Jindal approves failure of La. public records bill

A Louisiana House bill that would have removed an exemption that allows executive staff of the governor's office to keep records private failed 12-5, the Times-Picayune reported. Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration says it's not the concepts but the details that he disagrees with. His administration says it will back a similar Senate bill which provides more shielding on certain records.

With the backing of Gov. Bobby Jindal, a House committee killed a bill that would have opened nearly all records of the governor's executive office to public inspection, a move that the legislative sponsor said would bring real transparency to a state that touts the concept.

A similar bill passed overwhelmingly out of the same panel last year with little fanfare, far from the 12-5 defeat that Rep. Wayne Waddell, R-Shreveport, suffered today. Last year, his bill languished much later in the session after the Jindal administration got more active, saying it supports increased access to records but not in the manner Waddell wants.

The vote came a few hours after the Jindal administration effectively delayed action on another bill that would have expanded disclosure about the correlation between the governor's campaign contributors and his appointees to public posts. As with the records bill, the administration says the disagreement is not in the concept but in the details.

More here.