December 7, 2024 Constitutional Amendments

 

Source: Public Domain

The final election day of 2024 is upon us and there are 4 more proposed Amendments to the Louisiana Constitution to be considered on Saturday, December 7. There are also a several local items on the ballot, including:

• Renaissance Home tax renewal
• Senior Citizens tax renewal 
• Road District 3A tax renewal 
• Fire Protection District 10 tax renewal 
• Buckeye Recreation District tax renewal  
• Rapides Parish District D Police Juror (Randy Harris or Ernest Nelson), 
• Alexandria Councilman at Large (Jules R. Green or Lee Rubin), 
• Alexandria District 1 Councilman (Malcolm Lavardain or Reddex Washington). 

You can get details on your ballot at the Secretary of State's website or by going to http://GeauxVote.com. 

For the past several years I have sought to provide a layman's guide to the amendments because they are (rightfully so) written in "legalese" in order to be factual, precise, and enforceable. Unfortunately, that means that sometimes they are not easily understood!

To guide my research I read as much as I can about the amendments as well as take in PAR's excellent guide to the amendments. I appreciate the work they put into explaining the issues and recommend that you take a look. However, it is a lot of reading, so below is my attempt to summarize each amendment in one or two paragraphs. Let's dive right in!

• Constitutional Amendment 1 would increase the number of members of the state Judiciary Commission from 9 to 14 and give the LA Supreme Court more authority to direct investigations into potential judicial misconduct. The current makeup of the Judiciary Commission is 3 judges, 3 lawyers, and 3 non-lawyers. The new commission would add 5 non-lawyers, for total of 8 non-lawyers and 6 lawyers. (Some say the current makeup of majority lawyers/judges means the commission is less likely to discipline one of their own, so adding 5 non-lawyers would give the commission more "backbone" so to speak.) This amendment also gives the Supreme Court the authority to direct the commission to investigate allegations of judicial misconduct and also adds "malfeasance" as an improper behavior that can be investigated. (This sounds like a good idea so I recommend a YES vote.)
  
  
• Constitutional Amendment 2 would require legislators to wait at least 48 hours before voting on amendments to bills that spend money. The PAR report states that "In June 2023, lawmakers passed more than $52 billion worth of budget bills in the last half-hour of their two-month regular session, in a frenzied series of votes. ... Many lawmakers said they were uncertain what the spending plans contained even as they took a final vote on the bills. Legislative leaders presenting the package of appropriations struggled to explain what they contained. Lawmakers had to waive their rules to vote on the bills." This amendment would prevent that from happening, and is accompanied by Amendment #3 (below) which would allow the Legislature to extend regular sessions to comply with the new 48-hour review requirement. (This sounds like a good idea so I recommend a YES vote for both #2 and #3.)
  
  
• Constitutional Amendment 3 would allow the Legislature to extend a regular session for up to 6 days to allow more time for voting on bills that appropriate money (see #2 above). The Constitution is very clear on how long regular sessions can last in both even and odd-numbered years. If amendment #2 passes, then the Legislature must be given flexibility to extend sessions in order to comply with the 48-hour review rules. It would require 2/3 vote from both houses to extend the session (2 days at a time) and no new legislation could be introduced during the extended period. There is a cost to extending the session, although it is not as much as a new special session. Voters need to consider amendments 2 and 3 as a package, voting for or against both. (This sounds like a good idea so I recommend a YES vote for both #2 and #3.)
  
  
• Constitutional Amendment 4 is probably the most complex of the four on the ballot as it deals with the issue of delinquent property taxes. This is a complicated situation, made more so by a 2023 US Supreme Court ruling that *may* make some of our current structure unconstitutional. This amendment seeks to off-load some of the language from the state constitution into statutes makes it easier for the Legislature to assure that our laws conform to the US Constitution. In addition, it appears this amendment gives more time for property owners to deal with delinquent taxes. However, this is a complex situation and some say that we shouldn't mess with a working system unless there is a constitutional challenge. (While I understand the intent of the legislation is to avoid potential constitutional challenge, I would prefer waiting until such a challenge is made, so I recommend a NO vote, although I'm certainly willing to have someone change my mind.)

