One of the more curious sessions of the Louisiana Legislature ended with an unusual cliffhanger, that being the legitimate possibility of what would have been a historic veto session. If called it would have been the first since the Louisiana Constitution was adopted in 1974.
The Constitution mandates a veto session be called but after each session legislators have annually voted via mail not to convene. However, this year the stakes were higher because of lingering antagonism over several of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s vetoes, perhaps the most controversial being a decision to remove funding for children and people with disabilities.
Perhaps equally as controversial was the governor’s veto of the surrogacy bill, which easily sailed through both houses despite opposition from the Legislature’s version of the odd couple: the Catholic Church and gay rights advocates. Currently, no laws exist regulating surrogacy, raising the possibility of abuse on both sides and leaving neither with any recourse.
Church officials, not surprisingly, were quite vocal in their opposition of the bill, authored by Sen. Gary Smith of Norco. But because the wording opened surrogacy to married couples and excluded same sex couples, gay rights groups formed the unusual alliance with the church.
Depending on one’s perspective, always fluid in politics, rejection of the veto session was either a victory for Jindal and his policies or the opening salvo in next year’s legislative battle.
One certainty is unrest in the House, where Democrats and Republican Fiscal Hawks have formed another odd coalition in opposing a portion of Jindal’s spending policies. Raising the ire of the so-called Fiscal Hawks is the governor’s continuing use of one-time spending to fund recurring expenses.
That issue will likely spark even more heated debate when legislators convene next spring. For now, let the out-of-session bartering begin.