BATON ROUGE — State senators don’t think the state police should have to pay Gov. Bobby Jindal’s security detail costs if he’s traveling the country to run for president.
The Senate voted 29-5 Monday to prohibit the Louisiana State Police from paying out of its budget “for traveling with the governor for campaign purposes.”
Jindal has steadily increased his national travel as he readies for a likely 2016 presidential campaign he’s expected to announce June 24. And the state police travel expenses have been going up for Jindal’s protective detail.
The House proposed transferring $2.5 million from Jindal’s office next year to the state police to cover the price tag of state troopers traveling with the Republican governor. Senators stripped that plan from the budget proposal — and instead backed the direct prohibition.