What started as a tough week at the Legislature for the Jindal administration got progressively worse, ending with a bombshell dropped by Sen. David Vitter that challenges the governor’s vision of a $1.2 billion medical complex in New Orleans. Vitter, House Speaker Jim Tucker and Treasurer John Kennedy released the letter they sent to Gov. Bobby Jindal, calling on him to shelve plans for a 424-bed University Medical Center in favor of building a scaled-down 250-bed hospital and buying Tulane University’s downtown hospital and its Jefferson Parish campus. The three insist their plan could be completed expeditiously with the current $775 million on hand and without need to borrow an additional $300 million to $400 million. The borrowing would require Joint Budget Committee approval, which already appears shaky. UMC Chairman Bobby Yarborough responded quickly by inviting the three to present their proposal at the next board meeting. The governor did not offer a response.
They said it: “That was a card played from the bottom of the deck.” —Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Marksville, on Jindal administration claims that prisons would close if they are not sold, in The Times-Picayune
(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)
Today’s poll question: Which is the best idea for the University Medical Center in New Orleans?
