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LOUISIANA
Louisiana Constitution of 1974
(including proposed amendments adopted in
the 2001 Regular Session
to be submitted to the electors on
November 5, 2002)
PREAMBLE
We, the people of Louisiana, grateful to
Almighty God for the civil, political, economic, and religious liberties
we
enjoy, and desiring to protect individual
rights to life, liberty, and property; afford opportunity for the
fullest
development of the individual; assure
equality of rights; promote the health, safety, education, and welfare
of the
people; maintain a representative and
orderly government; ensure domestic tranquility; provide for the common
defense; and secure the blessings of
freedom and justice to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and
establish this
constitution.
ARTICLE I.
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
§1. Origin and
Purpose of Government
Section 1. All
government, of right, originates with the people, is founded on their
will alone, and is
instituted to protect
the rights of the individual and for the good of the whole. Its only
legitimate ends are
to secure justice for
all, preserve peace, protect the rights, and promote the happiness and
general
welfare of the people.
The rights enumerated in this Article are inalienable by the state and
shall be
preserved inviolate by
the state.
§2. Due Process of
Law
Section 2. No person
shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, except by due process
of law.
§3. Right to
Individual Dignity
Section 3. No person
shall be denied the equal protection of the laws. No law shall
discriminate
against a person
because of race or religious ideas, beliefs, or affiliations. No law
shall arbitrarily,
capriciously, or
unreasonably discriminate against a person because of birth, age, sex,
culture, physical
condition, or
political ideas or affiliations. Slavery and involuntary servitude are
prohibited, except in the
latter case as
punishment for crime.
§4. Right to
Property
Section 4. Every
person has the right to acquire, own, control, use, enjoy, protect, and
dispose of
private property. This
right is subject to reasonable statutory restrictions and the reasonable
exercise of
the police power.
Property shall not be
taken or damaged by the state or its political subdivisions except for
public
purposes and with just
compensation paid to the owner or into court for his benefit. Property
shall not
be taken or damaged by
any private entity authorized by law to expropriate, except for a public
and
necessary purpose and
with just compensation paid to the owner; in such proceedings, whether
the.purpose is public and necessary shall be a judicial question. In
every expropriation, a party has the right
to trial by jury to
determine compensation, and the owner shall be compensated to the full
extent of his
loss. No business
enterprise or any of its assets shall be taken for the purpose of
operating that
enterprise or halting
competition with a government enterprise. However, a municipality may
expropriate a utility
within its jurisdiction.
Personal effects shall
never be taken. But the following property may be forfeited and disposed
of
in a civil proceeding,
as provided by law: contraband drugs; property derived in whole or in
part from
contraband drugs;
property used in the distribution, transfer, sale, felony possession,
manufacture, or
transportation of
contraband drugs; property furnished or intended to be furnished in
exchange for
contraband drugs;
property used or intended to be used to facilitate any of the above
conduct; or other
property because the
above described property has been rendered unavailable.
This Section shall not
apply to appropriation of property necessary for levee and levee
drainage
purposes.
Amended by Acts
1989, No. 840, §1, approved Oct. 7, 1989, eff. Nov. 7, 1989.
§5. Right to
Privacy
Section 5. Every
person shall be secure in his person, property, communications, houses,
papers,
and effects against
unreasonable searches, seizures, or invasions of privacy. No warrant
shall issue
without probable cause
supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place
to be
searched, the persons
or things to be seized, and the lawful purpose or reason for the search.
Any
person adversely
affected by a search or seizure conducted in violation of this Section
shall have
standing to raise its
illegality in the appropriate court.
§6. Freedom from
Intrusion
Section 6. No person
shall be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner or
lawful
occupant.
§7. Freedom of
Expression
Section 7. No law
shall curtail or restrain the freedom of speech or of the press. Every
person may
speak, write, and
publish his sentiments on any subject, but is responsible for abuse of
that freedom.
§8. Freedom of
Religion
Section 8. No law
shall be enacted respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting
the free
exercise thereof.
§9. Right of
Assembly and Petition
Section 9. No law
shall impair the right of any person to assemble peaceably or to
petition
government for a
redress of grievances.
§10. Right to Vote;
Disqualification from Seeking or Holding an Elective Office.Section
10.(A) Right to Vote. Every citizen of the state, upon reaching eighteen
years of age, shall
have the right to
register and vote, except that this right may be suspended while a
person is interdicted
and judicially
declared mentally incompetent or is under an order of imprisonment for
conviction of a
felony.
(B) Disqualification.
The following persons shall not be permitted to qualify as a candidate
for
elective public office
or take public elective office or appointment of honor, trust, or profit
in this state:
(1) A person who has
been convicted within this state of a felony and who has exhausted all
legal
remedies, or who has
been convicted under the laws of any other state or of the United States
or of any
foreign government or
country of a crime which, if committed in this state, would be a felony
and who
has exhausted all
legal remedies and has not afterwards been pardoned either by the
governor of this
state or by the
officer of the state, nation, government or country having such
authority to pardon in the
place where the person
was convicted and sentenced.
(2) A person actually
under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony.
(C) Exception.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (B) of this Section, a
person who
desires to qualify as
a candidate for or hold an elective office, who has been convicted of a
felony and
who has served his
sentence, but has not been pardoned for such felony, shall be permitted
to qualify as
a candidate for or
hold such office if the date of his qualifying for such office is more
than fifteen years
after the date of the
completion of his original sentence.
Acts 1997, No.
1492, §1, approved Oct. 3, 1998, eff. Nov. 5, 1998.
§11. Right to Keep
and Bear Arms
Section 11. The right
of each citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged, but this
provision
shall not prevent the
passage of laws to prohibit the carrying of weapons concealed on the
person.
§12. Freedom from
Discrimination
Section 12. In access
to public areas, accommodations, and facilities, every person shall be
free
from discrimination
based on race, religion, or national ancestry and from arbitrary,
capricious, or
unreasonable
discrimination based on age, sex, or physical condition.
