BATON ROUGE – Governor John Bel Edwards released the following statement on legislation that removes the Attorney General’s Office from the Executive Budget.

Under the Louisiana Constitution, the governor is responsible for submitting a budget in a general appropriations bill that includes the Attorney General.

“Just as we’re working to stabilize the state’s budget, this proposal throws another wrinkle into our plans and raises numerous legal issues,” said Gov. Edwards.

“The Louisiana Constitution grants the governor the authority to submit a single budget for the executive branch of government, which includes the Attorney General. There has been absolutely no evidence presented to justify this politically-motivated move. The state’s budget crisis demands 100 percent of our attention, and a power grab, such as this, only serves as a distraction at a critical time.”

Given that this legislation violates the Louisiana Constitution, Gov. Edwards has indicated that he would veto this bill, should it make its way through the process.