Trimming fat: Before signing the state’s capital outlay budget from the second special session, Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed more than $44 million in state-funded projects from the bill that contains about $1.6 billion in general obligation bond appropriations, his office announced today. In a statement, Edwards says he wanted to eliminate over-budgeting and force lawmakers to take a realistic approach to the state’s project list. “For too long, the capital outlay process gave false hope to the people of Louisiana that construction dollars were on the way when, in fact, they were not,” Edwards says. “I’ve promised to budget openly and honestly with the people of Louisiana, and this capital outlay bill is representative of that approach.” See the full list of vetoed items.
Election spat: Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler is taking issue with comments Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser made in Monroe on Monday alleging Democrats bus people to polls outside their allotted precinct during early voting, where they are allowed to vote after only filling out “a piece of paper.” Schedler calls Nungesser’s statement “irresponsible” and says what the lieutenant governor is describing is impossible to execute in Louisiana. “After having been elected twice as Secretary of State, I think the Lt. Governor, who is only six months into his term, should know to defer to me when it comes to the complex arena of election law,” Schedler says in a statement. The News Star in Monroe has the story from the event in which Nungesser made his statements.
New gig: Former Gov. Bobby Jindal has been named to the board of directors for Cotton Holdings Inc., the company announced today in a news release. The company touted Jindal’s experience as a two-term governor and how he set out to “rebuild and diversify the state’s economy and financial footing in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.” Cotton Holdings provides a myriad of services to public and private entities following natural disasters and for large-scale work projects in the oil and petrochemical field. “I am confident that Bobby’s vast expertise and depth of knowledge of government, coupled with his extensive commercial experience, will add tremendous value to the company and, ultimately, our shareholders,” says Pete Bell, founder and CEO of Cotton Holdings in a statement. See the full release.