§13. Rights of the
Accused
Section 13. When any
person has been arrested or detained in connection with the
investigation or
commission of any
offense, he shall be advised fully of the reason for his arrest or
detention, his right to
remain silent, his
right against self incrimination, his right to the assistance of counsel
and, if indigent, his
right to court
appointed counsel. In a criminal prosecution, an accused shall be
informed of the nature
and cause of the
accusation against him. At each stage of the proceedings, every person
is entitled to
assistance of counsel
of his choice, or appointed by the court if he is indigent and charged
with an
offense punishable by
imprisonment. The legislature shall provide for a uniform system for
securing and
compensating qualified
counsel for indigents.
§14. Right to
Preliminary Examination.Section 14. The right to a preliminary
examination shall not be denied in felony cases except when
the accused is
indicted by a grand jury.
§15. Initiation of
Prosecution
Section 15.
Prosecution of a felony shall be initiated by indictment or information,
but no person
shall be held to
answer for a capital crime or a crime punishable by life imprisonment
except on
indictment by a grand
jury. No person shall be twice placed in jeopardy for the same offense,
except
on his application for
a new trial, when a mistrial is declared, or when a motion in arrest of
judgment is
sustained.
§16. Right to a
Fair Trial
Section 16. Every
person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty and
is
entitled to a speedy,
public, and impartial trial in the parish where the offense or an
element of the
offense occurred,
unless venue is changed in accordance with law. No person shall be
compelled to
give evidence against
himself. An accused is entitled to confront and cross-examine the
witnesses
against him, to compel
the attendance of witnesses, to present a defense, and to testify in his
own
behalf. However,
nothing in this Section or any other section of this constitution shall
prohibit the
legislature from
enacting a law to require a trial court to instruct a jury in a criminal
trial that the
governor is empowered
to grant a reprieve, pardon, or commutation of sentence following
conviction of
a crime, that the
governor in exercising such authority may commute or modify a sentence
of life
imprisonment without
benefit of parole to a lesser sentence which includes the possibility of
parole, may
commute a sentence of
death to a lesser sentence of life imprisonment without benefit of
parole, or may
allow the release of
an offender either by reducing a life imprisonment or death sentence to
the time
already served by the
offender or by granting the offender a pardon.
§17. Jury Trial in
Criminal Cases; Joinder of Felonies; Mode of Trial
Section 17.(A) Jury
Trial in Criminal Cases. A criminal case in which the punishment may be
capital
shall be tried before
a jury of twelve persons, all of whom must concur to render a verdict. A
case in
which the punishment
is necessarily confinement at hard labor shall be tried before a jury of
twelve
persons, ten of whom
must concur to render a verdict. A case in which the punishment may be
confinement at hard
labor or confinement without hard labor for more than six months shall
be tried
before a jury of six
persons, all of whom must concur to render a verdict. The accused shall
have a right
to full voir dire
examination of prospective jurors and to challenge jurors peremptorily.
The number of
challenges shall be
fixed by law. Except in capital cases, a defendant may knowingly and
intelligently
waive his right to a
trial by jury.
(B) Joinder of
Felonies; Mode of Trial. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the
contrary,
offenses in which
punishment is necessarily confinement at hard labor may be charged in
the same
indictment or
information with offenses in which the punishment may be confinement at
hard labor;
provided, however,
that the joined offenses are of the same or similar character or are
based on the
same act or
transaction or on two or more acts or transactions connected together or
constituting parts
of a common scheme or
plan; and provided further, that cases so joined shall be tried by a
jury
composed of twelve
jurors, ten of whom must concur to render a verdict.
Acts 1997, No.
1502, §1, approved Oct. 3, 1998, eff. Nov. 5, 1998..§18. Right to
Bail
Section 18.(A)
Excessive bail shall not be required. Before and during a trial, a
person shall be
bailable by sufficient
surety, except when he is charged with a capital offense and the proof
is evident
and the presumption of
guilt is great. After conviction and before sentencing, a person shall
be bailable
if the maximum
sentence which may be imposed is imprisonment for five years or less;
and the judge
may grant bail if the
maximum sentence which may be imposed is imprisonment exceeding five
years.
After sentencing and
until final judgment, a person shall be bailable if the sentence
actually imposed is
five years or less;
and the judge may grant bail if the sentence actually imposed exceeds
imprisonment
for five years.
(B) However, a person
charged with a crime of violence as defined by law or with production,
manufacture,
distribution, or dispensing or possession with intent to produce,
manufacture, distribute, or
dispense a controlled
dangerous substance as defined by the Louisiana Controlled Dangerous
Substances Law, and
the proof is evident and the presumption of guilt is great, shall not be
bailable if,
after a contradictory
hearing, the judge or magistrate finds by clear and convincing evidence
that there is
a substantial risk
that the person may flee or poses an imminent danger to any other person
or the
community.
Acts 1997, No.
1498, §1, approved Oct. 3, 1998, eff. Nov. 5, 1998.
§19. Right to
Judicial Review
Section 19. No person
shall be subjected to imprisonment or forfeiture of rights or property
without
the right of judicial
review based upon a complete record of all evidence upon which the
judgment is
based. This right may
be intelligently waived. The cost of transcribing the record shall be
paid as
provided by law.
§20. Right to
Humane Treatment
Section 20. No law
shall subject any person to euthanasia, to torture, or to cruel,
excessive, or
unusual punishment.
Full rights of citizenship shall be restored upon termination of state
and federal
supervision following
conviction for any offense.
§21. Writ of Habeas
Corpus
Section 21. The writ
of habeas corpus shall not be suspended.
§22. Access to
Courts
Section 22. All courts
shall be open, and every person shall have an adequate remedy by due
process of law and
justice, administered without denial, partiality, or unreasonable delay,
for injury to
him in his person,
property, reputation, or other rights.
§23. Prohibited
Laws
Section 23. No bill of
attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of
contracts shall
be enacted..§24.
Unenumerated Rights
Section 24. The
enumeration in this constitution of certain rights shall not deny or
disparage other
rights retained by the
individual citizens of the state.
§25. Rights of a
Victim
Section 25. Any person
who is a victim of crime shall be treated with fairness, dignity, and
respect,
and shall be informed
of the rights accorded under this Section. As defined by law, a victim
of crime
shall have the right
to reasonable notice and to be present and heard during all critical
stages of
preconviction and
postconviction proceedings; the right to be informed upon the release
from custody
or the escape of the
accused or the offender; the right to confer with the prosecution prior
to final
disposition of the
case; the right to refuse to be interviewed by the accused or a
representative of the
accused; the right to
review and comment upon the presentence report prior to imposition of
sentence;
the right to seek
restitution; and the right to a reasonably prompt conclusion of the
case. The legislature
shall enact laws to
implement this Section. The evidentiary and procedural laws of this
state shall be
interpreted in a
manner consistent with this Section.
