AG refuses to enter debate over La. budget tactics

Attorney General Buddy Caldwell’s office isn’t lodging an opinion about whether Gov. Bobby Jindal’s budgeting tactics are in line with the state constitution, according to a letter released today. Rep. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, was notified that the attorney general’s office declined to rule on whether the state budget uses unconstitutional sources of financing. The letter was in response to a request from Talbot and 18 other members of the Louisiana House who criticize Jindal’s use of one-time, piecemeal funding to pay for continuing government programs. Assistant Attorney General Richard McGimsey says the attorney general’s office wouldn’t render an opinion because the office would be required to defend the budget in court if a lawsuit challenged it. “All laws passed by the legislature are presumed constitutional and it is the role of the Attorney General to defend the constitutionality of such laws,” McGimsey writes in the letter to Talbot. McGimsey also says the attorney general’s office doesn’t generally offer an opinion when a lawsuit appears imminent, which McGimsey adds seems likely in the budget dispute. The refusal to render an opinion keeps the Republican Caldwell from wading into a debate that has divided members of the GOP. The full story is available here.