Well, there you have it, a brief look at the four amendments coming up on the December 7 ballot. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the constitutional amendments. Who knows, maybe you'll change my mind! But regardless of whether you agree with me or not, I hope everyone will educate themselves on the amendments and geaux vote!!!

Nov 5, 2024 Constitutional Amendment

 

Source: Public Domain

I'm writing this on the eve of the 2024 Election day, in which the United States will be electing the following across the nation:

• 1 President/Vice President
• 34 US Senators
• 435 US Representatives
• 11 Governors
• 9 Lt. Governors
• 7 Secretaries of State
• 10 Attorneys General
• 85 State Legislatures across 44 states
• 304 Local and State Judicial seats
• 147 Ballot Initiatives across 41 states
  (SOURCE: Ballotpedia)

There's a LOT of important things on the ballot on Tuesday, including one Constitutional Amendment in Louisiana that will be on ballots across the state. Over the years I have attempted to provide a layman's guide to the amendments, because they can be difficult to understand, since they are written by lawyers to be factual, precise, and enforceable. Unfortunately, sometimes that means that us NON-lawyers aren't sure what a yes and a no means when we vote for them. That's where this little guide comes in.

I'll tell you up front that I base a lot of my research on the excellent "PAR Guide to the 2024 Constitutional Amendments" put out by the non-partisan Public Affairs Research organization, an independent nonprofit research organization. But I also have spoken with  such experts as John Sabo, an expert in Coastal Erosion, and David Carmadelle, the Mayor of Grand Isle, LA for almost 30 years, who has been very effective in protecting that unique barrier island from washing away into the sea.

After reading all the material I could find and talking with the experts, I still don't have a recommendation to make for you. However, I'm going to try to explain it as best as I can, so I'll start with just quoting what will be on the ballot:

• Constitutional Amendment 1:  "Do you support an amendment to require that federal revenues received by the state generated from Outer Continental Shelf alternative or renewable energy production be deposited into the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund?"

So what does that mean? First a little history. Most folks understand that Louisiana is loosing its coast at an alarming rate. Since the 1930's, Louisiana has lost almost 2,000 square miles of land, and is expected to lose another 3,000 square miles over the next 50 years. (Source) One reason is the levees that were built to prevent the Mississippi River from flooding neighboring communities is no longer allowed to spread through the delta, distributing silt and replenishing the marshes and swamps. Another reason is the man-made canals and dredging that crisscrosses the swamps, making them vulnerable to erosion. All of this contributes to increased flooding, greater damage from hurricanes, loss of habitat for millions of migratory birds and wildlife, and an impact on ports and water commerce creating an additional economic strain on Louisiana.

Thankfully a lot of work has been done in the past decade to mitigate the damage. The majority of the funding has come from a settlement with BP after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Louisiana received billions of dollars to use in restoration and improvement projects across the coast. However, that money is running out. Which leads to this constitutional amendment.

Technology has identified the Outer Continental Shelf as having great potential for renewable energy production, including solar, wind, tidal, wave, and geothermal energy. Companies that gain the valuable contracts will be paying new taxes to both the Federal government and the states that border the Gulf of Mexico. This constitutional amendment directs how that money would be spent in Louisiana. And here's how your vote would affect that money:

• A vote FOR the amendment would mean that the new revenues from these alternative energy technologies (think offshore windmills, etc) could ONLY be used for coast restoration.
• A vote AGAINST the amendment would mean that the new revenues would go into the General Fund and be used however the Legislature sees fit.

There are two schools of thought. 

• One says that we already restrict the Legislature too much when it comes to spending and the only things they can cut in times of economic downturn are healthcare and education. Those who feel this way would vote AGAINST the amendment.
• The other school of thought is that coastal erosion is such an important issue, and the BP money is about to run out, so this is an opportunity to capture a NEW source of revenue and dedicate it to coastal restoration. Those who feel this way would vote FOR the amendment.

I know that's a lot of words and a very long explanation. But it's necessary to explain the backstory so that you'll know what you're voting for. This is one of those years where I'm not making a recommendation. I could probably argue for both sides of the issue because I believe there is validity to both sides. Hopefully my explanation does not reveal my perspective and only informs your decision, based on your perspective, or school of thought. But whichever way you choose to vote - please VOTE!!!

You can get details on all the items that will be on your ballot at the LA Secretary of State's website or by going to http://GeauxVote.com.