BATON ROUGE -- Gov. Bobby Jindal has traveled the country in the past few months: talking on TV with Jay Leno, touting Louisiana on national news talk shows in Washington and visiting Republican presidential contender John McCain at his home in Arizona.

But Jindal's been largely missing at the Louisiana Capitol during the legislative session that wraps up this month, a sharp contrast from his predecessors, who prowled the halls, testified at committee hearings and watched in the House and Senate chambers as lawmakers debated their proposals.

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Gov. Bobby Jindal. (File Photo)

"He's deliberately chosen not to be here and to make himself less accessible in a public way," said Sen. Eric LaFleur, D-Ville Platte.

Lawmakers disagree on whether the change in management style makes it more difficult to get their work done or to know the governor's position on legislation, but they agree the change is striking.

Some say they believe Jindal's steering clear of potential public scuffles in Baton Rouge to protect his rising star on the national GOP stage. Some complain the governor's absence shows a disconnect between Jindal and the Legislature. Others say the governor is trying to give lawmakers the ability to craft their proposals without meddling as directly as his predecessors.

In a state where the governor holds an enormous amount of power and lawmakers traditionally fall in line with the governor's agenda, Jindal's absence from the Capitol elicits both complaints and praise.

"We're not used to having an equal branch of government. Our history is in the French monarchy, where the king is the king, and that's the way the government has been run in this state at least in modern history going back to Huey Long," said House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Terrytown, a Jindal ally. He called the style change "refreshing."

Jindal announces his positions on bills largely at carefully scripted press conferences and delegates the work for or against bills to his staff. Lawmakers more accustomed to speaking directly with the governor regularly during sessions say they often talk to Jindal's top staff instead.

"Early on, I think I realized that the best way for me to deal with the governor is through his staff," said Sen. Dan "Blade" Morrish, R-Jennings. "It's different, different than what I've been used to."

Jindal said he meets often with lawmakers, nearly every day, in small lunches or meetings. A Jindal spokeswoman wouldn't say exactly how many lawmakers the governor has met with since the regular session began in March, but she said it was "around 90 percent."

"Certainly, we'll continue to be very engaged," Jindal said.

Tucker said he talks with the governor several times a week, and the governor holds a lunch weekly with his legislative leadership team. He said the visibility of past governors at the Capitol was a double-edged sword.

"I think some people would like to see the governor sitting on the side when a bill is coming up, and I think some members would see that as an attempted intimidation and would be angry," Tucker said.

But some lawmakers also have openly complained about not getting quick responses from the Jindal administration when they have questions and about getting less one-on-one time with the governor.

They have different theories about the more hands-off approach.

LaFleur said Jindal doesn't need to be as personally involved in legislative conversations because he's pushing a fairly light agenda this session -- after two special sessions in which the governor dictated the agendas -- and because the state's budget is flush with cash.

He compared that to former Gov. Mike Foster, who negotiated with lawmakers every two years to renew "temporary" state taxes that funded government services and who faced deficits that required budget cuts, and former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who had to deal with the immediate aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Those governors were asking lawmakers for hard votes that involved much more difficult negotiations, LaFleur said.

Also, LaFleur tied Jindal's absence from public meetings at the Capitol to his rising national prominence in the Republican Party. Jindal has been mentioned as a potential running mate for GOP presidential contender John McCain, a possible cabinet secretary for McCain and a politician expected to ascend higher within the party.

"He clearly doesn't want to say the wrong thing, and I don't blame him," LaFleur said. "One little hiccup in one statement and you can drop 10 points."

Morrish sees it differently, saying he thinks Jindal's following through on a promise to let lawmakers have more independence from the executive branch.

"It's been a dictatorship. I think he expects it to work more as a partnership," Morrish said.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)