For Immediate Release

DATE: JULY 18, 2008

BRENDA HODGE SENATE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATION

PHONE:  (225) 342-9737

SENATE SAYS NO TO VETO SESSION

  Senate President Joel Chaisson II announced today that 36 of 38 Senators have already sent in their ballots, just one day after receiving them, to cancel the veto session. By law the session was automatically set to begin August 2, 2008 unless legislators decided otherwise. A veto session can be cancelled with the consent of either 20 members of the Senate or 53 members of the House.

  "This was a bipartisan decision by an overwhelming majority of Senators," President Chaisson said, in praising his colleagues for their decision. "Each Senator recognized that there are more productive ways to address any differences of opinion with the Governor over his line-item vetoes in the General and Supplemental Appropriation bills than with a costly and time-consuming veto session."

  Chaisson did, however, express his frustration with the Governor's approach to dealing with legislators on projects in their districts. "He vetoed some very worthwhile projects that have a tremendous positive impact on the people they serve. To carelessly label all of the projects he vetoed as 'slush funds' is disrespectful not only to the citizens of this state who run those senior centers, youth programs, Habitat for Humanity organizations, and other worthwhile programs that help real people with real problems, but also to the constituencies they serve - not to mention to the legislators who worked so hard to address these significant needs in their districts."

  "As with any appropriations bill and as with any governor, there are always projects that warrant a governor issuing line-item vetoes, and this bill is no exception," President Chaisson said. "I respect the Governor's constitutional authority to use the line-item veto. However, the large number of vetoes, coupled with the complete lack of criteria for local government projects, the confusion over how the NGO 'regional impact' and 'state priority' criteria would be applied, and the fairly small fiscal impact (i.e. 1/20 of 1% of the state budget) suggests a failure of communication between the Governor's office and legislators that resulted in many vetoes which would have otherwise been avoided with appropriate attention during the session to the budgeting process and respect for the legislature's constitutional authority to appropriate funds."

  Despite his concerns over the Governor's approach to the line-item vetoes, Chaisson commended his colleagues for "taking a long-term view towards governing and recognizing that there are many more significant issues facing the state such as dealing with the required $1.8 billion state match for federal levees in Southeast Louisiana, addressing coastal erosion and the need to protect all of our communities along the coast, finding ways to solve our problems with healthcare and education, and strengthening our economy, especially in rural Louisiana."

  President Chaisson pledged to work with his colleagues to help the Governor understand the importance and the need to better communicate and work with the legislature to solve the many problems we face in the state. "I hope that the Governor will re-focus his attention on finding solutions to these Louisiana problems, in partnership with members of the legislature, who have been so instrumental to all of the successes we have enjoyed in the first three sessions of this term," President Chaisson said. "The Louisiana Senate will not take a back-seat when it comes to finding ways to improve and move this state forward."