The governor, who has spent more than 25 percent of his time out-of-state since May 3, has never notified Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, the man state law says is supposed to take the reins when Jindal is away. Gov. Bobby Jindal has spent more than 25 percent of his time out-of-state since May 3, and he's "never" notified Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne of his absences.
According to The Advocate, Dardenne, by law, is the man in charge when Jindal is away, but it's a duty Dardenne hasn't been fulfilling since Jindal doesn't bother to let him know when he's fundraising for GOP contenders across the country:
From May 3 through Thursday, Jindal has traveled to New Jersey, Alabama, Oklahoma, North Carolina, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Virginia, Illinois, West Virginia, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, D.C., Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington state. He was gone 20 days during the 73-day period, according to Governor's Office news releases.
Louisiana faced major budget balancing woes during the 2012 legislative session, which ended June 4. Fiscal problems continue to dominate state government because of a congressional decision last month that reduced by nearly $860 million for Medicaid that Jindal had expected to balance the state's budget.
In response to a written question posed to the governor about why he did not notify Dardenne when he leaves Louisiana, Shannon Bates, Jindal's press secretary, replied in an email: "The press office sends a note out to press when the Governor leaves the state. The Governor remains the Governor wherever he is."
Article IV, Section 19 of the Louisiana Constitution states: "When the governor is temporarily absent from the state, the lieutenant governor shall act as governor."
"Since I've been lieutenant governor, I've never received any notification that he was traveling out-of-state," said Dardenne, who has been in the job since late 2010. "I'm not whining about this or kicking and screaming. It's in response to your inquiry" about days Jindal has been out-of-state.
"From a policy and protocol standpoint, it would be nice to know in case I need to be called into service," Dardenne said.
Ouch. Read more here.