Gov. Bobby Jindal said it was a drafting error that led him to veto a bill requiring public officials to file public reports when they give government positions to their campaign contributors.
The bill’s author said nobody had complained about the language when the bill was passed and he suggested that Jindal vetoed it because he doesn’t want to make such disclosures.
‘‘I think this veto sends the wrong message to the people of Louisiana. It tells the people that this bill is too much sunshine; that there is something to hide,’’ Rep. Neil Abramson, D-New Orleans, said in a news release late Thursday.
The bill would have applied to officials from voting districts having a population of 5,000 or more.
It would have required them to include in their annual financial disclosure reports information about campaign contributors who give them $1,000 or more and whom they hire for state agencies or appoint to any of various boards or commissions that have rule making authority or authorization to spend $10,000 or more per year.
In his veto message Jindal focused on a paragraph that he said made the bill ambiguous:
‘‘The information required to be disclosed by this Subsection ... shall include only those persons who contributed or made a loan to a campaign or contributed to a gubernatorial transition or inauguration and who were hired or appointed within one year of the contribution or loan.’’
Jindal said that language means a public official would have to report information on contributors to campaigns other than their own.
‘‘The Governor says he vetoed the bill for some perceived technical reason which I do not believe the bill creates, nor had any representative, senator or staff member ever raised,’’ Abramson said in his news release. ‘‘Despite the amendments made to my bill to deal with the Governor’s concerns, the final version of my bill can still be read to require the Governor, himself, to make the disclosures and that unfortunately might be the ‘technical’ reason.’’
Abramson acknowledged Friday that much of the information covered in his bill already is public record but, particularly in cases involving lesser known state agencies and jobs, would be difficult to find and compile.
‘‘My effort was to make it easily accessible for the everyday person,’’ Abramson said.