lied and everyone knew and knows it!!! The people of this state must REMEMBER these lies about first of all, the Legislators' Raises, which he finally vetoed, and secondly, he was definitely against doing away with the Stelly Tax Plan, then he "turned around" and favored it, and even claimed it as one of his accomplishments, but, OH, too Late, Jindal, you are on your way for the third and last strike---just one more LIE, which I'm sure you've already done, but it is just that I have no immediated knowledge of it, but there will be more LIES, citizens and voters of this state---JUST YOU WATCH WHAT I SAY!!! Sidney Touchet...
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