LA Legislator slipped in amendment to accept stimulus dollars which Jindal opposed

The move went unnoticed and the bill passed 99-0.
From the Times Picayune:

BATON ROUGE — In a classic move of legislative subterfuge, a House member quietly slipped an amendment into an unrelated bill at the end of the House session Monday that puts Louisiana in position to accept federal stimulus dollars for jobless benefits, a policy that Gov. Bobby Jindal had made national headlines by vowing to oppose.

Legislation had been offered this session to put Louisianas jobless claims system in a mode that would make the state eligible for the money, but Jindal and his allies bottled up the bills in the House Labor Committee, where Republican opponents hold a majority.

To get around that hurdle, Labor Committee Chairman Avon Honey, D-Baton Rouge, brought one of his bills to the House floor late Monday evening while few members were paying close attention. His House Bill 841 originally dealt with workers compensation issues, but he asked for an amendment that made the bill a vehicle for changing state law to take the stimulus money.

The bill passed 99-0 without debate and apparently with few if any members noticing Honey’s amendment.

The bill still has to pass the Senate to become law and the administration can put down many obstacles in front of it, including a veto by the governor. But Honey’s maneuver has kept the issue and the bill alive.

4 thoughts on “LA Legislator slipped in amendment to accept stimulus dollars which Jindal opposed

  1. Good for Rep. Honey (his district, btw, is in north Baton Rouge, which is a little beyond my usual stomping grounds.) Interesting that those who voted before reading the amendment (assuming they can read) are the same nitwits who insist on adding creationism to the science curriculum.

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