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Update on Gov. Jindal’s Slush Fund Vetoes

By: Steve Maley (Diary)  |  July 15th, 2008 at 03:25 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Gov. Jindal has vetoed $16 million of $53 million total “slush fund” legislative grants.

The 258 vetoes in House Bill 1, the state’s nearly $30 billion operating budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year, is more than double the combined number of line-item vetoes in the past 12 years. Coupled with Jindal’s veto of $9.3 million in spending from a previous budget bill, they suggest the new governor is serious about curbing a cherished legislative tradition of sprinkling the budget with items for constituents, often with little or no oversight.

While critics have long derided such earmarks as pork-barrel spending, defenders say they pay for critical needs that otherwise wouldn’t be financed. Gone is money targeted for museums, church groups, festivals, youth programs, nonprofit groups and economic development initiatives, including millions of dollars for the New Orleans area.

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  • aaronbg

    …the taxpayers will cheer and the tax collectors will jeer…as it should be!!

    and rec’d of course as well.

  • BrianH

    We need more guys like Jindal in the public eye. Nothing like an honest cost cutting person to boost the perception of the party!

  • Herodotus

    What is the deal with the remaining $37 million in slush funds?

  • bk

    Jindal said the cuts are in keeping with promises he made as a candidate and an April 30 letter he sent to lawmakers outlining new criteria for steering state money to “non-governmental entities.” In that letter, Jindal said he would veto any such spending that has not been publicly vetted and does not have a substantial statewide or regional impact.

    But Sen. John Alario, D-Westwego, said the governor went beyond his stated criteria by vetoing money for local governments that would have paid for things such as playground equipment. “I think they’ve gone farther than what the ground rules were, ” Alario said. “If you’re playing a game, you ought to play by the rules.”

    I’m not sure how playground equipment would have a substantial statewide or regional impact. Shouldn’t local entities fill strictly local needs? Seems like he IS following these rules, while some legislators would prefer business as usual.