2theadvocate.com
Michelle Millhollon

A little more than three months after his inauguration, the honeymoon still is in full bloom for Gov. Bobby Jindal.

“This was an incredibly successful session,” the governor said Friday, celebrating the passage of tax breaks and other proposals.
A long line of legislators — Democrats and Republicans — gathered behind him to share the moment.

Jindal got nearly everything he wanted in his first and second special sessions of the Legislature.

The first session focused on changes to the state’s ethics laws. The second session, which ended Friday, dealt with tax breaks and the spending of a $1.1 billion state surplus.

Both sessions concluded early, but not because of the type of partisan impasses that dogged former Gov. Kathleen Blanco. Legislators, for the most part, readily agreed to Jindal’s proposals, especially in the second session.

Even a bid to raise the ceiling on state spending proved far easier for Jindal than it did for Blanco.

The hurricanes that devastated thousands of families in south Louisiana generated record revenue for state government.

Storm victims rebuilt their homes and replaced their belongings, increasing sales tax revenue. Unemployment dropped and wages rose, resulting in plumper income tax collections.

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