What was billed as a historic veto-override session ended after only two days as the Louisiana legislature failed to override any of Gov. John Bel Edwards’ vetoes of 28 bills during the 2021 session.
Among the observers supporting the veto-override session was the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, which wanted to see Edwards’ veto of House Bill 38 overturned. HB 38 would have imposed fiscal transparency requirements on the state’s school districts.
“Much like many of the instruments being discussed in the override session, it will come down to one or two votes,” Pelican spokesman Ryan Roberts told the Louisiana Record in an email prior to the end of this week’s session, “but the opportunity to provide fiscal transparency for billions of dollars that are spent through local school boards is too important to pass up.”
Louisiana school districts are scheduled to get $3.9 billion in state Minimum Foundation Program funds, as well as $4 billion in federal funds through the American Rescue Plan, Roberts said.
“The least government can do is tell taxpayers where they are spending their tax dollars,” he said. “The rest of the state government is required to post financial information on the Louisiana Checkbook website, so school districts should be required to show their work as well.”
During the regular legislative session, HB 38 was approved by the state Senate by a margin that fell short of a two-thirds majority, making its veto-override prospects uncertain.
The momentum for continuing the veto-override session seemed to peter out Wednesday in the wake of House Republicans’ failure to garner a two-thirds vote to override legislation that would have banned transgender girls from taking part in school sports.
“The vote to override Gov. Edwards’ veto of the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act fell two votes short today,” House Speaker Clay Schexnayder said in a prepared statement on Wednesday. “While I am frustrated by the result, I am encouraged by the fact that we did something that has never been done in this state in asserting our legislative independence.”
The cost of the two-day override session – the first ever under the current state constitution – was estimated at between $80,000 and $100,000.
Daniel Erspamer, the Pelican Institute’s CEO, noted that despite the failure of HB 38, some individual school districts have been promising to take steps to promote fiscal transparency.
“... We applaud the Jefferson Parish School Board for announcing they will proceed with instituting transparency in their school district despite HB 38 being vetoed,” Erspamer said in a prepared statement. “Jefferson Parish will join the Lafayette Parish School Board in leading the charge for local school district transparency.”
Another vetoed bill Republican legislators hoped to pass was legislation that would have allowed Louisianans to carry concealed firearms without a permit.