Nothing in this
Section shall be construed to inure to the benefit of an accused or to
confer upon
any person the right
to appeal or seek supervisory review of any judicial decision made in a
criminal
proceeding. Nothing in
this Section shall be the basis for an award of costs or attorney fees,
for the
appointment of counsel
for a victim, or for any cause of action for compensation or damages
against the
state of Louisiana, a
political subdivision, a public agency, or a court, or any officer,
employee, or agent
thereof. Remedies to
enforce the rights enumerated in this Section shall be provided by law.
Acts 1997, No.
1487, §1, approved Oct. 3, 1998, eff. Nov. 5, 1998.
§26. State
Sovereignty
Section 26. The people
of this state have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves
as a
free and sovereign
state; and do, and forever hereafter shall, exercise and enjoy every
power,
jurisdiction, and
right, pertaining thereto, which is not, or may not hereafter be, by
them expressly
delegated to the
United States of America in congress assembled.
Acts 1997, No.
1494, §1, approved Oct. 3, 1998, eff. Nov. 5, 1998.
ARTICLE II.
DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS
§1. Three Branches
Section 1. The powers
of government of the state are divided into three separate branches:
legislative,
executive, and judicial.
§2. Limitations on
Each Branch
Section 2. Except as
otherwise provided by this constitution, no one of these branches, nor
any
person holding office
in one of them, shall exercise power belonging to either of the others..ARTICLE
III.
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
§1. Legislative
Power; Composition; Continuous Body
Section 1.(A)
Legislative Power of State. The legislative power of the state is vested
in a legislature,
consisting of a Senate
and a House of Representatives. The Senate shall be composed of one
senator
elected from each
senatorial district. The House of Representatives shall be composed of
one
representative elected
from each representative district.
(B) Continuous Body.
The legislature is a continuous body during the term for which its
members
are elected; however,
a bill or resolution not finally passed in any session shall be
withdrawn from the
files of the
legislature.
§2. Sessions
Section 2.(A)(1)
Annual Session. The legislature shall meet annually in regular session
for a limited
number of legislative
days in the state capital. A legislative day is a calendar day on which
either house
is in session. Any
bill to be introduced in either house shall be prefiled no later than
five o'clock in the
evening of the Friday
before the first day of a regular session; thereafter no member of the
legislature
may introduce more
than five bills, except as provided in the joint rules of the
legislature. The legislature
is authorized to
provide by joint rule for the procedures for passage of duplicate or
companion
instruments.
(2) All regular
sessions convening in odd-numbered years shall be general in nature and
shall
convene at noon on the
last Monday in March. The legislature shall meet in such a session for
not more
than sixty legislative
days during a period of eighty-five calendar days. No such session shall
continue
beyond six o'clock in
the evening of the eighty-fifth calendar day after convening. No new
matter
intended to have the
effect of law shall be introduced or received by either house after
midnight of the
thirtieth calendar
day. No matter intended to have the effect of law, except a measure
proposing a
suspension of law,
shall be considered on third reading and final passage in either house
after midnight
of the fifty-fifth
legislative day of a regular session, except by a favorable record vote
of two-thirds of
the elected members of
each house. No measure levying or authorizing a new tax by the state or
by any
statewide political
subdivision whose boundaries are coterminous with the state, increasing
an existing
tax by the state or by
any statewide political subdivision whose boundaries are coterminous
with the
state, or legislating
with regard to tax exemptions, exclusions, deductions or credits shall
be introduced
or enacted during a
regular session held in an odd-numbered year.
(3) All regular
sessions convening in even-numbered years shall convene at noon on the
last
Monday in April. Each
such session shall be restricted to the consideration of legislation
which provides
for enactment of a
general appropriations bill, implementation of a capital budget, for
making an
appropriation, levying
or authorizing a new tax, increasing an existing tax, legislating with
regard to tax
exemptions,
exclusions, deductions, reductions, repeal, or credits, or issuing
bonds. The legislature shall
meet in such a session
for not more than thirty legislative days in a period of forty-five
calendar days.
No such session shall
continue beyond six o'clock in the evening of the forty-fifth calendar
day after
convening. No new
matter intended to have the effect of law shall be introduced or
received by either.house after midnight of the tenth calendar day. No
matter intended to have the effect of law, except a
measure proposing a
suspension of law, shall be considered on third reading and final
passage in either
house after midnight
of the twenty-seventh legislative day of a regular session, except by a
favorable
record vote of
two-thirds of the elected members of each house.
[Acts 2001, No. 1231 proposal to amend
§2(A): To be submitted to electors on November 5, 2002, to be
effective January 1, 2004.]
Section 2.(A) Annual Session. (1) The
legislature shall meet annually in regular session for a limited
number of legislative days in the state
capital. A legislative day is a calendar day on which either house is in
session.
(2) Any bill to be introduced in either
house shall be prefiled no later than five o'clock in the evening of
the tenth calendar day prior to the first
day of a regular session; thereafter no member of the legislature may
introduce more than five bills, except as
provided in the joint rules of the legislature. The legislature is
authorized to provide by joint rule for
the procedures for passage of duplicate or companion instruments.
(3)(a) All regular sessions convening in
even-numbered years shall be general in nature and shall
convene at noon on the last Monday in March. The legislature shall meet in such a
session for not more than
sixty legislative days during a period of
eighty-five calendar days. No such session shall continue beyond six
o'clock in the evening of the
eighty-fifth calendar day after convening. No new matter intended to
have the
effect of law shall be introduced or
received by either house after six o'clock in the evening of the
twenty-third
calendar day. No matter intended to have
the effect of law, except a measure proposing a suspension
of law, shall be considered on third
reading and final passage in either house after six o'clock in the
evening
of the fifty-seventh legislative day or
the eighty-second calendar day, whichever occurs first, except by a
favorable record vote of two-thirds of
the elected members of each house.
