Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal eliminated $16.1 million from the state’s operating budget on Monday with his veto of 258 local projects sponsored by legislators.
The line-item vetoes took the projects out of HB 1, the $30 billion budget bill. The measure had contained $53 million to fund efforts by nongovernmental organizations — including festivals, museums, neighborhood groups, and churches — before the governor’s action.
Jindal said he had made it clear he would veto projects unless they had a statewide or substantial regional impact and had been openly discussed during the legislative session.
“During the session, I laid out criteria for legislators to let them know that we would support those projects which were state priorities, but would veto state funding for projects that were not,” the governor said in his veto message.
Jindal’s 258 vetoes are more than double the vetoes for all the state’s previous 12 budgets combined. The previous occupant of the office, Gov. Kathleen Blanco, used her line-item veto power 39 times during her four years in office. Her predecessor, Gov. Mike Foster, had 81 line-item vetoes over eight years.
Expenditures eliminated by Jindal’s veto include $250,000 for the Knock Knock Children’s Museum in Baton Rouge, $80,000 to the Livingston Outdoor Sports Association Inc., and $45,000 for the Louisiana Arts and Science Museum.
The state constitution calls for a veto session of five days after the regular session but lawmakers have always voted to cancel it. If held, this year’s veto session would begin Aug. 2.
