House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, R-Lake Charles, an ally of the governor, released a statement announcing his opposition to the session - though he said he doesn't agree with the governor's vetoes.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - House Speaker Chuck Kleckley said Tuesday he doesn't want lawmakers to hold a veto session to reconsider Gov. Bobby Jindal's budget cuts and bill rejections.
Kleckley, R-Lake Charles, an ally of the governor, released a statement announcing his opposition to the session - though he said he doesn't agree with the governor's vetoes.
"I believe we can find solutions without calling a veto session that could produce unintended consequences," Kleckley said in a statement.
Attempts to get further explanation about what Kleckley thought the unintended consequences could be weren't immediately returned. Kleckley's cell phone voicemail was full, and his spokesman didn't respond to follow-up questions.
A veto session was automatically set for July 16 when Jindal issued vetoes, but a majority written vote of either the House or Senate by midnight July 11 can scrap it.
Lawmakers have never held a veto session under the current state constitution.
Since the legislative session ended in June, Jindal vetoed seven bills and stripped 31 items from the 2013-14 budget that took effect this week.
The biggest outcry has involved Jindal's removal of $6 million that would have paid for developmentally disabled services. Advocates for the disabled are urging lawmakers to hold a session to reverse Jindal's cuts.
The governor said the state couldn't afford the spending because lawmakers hadn't included enough money for projected increases in the use of existing Medicaid services.
"I have reached out to the governor to ask that if additional funding should become available within the fiscal year that those funds be used for our citizens with developmental disabilities," Kleckley said in his statement.