(b) No measure levying or authorizing a
new tax by the state or by any statewide political subdivision
whose boundaries are coterminous with the
state; increasing an existing tax by the state or by any statewide
political subdivision whose boundaries
are coterminous with the state; or legislating with regard to tax
exemptions, exclusions, deductions or
credits shall be introduced or enacted during a regular session held in
an even-numbered year.
(4)(a) All regular sessions convening in
odd-numbered years shall convene at noon on the last Monday
in April. The legislature shall meet in
such a session for not more than forty-five legislative days in a period
of sixty calendar days. No such session
shall continue beyond six o'clock in the evening of the
sixtieth
calendar day after convening. No new
matter intended to have the effect of law shall be introduced or
received by either house after six
o'clock in the evening of the tenth calendar day. No matter intended to
have
the effect of law, except a measure
proposing a suspension of law, shall be considered on third reading and
final passage in either house after six
o'clock in the evening of the forty-second legislative day or
fifty-seventh
calendar day, whichever occurs first,
except by a favorable record vote of two-thirds of the elected
members of each house.
(b) During any session convening in an
odd-numbered year, no matter intended to have the effect of law,
including any suspension of law, shall be
introduced or considered unless its object is to enact the General
Appropriation Bill; enact the
comprehensive capital budget; make an appropriation; levy or authorize a
new
tax; increase an existing tax; levy,
authorize, increase, decrease, or repeal a fee; dedicate revenue;
legislate
with regard to tax exemptions,
exclusions, deductions, reductions, repeals, or credits; or legislate
with regard
to the issuance of bonds. In addition, a
matter intended to have the effect of law, including a measure
proposing a suspension of law, which is
not within the subject matter restrictions provided in this
Subparagraph may be considered at any
such session if:
(i) It is prefiled no later than the
deadline provided in Subparagraph (2) of this Paragraph, provided
that the member shall not prefile more
than five such matters pursuant to this Subsubparagraph; or.(ii) Its
object is to enact a local or special law which is required to be and
has been advertised in
accordance with Section 13 of this
Article and which is not prohibited by the provisions of Section 12 of
this
Article.
(B) Extraordinary
Session. The legislature may be convened at other times by the governor
and
shall be convened by
the presiding officers of both houses upon written petition of a
majority of the
elected members of
each house. The form of the petition shall be provided by law. At least
five days
prior to convening the
legislature in extraordinary session, the governor or the presiding
officers, as the
case may be, shall
issue a proclamation stating the objects of the session, the date on
which it shall
convene, and the
number of days for which it is convened. The power to legislate shall be
limited, under
penalty of nullity, to
the objects specifically enumerated in the proclamation. The session
shall be limited
to the number of days
stated therein, which shall not exceed thirty calendar days.
(C) Emergency Session.
The governor may convene the legislature in extraordinary session
without
prior notice or
proclamation in the event of public emergency caused by epidemic, enemy
attack, or
public catastrophe.
(D) Organizational
Session. The legislature shall meet in an organizational session in the
state capitol
to be convened at ten
o'clock in the morning on the day the members are required to take
office. No
such session shall
exceed three legislative days. The session shall be for the primary
purpose of judging
the qualifications and
elections of the members, taking the oath of office, organizing the two
houses, and
selecting officers. No
matter intended to have the effect of law shall be introduced at an
organizational
session.
Amended by Acts
1989, No. 841, §1, approved Oct. 7, 1989, eff. Nov. 7, 1989; Acts 1990,
No. 1095, §1,
approved Oct. 6, 1990, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1993, No. 1041, §1,
approved Oct.
16, 1993, eff. Nov.
18, 1993; Acts 2001, No. 1231, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2004.
§3. Size
Section 3. The number
of members of the legislature shall be provided by law, but the number
of
senators shall not
exceed thirty-nine and the number of representatives, one hundred five.
§4. Qualifications;
Residence and Domicile Requirements; Term; Election Limitations;
Vacancies
Section 4.(A) Age;
Residence; Domicile. An elector who at the time of qualification as a
candidate
has attained the age
of eighteen years, resided in the state for the preceding two years, and
been
actually domiciled for
the preceding year in the legislative district from which he seeks
election is eligible
for membership in the
legislature.
(B) Domicile; Special
Provisions. However, at the next regular election for members of the
legislature following
legislative reapportionment, an elector may qualify as a candidate from
any district
created in whole or in
part from a district existing prior to reapportionment if he was
domiciled in that
prior district for at
least one year immediately preceding his qualification and was a
resident of the state
for the two years
preceding his qualification. The seat of any member who changes his
domicile from
the district he
represents or, if elected after reapportionment, whose domicile is not
within the district he
represents at the time
he is sworn into office, shall be vacated thereby, any declaration of
retention of.domicile to the contrary notwithstanding.
(C) Term. A member of
the legislature shall be elected for a four-year term.
(D) Vacancy. A vacancy
in the legislature shall be filled for the remainder of the term only by
election by the
electors of the respective district as provided by law.
(E) Election
Limitation. No person who has been elected to serve as a member of the
Senate for
more than two and
one-half terms in three consecutive terms, that service being during a
term of office
that began on or after
January 8, 1996, shall be elected to the Senate for the succeeding term.
No
person who has been
elected to serve as a member of the House of Representatives for more
than two
and one-half terms in
three consecutive terms, that service being during a term of office that
began on or
after January 8, 1996,
shall be elected to the House of Representatives for the succeeding
term.
Acts 1995, No.
1326, §1, approved Oct. 21, 1995, eff. Nov. 23, 1995.
§5. Taking Office
Section 5.(A) Full
Term. Members of the legislature shall take office on the same day as
the
governor and other
officials elected statewide.
(B) Filling Vacancy. A
person elected to fill the remainder of an unexpired legislative term
shall take
office within thirty
days after the secretary of state promulgates the election returns.
§6. Legislative
Reapportionment; Reapportionment by Supreme Court; Procedure
Section 6.(A)
Reapportionment by Legislature. By the end of the year following the
year in which
the population of this
state is reported to the president of the United States for each
decennial federal
census, the
legislature shall reapportion the representation in each house as
equally as practicable on the
basis of population
shown by the census.
(B) Reapportionment by
Supreme Court. If the legislature fails to reapportion as required in
Paragraph (A), the
supreme court, upon petition of any elector, shall reapportion the
representation in
each house as provided
in Paragraph (A).
(C) Procedure. The
procedure for review and for petition shall be provided by law.
