Louisiana Voice

            After all the hoopla in the State Capitol over legislators’ piling spending projects into HB-76, Gov. Bobby Jindal ended up vetoing only 32 of those projects, according to the eight-page veto message released by the governor’s office. That represents only 7.3 percent of the 438 individual spending projects.

            Legislators went on their annual spending spree, pouring $33 million in appropriations for local projects that included museums, sidewalks, water and sewer systems, automobile purchases, fire districts, recreational facilities, and even maintenance for a privately-owned cemetery. Jindal, who has consistently advocated restraint in reckless spending, however, could bring himself to slash only $1.8 million, or 5.5 percent, from the bill.

            Several legislators complained that Jindal was being vindictive in cutting expenditures in the districts of legislators who opposed parts of his legislative agenda this year, including an effort to open records in the governor’s office to public scrutiny. The governor’s vetoes, however, were no different than in other years with other governors. Some, however, felt the cuts could—and should—have been even deeper given the state’s dire economic forecasts.

            Appropriations that survived Jindal’s veto pen that may seem questionable included:

• $150,000 for the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame and Museum in Winnfield;
• $25,000 for economic development studies for an airport for Livingston Parish (the northern part of Livingston is only about 10 miles from Baton Rouge’s Ryan Airport);
• $20,000 for fairground cattle fences in Vernon Parish;
• $30,000 for rehabilitation of the privately owned J.S. Clark Cemetery in Ouachita Parish;
• $250,000 for construction of an animal shelter in St. Charles Parish;
• $250,000 to the city of Westwego for the Performing Arts Center;
• $200,000 for Phase I of converting a high school gym to a community center in Marksville.

Jindal’s vetoes included the following projects:

• $20,000 for the Eddie Robinson Museum in Grambling;
• $75,000 for the Southern Forest Heritage Museum in Forest Hill;
• $100,000 for the Louisiana Council on the Social Status of Black Boys and Men in New Orleans;
• $40,000 for a grants program for festivals and cultural activities;
• $50,000 for Kent House Historical Site;
• $50,000 for Kent Plantation House;
• $21,560 to add a left turn lane on Sharp Road in Baton Rouge;
• $100,000 for the purchase of 1,461 beds at Winn Correctional Center;
• $100,000 for the purchase of 1,461 beds at Allen Correctional Center
• $75,000 for a nurse and a substance abuse counselor at J. Levy Dabadie Correctional Center;
• $20,000 for the Rapides Children’s Advocacy Center;
• $50,000 for repairs to the Lake End Park and Swamp Gardens in Morgan City;
• $15,000 for the East Baton Rouge Parish School system;
• $50,000 to install air filling equipment at a fire station in Algiers;
• $10,000 each to the towns of Homer and Haynesville;
• $300,000 to fund the Algiers Development District;
• $45,000 for the Terrytown Volunteer Fire Department;
• $300,000 for the City of New Orleans Westbank Redevelopment;
• $82,000 for the City of Baton Rouge;
• $6,000 for the Odyssey House of Louisiana, Inc. in New Orleans;
• $50,000 for Camp Minden;
• $30,000 for the City of Springhill for a portable generator;
• $20,000 for street and water equipment for the Town of Cullen;
• $20,000 to purchase a police car for the Town of Sarepta;
• $15,000 each for Main Street Programs for the towns of Minden and Springhill;
• $45,000 for infrastructure improvements for the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office;
• $50,000 for cultural programs for the City of Alexandria;
• $35,000 for sickle cell health care services for the City of Alexandria;
• $7,500 for Kingsley House in LaPlace;
• $25,000 for a walking track for the City of Cankton.

So, as the state continues down the slippery slope toward next year’s deficit projected to be $2 billion or $3 billion by this time next year, the legislature continues to earmark money already in short supply to fund charities, municipalities and parishes and other non-governmental organizations.

            The casual observer might wonder why lawmakers continue to spend like a drunken sailor while others could point out the difference is that a drunken sailor quits spending when he runs out of money.