10 constitutional amendments on Tuesday ballot

Published 12:00 am Friday, October 29, 2010

By Tom Aswell

Correspondent

BATON ROUGE — Louisiana voters will asked to decide on 10 proposed constitutional amendments Tuesday. While most again apply only to a select clientele and are difficult to understand, there are a couple that warrant special attention. (For a detailed explanation of each amendment, log onto the Public Affairs Research Council’s web page at: http://www.la-par.org).

A vote for Amendment One would require than any increase in the salaries of statewide elected officials, public service commissioners, or legislators not take effect until the beginning of the next term after the increase is approved.

Amendment Two would increase state severance tax revenue for parishes of origin and also dedicate a portion of severance tax collected on state lands to the Atchafalaya Basin Conservation Fund.

Local governments are prohibited from levying any severance taxes and the sharing of state severance tax revenue goes all the way back to that 1921 Constitution and is intended to compensate parishes for wear and tear on local roads and bridges by oil and gas drilling equipment and other related traffic.

The present Constitution requires the state to pay parishes of origin 20 percent of the state severance tax on all natural resources except sulfur, lignite or timber. The amount each parish can receive, however, is capped at $850,000, adjusted annually for inflation. The cap for 2009 calendar year was $907,534.

Other amendments, if passed:

Number 3: would give parishes the option to call elections to double the homestead exemption for veterans with service-connected 100 percent disabilities (this benefit would extend to certain surviving spouses);

Number 4: would limit property tax millage increases from non-elected taxing bodies following a mandatory millage decrease due to reassessment;

Number 5: would allow homeowners displaced by disaster to apply for a second five-year extension on special assessment levels and homestead exemptions if they are unable to reoccupy their homes due to pending appeals on damage claims;

Number 6: would require majority legislative approval for changes to benefits provisions of any public retirement system subject to legislative authority, and would require two-thirds legislative approval when any changes have an actuarial cost;

Number 7: would change bidding rules for tax sale auctions and would allow tax collectors to charge additional penalties for nonpayment of property taxes;

Number 8: would remove the requirement that public authorities first offer expropriated property for re-sale to its prior owner before the property can be sold to a third party provided the property was taken to remove a public health or safety threat and was held for 30 years or less;

Number 9: would require that certain workers’ compensation cases be re-argued before a panel of five or more appellate judges prior to the reversal or modification of an administrative agency’s decision (present law requires a majority vote of a panel of only three judges).

Number 10: would allow criminal defendants to waive rights to a jury trial in non-capital cases only if the waiver is made at least 45 days prior to the beginning of trial and would provide that any such waiver would be irrevocable.