§7. Judging
Qualifications and Elections; Procedural Rules; Discipline; Expulsion;
Subpoenas;
Contempt; Officers
Section 7.(A) Judging
Qualifications and Elections; Procedural Rules; Discipline; Expulsion.
Each
house shall be the
judge of the qualifications and elections of its members; shall
determine its rules of
procedure, not
inconsistent with the provisions of this constitution; may punish its
members for
disorderly conduct or
contempt; and may expel a member with concurrence of two-thirds of its
elected
members. Expulsion
creates a vacancy in the office.
(B) Subpoena Power;
Contempt. Each house may compel the attendance and testimony of
witnesses and the
production of books and papers before it, before any committee thereof,
or before.joint committees of the houses and may punish those in willful
disobedience of its orders for contempt.
(C) Officers. Each
house shall choose its officers, including a permanent presiding officer
selected
from its membership.
The presiding officers shall be the president of the Senate and the
speaker of the
House of
Representatives. The clerical officers shall be the clerk of the House
of Representatives and
the secretary of the
Senate, each of whom may administer oaths.
§8. Privileges and
Immunities
Section 8. A member of
the legislature shall be privileged from arrest, except for felony,
during his
attendance at sessions
and committee meetings of his house and while going to and from them. No
member shall be
questioned elsewhere for any speech in either house.
§9. Conflict of
Interest
Section 9. Legislative
office is a public trust, and every effort to realize personal gain
through official
conduct is a violation
of that trust. The legislature shall enact a code of ethics prohibiting
conflict
between public duty
and private interests of members of the legislature.
§10. Quorum;
Compulsory Attendance; Journal; Adjournment With Consent of Other House
Section 10.(A) Quorum.
Not less than a majority of the elected members of each house shall form
a quorum to transact
business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day-to-day and may
compel the
attendance of absent
members.
(B) Journal. Each
house shall keep a journal of its proceedings and have it published
immediately
after the close of
each session. The journal shall accurately reflect the proceedings of
that house,
including all record
votes. A record vote is a vote by yeas and nays, with each member's vote
published
in the journal.
(C) Adjournment. When
the legislature is in session, neither house shall adjourn for more than
three
days or to another
place without consent of the other house.
§11. Legislative
Auditor
Section 11. There
shall be a legislative auditor responsible solely to the legislature. He
shall serve as
a fiscal advisor to it
and shall perform the duties and functions provided by law related to
auditing fiscal
records of the state,
its agencies, and political subdivisions. He shall be elected by the
concurrence of a
majority of the
elected members of each house and may be removed by the concurrence of
two-thirds
of the elected members
of each house.
§12. Prohibited
Local and Special Laws
Section 12.(A)
Prohibitions. Except as otherwise provided in this constitution, the
legislature shall
not pass a local or
special law:
(1) For the holding
and conducting of elections, or fixing or changing the place of
voting..(2) Changing the names of persons; authorizing the adoption or
legitimation of children or the
emancipation of
minors; affecting the estates of minors or persons under disabilities;
granting divorces;
changing the law of
descent or succession; giving effect to informal or invalid wills or
deeds or to any
illegal disposition of
property.
(3) Concerning any
civil or criminal actions, including changing the venue in civil or
criminal cases,
or regulating the
practice or jurisdiction of any court, or changing the rules of evidence
in any judicial
proceeding or inquiry
before courts, or providing or changing methods for the collection of
debts or the
enforcement of
judgments, or prescribing the effects of judicial sales.
(4) Authorizing the
laying out, opening, closing, altering, or maintaining of roads,
highways, streets,
or alleys; relating to
ferries and bridges, or incorporating bridge or ferry companies, except
for the
erection of bridges
crossing streams which form boundaries between this and any other state;
authorizing the
constructing of street passenger railroads in any incorporated town or
city.
(5) Exempting property
from taxation; extending the time for the assessment or collection of
taxes;
relieving an assessor
or collector of taxes from the performance of his official duties or of
his sureties
from liability;
remitting fines, penalties, and forfeitures; refunding moneys legally
paid into the treasury.
(6) Regulating labor,
trade, manufacturing, or agriculture; fixing the rate of interest.
(7) Creating private
corporations, or amending, renewing, extending, or explaining the
charters
thereof; granting to
any private corporation, association, or individual any special or
exclusive right,
privilege, or
immunity.
(8) Regulating the
management of parish or city public schools, the building or repairing
of parish or
city schoolhouses, and
the raising of money for such purposes.
(9) Legalizing the
unauthorized or invalid acts of any officer, employee, or agent of the
state, its
agencies, or political
subdivisions.
(10) Defining any
crime.
(B) Additional
Prohibition. The legislature shall not indirectly enact special or local
laws by the
partial repeal or
suspension of a general law.
§13. Local or
Special Laws; Notice of Intent; Publication
Section 13. No local
or special law shall be enacted unless notice of the intent to introduce
a bill to
enact such a law has
been published on two separate days, without cost to the state, in the
official
journal of the
locality where the matter to be affected is situated. The last day of
publication shall be at
least thirty days
prior to introduction of the bill. The notice shall state the substance
of the contemplated
law, and every such
bill shall recite that notice has been given.
§14. Style of Laws;
Enacting Clause
Section 14. The style
of a law enacted by the legislature shall be, "Be it enacted by the
Legislature.of Louisiana." It shall be unnecessary to repeat the
enacting clause after the first section of an act.
§15. Passage of
Bills
Section 15.(A)
Introduction; Title; Single Object; Public Meetings. The legislature
shall enact no
law except by a bill
introduced during that session, and propose no constitutional amendment
except by
a joint resolution
introduced during that session, which shall be processed as a bill.
Every bill, except
the general
appropriation bill and bills for the enactment, rearrangement,
codification, or revision of a
system of laws, shall
be confined to one object. Every bill shall contain a brief title
indicative of its
object. Action on any
matter intended to have the effect of law shall be taken only in open,
public
meeting.
(B) No General
Reference. A bill enacting, amending, or reviving a law shall set forth
completely
the provisions of the
law enacted, amended, or revived. No system or code of laws shall be
adopted by
general reference to
it.
(C) Germane
Amendments. No bill shall be amended in either house to make a change
not
germane to the bill as
introduced.
(D) Three Readings.
