Parties hope for veto override session

Parties dissastisfied with Governor Blanco's vetos of some bills from the 2007 legislative session are trying to convince lawmakers to convene a veto override session.

The city of New Orleans, the state's largest business lobby, the Louisiana Chemical Association and major chambers of commerce across the state have united in an effort to get lawmakers to return to Baton Rouge to override the vetoes of 14 bills Gov. Kathleen Blanco cast in the past week, a spokesman for the pro-business coalition said Monday.

Dan Borne, president of the Louisiana Chemical Association, said although the group is seeking the override of Blanco's veto of House Bill 505 by Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, there are 13 other bills that have "increased interest among groups" that could lead them to pressure lawmakers for an override session. The veto session is automatically scheduled each year, but lawmakers can opt not to hold it, something they have done every year since the current state Constitution was enacted in the early 1970s.

One measure vetoed by Governor Blanco, House Bill 845, would have granted expensive, unearned, unpaid-for retirement benefits to a small group of Adult Probation and Parole officers employed by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. The LASERS Board of Trustees strongly opposed HB 845, and urged the governor to veto it.