New Orleans lawmakers ask governor for $3.5M veto

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Two New Orleans area lawmakers on Thursday asked Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to strip $3.5 million out of next year's budget, involving the Crescent City Connection bridge that spans the Mississippi River.

Republican Rep. Pat Connick sent the veto request to the governor in a letter released Thursday. Connick says the money wasn't vetted through the budget process and was added without input from local lawmakers.

Democratic Sen. David Heitmeier made a similar veto request.

The dollars come from tolls that drivers pay to cross the bridge and would pay for a consultant to help prepare for the tolls' expiration at the end of 2012. Connick says the spending instead should come from the state transportation department's budget.

Jindal's office didn't immediately respond Thursday about whether the money would be vetoed.