Each bill shall be read at least by title on three separate days in each
house.
No bill shall be
considered for final passage unless a committee has held a public
hearing and reported
on the bill.
(E) Rejected bills;
Reconsideration. No bill rejected by either house may again be
introduced or
considered during the
same session by the house which rejected it without the consent of a
majority of
the members elected to
that house.
(F) Concurrence in
Amendments. No amendment to a bill by one house shall be concurred in by
the other, and no
conference committee report shall be concurred in by either house except
by the
same vote required for
final passage of the bill. The vote thereon shall be by record vote.
(G) Majority Vote;
Record Vote. No bill shall become law without the favorable vote of at
least a
majority of the
members elected to each house. Final passage of a bill shall be by
record vote. In either
house, a record vote
shall be taken on any matter upon the request of one-fifth of the
elected members.
§16. Appropriations
Section 16.(A)
Specific Appropriation for One Year. Except as otherwise provided by
this
constitution, no money
shall be withdrawn from the state treasury except through specific
appropriation,
and no appropriation
shall be made under the heading of contingencies or for longer than one
year.
(B) Origin in House of
Representatives. All bills for raising revenue or appropriating money
shall
originate in the House
of Representatives, but the Senate may propose or concur in amendments,
as in
other bills.
(C) General
Appropriation Bill; Limitations. The general appropriation bill shall be
itemized and
shall contain only
appropriations for the ordinary operating expenses of government, public
charities,.pensions, and the public debt or interest thereon.
(D) Specific Purpose
and Amount. All other bills for appropriating money shall be for a
specific
purpose and amount.
(E) Extraordinary
Session. Except for expenses of the legislature, a bill appropriating
money in an
extraordinary session
convened after final adjournment of the regular session in the last year
of the term
of office of a
governor shall require the favorable vote of three-fourths of the
elected members of each
house.
§17. Signing of
Bills; Delivery to Governor
Section 17.(A)
Signing; Delivery. A bill passed by both houses shall be signed by the
presiding
officers and delivered
to the governor within three days after passage.
(B) Resolutions. No
joint, concurrent, or other resolution shall require the signature or
other action
of the governor to
become effective.
§18. Gubernatorial
Action on Bills; Sign, Failure to Sign, Veto; Veto Session
Section 18.(A)
Gubernatorial Action. If the governor does not approve a bill, he may
veto it. A bill,
except a joint
resolution, shall become law if the governor signs it or if he fails to
sign or veto it within
ten days after
delivery to him if the legislature is in session on the tenth day after
such delivery, or within
twenty days after
delivery if the tenth day after delivery occurs after the legislature is
adjourned.
(B) Veto Message. If
the governor vetoes a bill, he shall return it to the legislature, with
his veto
message within twelve
days after delivery to him if the legislature is in session. If the
governor returns a
vetoed bill after the
legislature adjourns, he shall return it, with his veto message, as
provided by law.
(C) Veto Session. (1)
A bill vetoed and returned and subsequently approved by two-thirds of
the
elected members of
each house shall become law. The legislature shall meet in veto session
in the state
capital at noon on the
fortieth day following final adjournment of the most recent session, to
consider all
bills vetoed by the
governor. If the fortieth day falls on Sunday, the session shall convene
at noon on the
succeeding Monday. No
veto session shall exceed five calendar days, and any veto session may
be
finally adjourned
prior to the end of the fifth day upon a vote of two-thirds of the
elected members of
each house.
(2) No veto session
shall be held if a majority of the elected members of either house
declare in
writing that a veto
session is unnecessary. The declaration must be received by the
presiding officer of
the respective houses
at least five days prior to the day on which the veto session is to
convene.
Acts 1989, No. 841,
§1, approved Oct. 7, 1989, eff. Nov. 7, 1989.
§19. Effective Date
of Laws
Section 19. All laws
enacted during a regular session of the legislature shall take effect on
August
fifteenth of the
calendar year in which the regular session is held and all laws enacted
during an
extraordinary session
of the legislature shall take effect on the sixtieth day after final
adjournment of the.extraordinary session in which they were enacted. All
laws shall be published prior thereto in the official
journal of the state
as provided by law. However, any bill may specify an earlier or later
effective date.
Acts 1992, No.
1139, §1, aproved Oct. 3, 1992, eff. Nov. 5, 1992.
§20. Suspension of
Laws
Section 20. Only the
legislature may suspend a law, and then only by the same vote and,
except for
gubernatorial veto and
time limitations for introduction, according to the same procedures and
formalities required
for enactment of that law. After the effective date of this
constitution, every
resolution suspending
a law shall fix the period of suspension, which shall not extend beyond
the sixtieth
day after final
adjournment of the next regular session.
ARTICLE IV.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
§1. Composition;
Number of Departments; Reorganization
Section 1.(A)
Composition. The executive branch shall consist of the governor,
lieutenant governor,
secretary of state,
attorney general, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner
of insurance,
superintendent of
education, commissioner of elections, and all other executive offices,
agencies, and
instrumentalities of
the state.
(B) Number of
Departments. Except for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor,
all offices,
agencies, and other
instrumentalities of the executive branch and their functions, powers,
duties, and
responsibilities shall
be allocated according to function within not more than twenty
departments. The
powers, functions, and
duties allocated by this constitution to any executive office or
commission shall
not be affected or
diminished by the allocation provided herein except as authorized by
Section 20 of
this Article.
(C) Reorganization.
Reallocation of the functions, powers, and duties of all departments,
offices,
agencies, and other
instrumentalities of the executive branch, except those functions,
powers, duties,
and responsibilities
allocated by this constitution, shall be as provided by law.
§2. Qualifications
Section 2. To be
eligible for any statewide elective office, a person, by the date of his
qualification
as a candidate, shall
have attained the age of twenty-five years, be an elector, and have been
a citizen
of the United States
and of this state for at least the preceding five years. In addition,
the attorney
general shall have
been admitted to the practice of law in the state for at least the five
years preceding
his election. During
his tenure in office, a statewide elected official shall hold no other
public office
except by virtue of
his elected office.
§3. Election; Term
Section 3.(A)
Election. Except as provided in Section 20 of this Article, the
governor, lieutenant
governor, secretary of
state, attorney general, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture,
commissioner of.insurance, superintendent of education, and commissioner
of elections each shall be elected for a term
of four years by the
electors of the state at the time and place of voting for members of the
legislature.
