BATON ROUGE — Amid a series of high-profile bill signings, Gov. Jeff Landry also vetoed multiple bills passed during the legislative session, including one that would have penalized balloon releases and an item in another that would have given a Livingston Parish school $100,000 for pickleball courts.

The balloon release bill, HB 581, was among 18 bills partially or entirely vetoed by the governor. 

In a letter detailing his reason for the veto, Landry said that the enforcement of the bill would be "impossible or impractical to execute."

"If signed into law, police departments across the state will be tasked with tracking down locations from where balloons were released based off eyewitness accounts, only to be met, met at all, with excuses and finger-pointing to avoid meeting the bill's requirements for a fine to be issued," he wrote in a letter dated June 23.

Landry also said that local governments have already begun issuing similar bans and that his veto "preserves a local government's ability to prohibit a release whenever its community finds a true need for one."

The bill's author, Rep. John Illg, said that the legislation to criminalize balloon releases in the state for people older than 16, aimed to address litter in the state. He said that balloons can become caught in power lines, potentially causing outages. They also pose serious threats to animals that might ingest them or become entangled.

Landry also vetoed sections of multiple funding bills, including an item in a supplemental appropriations package that would have given $100,000 to the Livingston Parish School System for pickleball and tennis courts at Live Oak High School. Another line item Landry vetoed would have required the Office of Group Benefits to cover weight loss medications like Semaglutide. 

"However, I am concerned that some of these new weight loss medications may be offered at little or no cost upfront - only to carry sky-high prices later. These drugs can cost over $1,000 a month per person. Even temporary coverage could set expectations for long-term use that Louisiana simply cannot afford," Landry explained his reasoning. "If just a small portion of eligible employees begin using them, the long-term costs could quickly climb into the tens of millions."

Other notable vetoes were HB 352, which would have removed a requirement for background checks for certain early childhood workers; HB 340, which would have moved the official home of the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry from East Baton Rouge Parish to Orleans Parish; SB 111, which would have prevented insured customers from challenging an insurance company's refusal to settle claims unless specific conditions were met; and SB 181, which would have criminalized online gambling activities that are already monitored and enforced by the Louisiana Gaming Commission.

The governor also shot down a bill that would have extended a sound recording investor tax credit program. The bill, HB 653, would have also transferred from Louisiana Economic Development to the Lieutenant Governor-controlled Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

Another noteworthy bill Landry vetoed was HB 206, which would have prohibited elected officials from entering a consent decree or settlement agreement regarding the alteration of any election policy without the approval of the decree or agreement adopted by the legislature.

A complete list of Landry's vetoes can be found here.