Gov. Bobby Jindal entered the Fourth of July weekend by issuing a handful of vetoes from the recent regular session. Jindal now has 77 vetoes to his name, of which 16 were doled out this year. That figure far surpasses the 43 vetoes dished out during the four-year term of his predecessor, former Gov. Kathleen Blanco. It is already close to the 79 vetoes issued by former Gov. Mike Foster during his eight years in office. If Jindal, poised for re-election, wants to move up the ladder further, he’ll need to get cracking. Ex-governor and potential reality TV star Edwin Edwards had 254 during his 12 years in office. Late Gov. Dave Treen had 222 vetoes. Current presidential candidate Gov. Buddy Roemer chalked up 145 during his one term.
None of those predecessors, though, can touch Jindal in another exercise of veto power. During his first regular session in 2008, Jindal set his own gubernatorial record by issuing 258 line-item vetoes in House Bill 1, the state’s budget. That was more than any other previous governor in history, and Jindal’s press team promoted the fact far and wide. Jindal took his pen to the budget this year as well. This time, the governor issued 16 line-item vetoes. —Jeremy Alford
