Efforts to call a special session to review Gov. Bobby Jindal’s recent budget cuts died in the state Senate on Friday.
State Sen. Ben Nevers said he and other organizers failed to convince at least 13 of the 39 senators to back the House in pushing for a special session. “This was a Herculean effort, certainly probably a historic effort,” he said.
Hours before Nevers declared the special session push dead, Jindal expressed confidence that legislators would not be at the State Capitol in November to second-guess his decisions. “We have talked to the leaders in both the House and the Senate. I’m confident that the majority of members do not want to see a special session,” he said.
The governor said a special session would waste taxpayer dollars that could be better spent on health care and higher education.
The longshot bid to convene a special session arose after Jindal closed a Lake Charles area prison and made $523 million in health care cuts.
Legislators complained that the governor neglected to consult them about decisions that will cut jobs and health care services in their districts.
