Louisiana Representative Neil Abramson is speaking strongly against a veto (by Governor Bobby Jindal) of one of his bills dealing with ethics and appears to be questioning the Governor’s own ethics in the veto of the legislation.
On Thursday, Jindal vetoed HB 176.The Governor’s letter to the Clerk of the House of Representatives is below.Rep. Abramson forwarded a blistering statement to Bayoubuzz condemning the veto and apparently questioning the governor’s own ethics.Here is Rep. Abramson’s statement and the Governor's letter to the Clerk:
“I am extremely disappointed that Governor Jindal vetoed my house bill 176. Many people are questioning whether the Governor's ethics reform passed in the first special session was really ethics reform or not. This veto will perpetuate those questions. The lynchpin of the Governor's ethics reform package was to create disclosure and transparency in the political process. "To let the sunshine in." My bill required the disclosure of political appointments and jobs given by elected officials after they were elected to individuals who contributed to their campaign. This way 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. My bill passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate unanimously. The only opposition ever to this bill was from the Governor's office because the disclosure requirement applied to all elected officials, including the Governor, as well as other statewide elected officials, legislators and local officials. I worked with the Governor on the language of the this bill for five months going back to the first special session. The Governor says he vetoed the bill for some perceived technical reason which I do not believe the bill creates, nor had any representative, senator or staff member ever raised. Despite the amendments made to my bill to deal with the Governor's concerns, the final version of my bill can be read to still require the Governor, himself, to make the disclosures, and that unfortunately might be the "technical" reason. I think this veto sends the wrong message to the people of Louisiana. It tells the people that this bill is too much sunshine; that there is something to hide. This is a dark day for our efforts at true ethics reform. Representative Neil Abramson District 98”
BATON ROUGE – Today, Governor Bobby Jindal vetoed HB 176 and sent the following veto letter:
Honorable Alfred W. Speer
Clerk of the House of Representatives
State Capitol
Baton Rouge, LA70802
Re: House Bill No. 176 by Representative Abramson
Veto Message
Dear Mr. Speer:
House Bill No. 176 would create a new reporting requirement for elected officials “from a voting district having a population of five thousand or more persons,” i.e., all legislators and parish-wide elected officials, and many municipal officials. Each of these elected officials would be required to include on their annual disclosure report information about campaign contributors who they later hired or appointed. I support the bill’s expansion of transparency, but have concern about a drafting error in the proposed subsection B(2), at page 2, lines 1-7, which states:
The information required to be disclosed by this Subsection shall be filed each year as part of the elected official’s annual financial disclosure statement required by this Part and shall include only those persons who contributed or made a loan to a campaign or contributed to a gubernatorial transition or inauguration and who were hired or appointed within one year of the contribution or loan. This information shall be included in the report which covers the time period in which the employment or appointment occurred. (Emphasis added)
By all accounts, including confirmation from the author, the bill was intended to require that elected officials report information about their own contributors, not those of another elected official. Yet, this language states otherwise. It is doubtful that a court interpreting this provision would simply ignore the plain language of the statute. As stated by the Louisiana Supreme Court, “where the words of a statute are clear and free from ambiguity, they are not to be ignored under the pretext of pursuing their spirit.” State v. Shaw, 2006-2467, (La. 11/27/07), 976 So.2d 1233, citing R.S. 1:4.
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.
For this reason, I have vetoed HB 176 and hereby return it to the House of Representatives.
Very truly yours,
Bobby Jindal
Governor
Bayoubuzz Note:Bayoubuzz forwarded the Abramson statement to Melissa Sellers, the Governor’s press secretary and requested a response. Bayoubuzz has not received a response. Do you believe that the veto letter’s reasoning justifies the veto?Do you agree with Governor Jindal on this issue?Do you agree with Rep. Abramson?Discuss it below on our Buzzbacks.
Also, here is another veto by Governor Jindal today:
BATON ROUGE – Today, Governor Bobby Jindal vetoed HB 1171 and sent the following veto letter:
July 10, 2008
Honorable Alfred W. Speer
Clerk of the House of Representatives
State Capitol
Baton Rouge, LA70804
Re: House Bill No. 1171 by Representative Cromer
Veto Message
Dear Mr. Speer:
House Bill No. 1171 would create an exception to the ethics code’s nepotism rules. I do not see the need for this legislation. For this reason, I have vetoed HB 1171 and hereby return it to the House of Representatives.