The term of each such
official shall begin at noon on the second Monday in January next
following the
election.
(B) Limitation on
Governor. A person who has served as governor for more than one and
one-half
terms in two
consecutive terms shall not be elected governor for the succeeding term.
(C) Additional
Limitation. Except as provided by this constitution, no official shall
be elected
statewide.
(D) Notwithstanding
any other provision of this constitution or of law to the contrary,
statewide
elected officials and
members of the legislature elected in 1987 shall hold office from and
after the
second Monday in
March, 1988. These statewide elected officials and any successor elected
to the
unexpired term of any
of them shall serve for terms which shall expire at noon on January 13,
1992.
These members of the
legislature and any successor elected to the unexpired term of any of
them shall
serve for terms which
shall expire at ten o'clock a.m. on January 13, 1992. Thereafter,
statewide
elected officials and
members of the legislature shall be elected for terms of four years. For
purposes of
retirement, the
statewide elected officials and members of the legislature elected in
1987 shall be
deemed to be elected
for a four-year term.
Acts 1986, No.
1082, §1, approved Sept. 27, 1986, eff. Oct. 30, 1986.
§4. Compensation
Section 4. Except as
otherwise provided by this constitution, the compensation of each
statewide
elected official shall
be provided by law.
§5. Governor;
Powers and Duties
Section 5.(A)
Executive Authority. The governor shall be the chief executive officer
of the state. He
shall faithfully
support the constitution and laws of the state and of the United States
and shall see that
the laws are
faithfully executed.
(B) Legislative
Reports and Recommendations. The governor shall, at the beginning of
each regular
session, and may, at
other times, make reports and recommendations and give information to
the
legislature concerning
the affairs of state, including its complete financial condition.
(C) Departmental
Reports and Information. When requested by the governor, a department
head
shall provide him with
reports and information, in writing or otherwise, on any subject
relating to the
department, except
matters concerning investigations of the governor's office.
(D) Operating and
Capital Budget. The governor shall submit to the legislature an
operating budget
and a capital budget,
as provided by Article VII, Section 11 of this constitution.
(E) Pardon,
Commutation, Reprieve, and Remission; Board of Pardons. (1) The governor
may
grant reprieves to
persons convicted of offenses against the state and, upon favorable
recommendation
of the Board of
Pardons, may commute sentences, pardon those convicted of offenses
against the state,.and remit fines and forfeitures imposed for such
offenses. However, a first offender convicted of a non-violent
crime, or convicted of
aggravated battery, second degree battery, aggravated assault, mingling
harmful substances,
aggravated criminal damage to property, purse snatching, extortion, or
illegal use of
weapons or dangerous
instrumentalities never previously convicted of a felony shall be
pardoned
automatically upon
completion of his sentence, without a recommendation of the Board of
Pardons and
without action by the
governor.
(2) The Board of
Pardons shall consist of five electors appointed by the governor,
subject to
confirmation by the
Senate. Each member of the board shall serve a term concurrent with that
of the
governor appointing
him.
(F) Receipt of Bills
from the Legislature. The date and hour when a bill finally passed by
the
legislature is
delivered to the governor shall be endorsed thereon.
(G) Item Veto.
(1) Except as
otherwise provided by this constitution, the governor may veto any line
item in an
appropriation bill.
Any item vetoed shall be void unless the veto is overridden as
prescribed for the
passage of a bill over
a veto.
(2) The governor shall
veto line items or use means provided in the bill so that total
appropriations
for the year shall not
exceed anticipated revenues for that year.
(H) Appointments.
(1) The governor shall
appoint, subject to confirmation by the Senate, the head of each
department
in the executive
branch whose election or appointment is not provided by this
constitution and the
members of each board
and commission in the executive branch whose election or appointment is
not
provided by this
constitution or by law.
(2) Should the
legislature be in regular session, the governor shall submit for
confirmation by the
Senate the name of an
appointee within forty-eight hours after the appointment is made.
Failure of the
Senate to confirm the
appointment, prior to the end of the session, shall constitute
rejection.
(3) If the legislature
is not in regular session, the governor may make interim appointments,
which
shall expire at the
end of the next regular session, unless submitted to and confirmed by
the Senate
during that session.
(4) A person not
confirmed by the Senate shall not be appointed to the same office during
any
recess of the
legislature.
(I) Removal Power. The
governor may remove from office a person he appoints, except a person
appointed for a term
fixed by this constitution or by law.
(J)
Commander-in-Chief. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the
armed forces of the
state, except when
they are called into service of the federal government. He may call out
these forces
to preserve law and
order, to suppress insurrection, to repel invasion, or in other times of
emergency..(K) Other Powers and Duties. The governor shall have other
powers and perform other duties
authorized by this
constitution or provided by law.
Amended by Acts
1999, No. 1398, §1, approved Oct. 23, 1999, eff. Nov. 25, 1999; Acts
1999,
No. 1401, §1,
approved Nov. 20, 1999, eff. Dec. 27, 1999.
§6. Lieutenant
Governor; Powers and Duties
Section 6. The
lieutenant governor shall serve ex officio as a member of each
committee, board,
and commission on
which the governor serves. He shall exercise the powers delegated to him
by the
governor and shall
have other powers and perform other duties in the executive branch
authorized by
this constitution or
provided by law.
§7. Secretary of
State; Powers and Duties
Section 7. There shall
be a Department of State. The secretary of state shall head the
department
and shall be the chief
election officer of the state. He shall prepare and certify the ballots
for all
elections, promulgate
all election returns, and administer the election laws, except those
relating to voter
registration and
custody of voting machines. He shall administer the state corporation
and trademark
laws; serve as keeper
of the Great Seal of the State of Louisiana and attest therewith all
official laws,
documents,
proclamations, and commissions; administer and preserve the official
archives of the state;
promulgate and publish
all laws enacted by the legislature and retain the originals thereof;
and
countersign and keep
an official registry of all commissions. He may administer oaths, and
shall have
other powers and
perform other duties authorized by this constitution or provided by law.
§8. Attorney
General; Powers and Duties
Section 8. There shall
be a Department of Justice, headed by the attorney general, who shall be
the
chief legal officer of
the state. The attorney general shall be elected for a term of four
years at the state
general election. The
assistant attorneys general shall be appointed by the attorney general
to serve at
his pleasure.
