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The 2011 regular legislative session came to an end just before the Fourth of July holiday, so it seems an appropriate time to look for and honor a few examples of independent thinking within the Louisiana State Capitol.

A group of true maverick lawmakers put Gov. Bobby Jindal in an awkward spot for voting down their renewal of the state’s 4-cent cigarette tax. The governor said approving the measure would conflict with his stance against approving any new taxes, despite the fact the tax has been in place 11 years and was still among the lowest rates in the country.

In a last-minute compromise Jindal and lawmakers agreed to allow the tax extension to go before voters in the fall by attaching it to an amendment to fund the state’s Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, or TOPS, scholarship program.

Its lapsing would mean a $12 million drop in state revenue, money that would have been dedicated to health care. Forces behind the override recalled that it was Jindal, when he served as head of the state health department under Gov. Mike Foster, who argued that higher taxes on cigarettes would act as a deterrent to smokers and lead to lower state health care costs.

There were 58 representatives who backed the override, 12 short of the 70 votes needed. Eleven House members who originally supported the tax renewal voted against the veto override: Reps. Robert Billiot, D-Westwego; Steve Carter, R-Baton Rouge; Charles “Bubba” Chaney, R-Rayville; Jim Fannin, D-Jonesboro; Hunter Greene, R-Baton Rouge; Frank Hoffmann, R-West Monroe; Kay Katz, R-Monroe; Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette; Tom Willmott, R-Kenner; House Speaker Pro Tem Joel Robideaux, I-Lafayette; and Rep. Tom McVea, R-Jackson.

McVea said he didn’t “want to embarrass the governor” with what could have been the Legislature’s first veto override since 1993.

Last time we checked, the governor was an adult who should be able to withstand his wisdom being questioned. We can’t say the same for the 11 lawmakers who folded under pressure.

Another stalwart against regressive thinking was Sen. Karen Carter Peterson,
who decided to stand against conservative religious interests and seek a repeal of the Louisiana Science Education Act.

Under the guise of providing local school districts with more textbook choices, the Louisiana Family Forum backed the LSEA to open a door for creationism to be taught in public schools. The act’s approval last year led one scientific group to cancel an annual meeting planned for New Orleans.

Dozens of Nobel laureates were in Peterson’s corner, along with religious leaders who acknowledged the need to keep their doctrine of intelligent design separate from the public school science curriculum.

They weren’t enough, however, to keep the measure from dying in the Senate Education Committee. Voting for the bill’s deferral were Sens. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie; Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville; Eric LaFleur, D-Ville Plate; Gerald Long, R-Winnfield; and Julie Quinn, R-Metairie. Only Rep. Yvonne Dorsey, D-Baton Rouge, opposed deferral.

It was Quinn who asked during committee hearings what language in the LSEA forces schools to teach creationism. You’re right, senator. It isn’t in there.

Just like there’s no language in the law requiring teachers to offer lessons on homosexuality, as the Louisiana Family Forum implied in its opposition to House Bill 112. Rep. Austin Badon’s effort to curb bullying in schools based on sexual orientation died on the House floor after the LFF sold lawmakers a boatload of red herring.

Fortunately, backers of these failed bills say they’re not done fighting. That’s good to hear because we need more of their reason to overcome the thinly veiled religious rhetoric steering Louisiana toward pointless constitutional challenges.

Ultimately what the state really needs is voters who are willing to hold elected officials accountable. What we see all too often are lawmakers who routinely make decisions in the interest of getting re-elected and not what’s right for the greater good of Louisiana.