Jindal skips separate inaugural fundraising effort

With flush campaign coffers and lower expenses, Gov. Bobby Jindal has this time forgone the separate fundraising that many past governors, including he himself, have used to drum up cash for their swearing-in ceremony and other inaugural festivities. Instead, Jindal is using his campaign account, which still contained millions after his election expenses were paid. That decision means donations will count toward the $5,000 cap on contributions per person for an election cycle, rather than allowing separate donations for both the inauguration and election. “Folks are just giving money to the campaign fund,” says Timmy Teepell, Jindal’s top political adviser, who is leading inauguration efforts, culminating Monday. “We set up a whole different legal structure last time. We did not do that this time because it’s a scaled-back inauguration and we don’t have the same level of expenses that’s geared toward a first term and transition.” Four years ago, Jindal spent $2 million, Teepell says. The costs didn’t just include the inauguration’s formal gala, swearing-in ceremony and festival, but also the office expenses, salaries and travel costs associated with starting a new administration from scratch. A nonprofit organization was set up to raise money, with a self-imposed $10,000 limit per donor, an amount above the cap allowed for campaign contributions. A law has since limited inaugural donations to $5,000 per person. Entering his second term, Jindal’s expenses are far less than at the start of his first term. He’s scrapped the inaugural festival and doesn’t have the transition costs. Teepell estimates the budget for the inauguration events at about $300,000. Read the full story by The Associated Press here.