Friday, June 18, 2010

House Rejects Oil Leak Public Records Legislation

The Louisiana House voted Thursday against making public those records in the Governor’s Office and other government agencies that are associated with the BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil rig disaster.

State Rep. Wayne Waddell, R-Shreveport, proposed adding the public records provision to Senate Bill 167, which addressed the confidentiality of cemetery records.

But the House balked with 42 representatives voting for the change while 54 voted against it. The legislation needed 53 votes to pass.

The failed effort essentially served as a test run for similar legislation that returns to the House for a concurrence vote as soon as today.

The vote came a day after the Louisiana Senate — without anyone voting against it — supported the public records amendment being tacked onto other legislation without discussion or debate. That legislation, House Bill 37, needs a vote by the House on whether to agree with the Senate’s addition.



Read more here.