<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">You can’t separate politics from most things. So when legislators and others speculate that Gov. John Bel Edwards may have played politics when he vetoed some of the 36 items in the state’s construction bill totaling $77.1 million, we can assume he did.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Louisiana governors have been doing that for years, but legislators often play into their hands by giving them logical reasons for their vetoes. The construction bill, for example, contains $1.05 billion in Priority 1 and 2 funding, an increase of $115.2 million over what Edwards wanted in the legislation.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The state has a limited amount it can bond each year to pay for those projects, so something has to give. However, even the amount he cut won’t be enough, and Edwards gets to decide which of the others gets funded this year.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Westlake is the only Calcasieu Parish local government agency to lose funding. Edwards vetoed $2.1 million for completion of the city’s golf course. The funds are in Priority 5 and weren’t slated for immediate use, so there is time to come up with alternative funding.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Mayor Bob Hardey of Westlake said he wasn’t happy about the loss, but wasn’t surprised because of the state’s budget problems. Hardey took a realistic approach, saying the city would fund the project without the state’s help. He said the city did get two other important projects in the bill.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The state provided $6 million to construct the golf course, which many questioned when it was originally approved. Why is the state paying for golf courses? Each year’s construction budget contains many other local projects of a questionable nature.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The largest veto was $12.5 million for a neighborhood clinic and urgent care center for Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge. Rep. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge and an ally of the governor, told The Advocate Edwards’ office saw it as unnecessary because of another nearby facility.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Next was $10.8 million for an industrial park in Rapides Parish. Two vetoes were $9.6 million each for South Slidell levee protection rehabilitation and highway improvements in Livingston Parish. Other big ones were $7.6 million for highway reconstruction in Ascension Parish and $3.9 million for land acquisition in Bossier Parish.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Yes, those are parishes that are represented largely by legislators who fought Edwards on many fronts.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin and the governor’s closest friend in the House, told The Advocate that legislators who believe less government is the answer should expect less government when it comes to Edwards’ decisions on which projects to veto.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Richard Carbo, the governor’s chief spokesman, told the newspaper those who opposed Edwards got many other projects.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">“It’s not like we’re going down slashing projects based on who’s requested them,” Carbo said.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">What the Legislature needs to do is consider reducing the millions it spends each year on local government projects. Funding state institutions and state roads located in parishes is one thing, but some spending is way out of line.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Voters have approved constitutional protection for the state providing supplemental pay for local first responders like police, firemen and deputies. That $124 million budgeted for the coming fiscal year is a tidy sum in itself.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Less costly projects of a questionable nature add up to millions more. Legislators cram them into the construction and budget bills every year because it’s popular back home and helps their re-election chances. That’s why they call them pet projects.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">House Bill 2 on the Legislature’s website (www.legis.la.gov) lists all of the construction projects. State money is used to fund local roads, sewerage and drainage projects, recreation and playground facilities, community centers, farmers markets, riding arenas, parks, water systems, parking lots, booster clubs, bike paths, bus terminals, theaters, jails, water lines, elevators, animal shelters, city and town halls and fire stations, fishing piers, YMCAs, alumni centers, museums and learning centers.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Poorer rural parishes may have a problem funding some of those projects, but too many are in areas with adequate resources.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Legislators keep saying they want to give local governments more authority to raise their own taxes, but the idea died at the recent fiscal session along with state budget and tax reform.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">The House’s conservative Republican leadership has been too interested in throwing up roadblocks to real progress. Its primary goal from the beginning has been to keep a Democratic governor from being elected to a second term.</span>

<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">As we said at the beginning, you can’t separate politics from most things — and particularly from politicians. However, voters still have the last word and change is possible if they elect legislators who are willing to work for their constituents best interests rather than their own.</span><p>Louisiana governors vetoes always stir controversy</p>Nola.com