June 18, 2010, 1:49PM ET
Without debate, the Louisiana House on Friday sent Gov. Bobby Jindal legislation that would require him to preserve and make public all documents his office handles regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.
Jindal now has to decide whether to sign or veto the measure. Spokeswoman Melissa Sellers said the bill would require thorough review.
The Jindal administration has gone along with some attempts to open up governor’s office records. But officials have successfully fought bills letting the public see any documents pertaining to the governor’s “deliberative process” and requiring the preservation of those documents.
The bill given final approval Friday was originally drawn to reduce the amount of time the state corrections department is required to preserve records of adult offenders. But language added in the Senate this week by Sen. Robert Adley, a Republican from Benton, requires preservation of governor’s office documents regarding the oil spill for at least 10 years and says those records must be available for public inspection and copying now.
“I would encourage him to sign the bill so we can send a clear message to the people of America,” Adley said after the House voted 76-13 for the bill on Friday.
Final passage of the proposal “speaks very, very highly of our state and what we stand for. In this process with BP, we want their records open and we will do the same,” he said.
Jindal has said he wants BP PLC to open its claims database to the state to help ensure payments are being processed promptly.
Given his past opposition to similar legislation, the bill with Adley’s amendment passed with surprising ease. It first passed in the Senate on Wednesday, where it was little noticed at first. It then passed the House on Friday, where similar language had been voted down a day before.
Rep. Gary Smith, D-Norco, sponsor of the original bill, asked the House to adopt Adley’s amendment, saying the public needs information on the unfolding environmental disaster. Nobody spoke against the measure.
Sellers, Jindal’s communications director, said in an e-mailed statement that the Adley language would be reviewed to make sure it doesn’t hurt the state’s position in future litigation against BP. Spokesman Kyle Plotkin declined to elaborate.
Jindal has become one of the most prominent faces in the state’s fight against the oil spill, constantly on the scene at sites where oil has washed ashore. He often laments a slow, inefficient cleanup effort by the federal government and BP. His reaction to the spill has been praised widely, but he’s not without his critics.
Among them has been congressional candidate and state Rep. Juan LaFonta, a New Orleans Democrat. Last month, he tried to win House committee passage of a resolution critical of Jindal, a Republican, for not immediately declaring a state of emergency after the April 20 Deepwater Horizon explosion. The resolution was defeated.
Jindal declared an emergency nine days after the rig explosion, when federal officials and BP said the leak and the potential devastation of the spill was far worse than originally thought.
from: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9GDR38G0.htm
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Bobby Jindal was born on June 10th, 1971 according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_jindal
June 10th
June 10th, 1971
June 10th
6 + 10 +2+0+0+9 = 27 = his personal year (from June 10th, 2009 to June 9th, 2010) = Initiative. Follow through. Original. The first. Innovation. Trailblazer. Pioneer. Inventor. Start. Begin. Initiate. Groundbreaking. Drilling. BP.
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April 20th, 2010 (the date of the BP oil spill)
4 + 20 +2+0+1+0 = 27 = the life lesson of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill = Groundbreaking. Drilling. BP.
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using the number/letter grid:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z
Where:
A = 1 J = 1 S = 1
B = 2 K = 2 T = 2
C = 3 L = 3 U = 3
D = 4 M = 4 V = 4
E = 5 N = 5 W = 5
F = 6 O = 6 X = 6
G = 7 P = 7 Y = 7
H = 8 Q = 8 Z = 8
I = 9 R = 9
BP
27
the primary challenge for BP = 27 = Groundbreaking. Drilling. All talk and no action.