As necessary for the
assertion or protection of any right or interest of the state, the
attorney general
shall have authority
(1) to institute, prosecute, or intervene in any civil action or
proceeding; (2) upon
the written request of
a district attorney, to advise and assist in the prosecution of any
criminal case; and
(3) for cause, when
authorized by the court which would have original jurisdiction and
subject to
judicial review, (a)
to institute, prosecute, or intervene in any criminal action or
proceeding, or (b) to
supersede any attorney
representing the state in any civil or criminal action.
The attorney general
shall exercise other powers and perform other duties authorized by this
constitution or by
law.
§9. Treasurer;
Powers and Duties
Section 9. There shall
be a Department of the Treasury. The treasurer shall head the department
and shall be
responsible for the custody, investment, and disbursement of the public
funds of the state,
except as otherwise
provided by this constitution. He shall report annually to the governor
and to the
legislature at least
one month before each regular session on the financial condition of the
state, and shall.have other powers and perform other duties authorized
by this constitution or provided by law.
§10. Commissioner
of Agriculture; Powers and Duties
Section 10. There
shall be a Department of Agriculture. The commissioner of agriculture
shall head
the department and
shall exercise all functions of the state relating to the promotion,
protection, and
advancement of
agriculture, except research and educational functions expressly
allocated by this
constitution or by law
to other state agencies. The department shall exercise such functions
and the
commissioner shall
have other powers and perform other duties authorized by this
constitution or
provided by law.
§11. Commissioner
of Insurance; Powers and Duties
Section 11. There
shall be a Department of Insurance, headed by the commissioner of
insurance.
The department shall
exercise such functions and the commissioner shall have powers and
perform
duties authorized by
this constitution or provided by law.
§12. Commissioner
of Elections; Powers and Duties
Section 12. There
shall be a Department of Elections and Registration. The commissioner of
elections shall head
the department and shall administer the laws relating to custody of
voting machines
and voter
registration. He shall have other powers and perform other duties
authorized by this
constitution or
provided by law.
§13. First
Assistants; Appointment
Section 13. Each
statewide elected official except the governor and lieutenant governor
shall
appoint a first
assistant, subject to public confirmation by the Senate, and may remove
him at his
pleasure. The official
shall submit the appointment to the Senate in the manner and subject to
the
procedures and
limitations applicable to appointments submitted by the governor. The
first assistant
shall possess the
qualifications required for election to the office.
§14. Vacancy in
Office of Governor
Section 14. When a
vacancy occurs in the office of governor, the order of succession shall
be (1)
the elected lieutenant
governor, (2) the elected secretary of state, (3) the elected attorney
general, (4)
the elected treasurer,
(5) the presiding officer of the Senate, (6) the presiding officer of
the House of
Representatives, and
then (7) as provided by law. The successor shall serve the remainder of
the term
for which the governor
was elected.
§15. Vacancy in
Office of Lieutenant Governor
Section 15. Should a
vacancy occur in the office of lieutenant governor, the governor shall
nominate
a lieutenant governor,
who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of the
elected
members of each house
of the legislature.
§16. Vacancies in
Other Statewide Elective Offices.Section 16. A vacancy in a
statewide elective office other than that of governor or lieutenant
governor shall be
filled by the first assistant. If the unexpired term exceeds one year,
the office shall be
filled by election at
the next regularly scheduled congressional or statewide election, and
the first
assistant shall serve
only until the person then elected takes office.
§17. Declaration of
Inability by Statewide Elected Officials
Section 17. When a
statewide elected official transmits to the presiding officers of the
Senate and
House of
Representatives a written declaration of his inability to discharge the
powers and duties of his
office, and until he
transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, the person who
would
succeed to the office
when a vacancy occurs shall assume the powers and duties of the office
as acting
official.
§18. Determination
of Inability of Statewide Elected Official
Section 18.(A)
Declaration and Counter-Declaration. When a majority of the statewide
elected
officials determine
that any other such official is unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office,
they shall transmit a
written declaration to this effect to the presiding officer of each
house and to the
official, and shall
file a copy of the declaration in the office of the secretary of state.
Thereafter, the
constitutional
successor shall assume the office as acting official unless, within
forty-eight hours after the
declaration is filed
in the office of the secretary of state, the elected official files in
that office and
transmits to the
presiding officer of each house his written counter-declaration of his
ability to exercise
the powers and perform
the duties of his office.
(B) Determination by
the Legislature. The legislature shall convene at noon on the third
calendar
day after the filing
of any counter-declaration, which may be filed by the official at any
time. Should
two-thirds of the
elected members of each house fail to adopt a resolution within
seventy-two hours
declaring probable
justification for the determination that inability exists, the official
shall continue in or
resume office.
(C) Assumption of
Office by Constitutional Successor. If two-thirds of the elected members
of
each house adopt a
resolution declaring that probable justification exists for the
declaration of inability,
the constitutional
successor shall assume the powers and duties of the office and a copy of
the
resolution shall be
transmitted forthwith to the supreme court.
(D) Determination by
Supreme Court. By preference and with priority over all other matters,
the
supreme court shall
determine the issue of inability after due notice and hearing, by a
majority vote of
members elected to the
court, under such rules as it may adopt.
(E) Reconsideration by
Supreme Court. A judgment of the supreme court affirming inability may
be
reconsidered by the
court, after due notice and hearing, either upon its own motion or upon
the
application of the
official. Upon proper showing and by majority vote of its elected
members, the court
may determine that no
inability then exists, whereupon the official shall immediately resume
the powers
and duties of his
office.
§19. Temporary
Absences.Section 19. When the governor is temporarily absent from
the state, the lieutenant governor shall
act as governor. When
any other statewide elected official is temporarily absent from the
state, the
appointed first
assistant shall act in his absence.
§20. Appointment of
Officials; Merger, Consolidation of Offices and Departments
Section 20. After the
first election of state officials following the effective date of this
constitution,
the legislature may
provide, by law enacted by two-thirds of the elected members of each
house, for
appointment, in lieu
of election, of the commissioner of agriculture, the commissioner of
insurance, the
superintendent of
education, the commissioner of elections, or any of them. In that event,
the legislature
shall prescribe
qualifications and method of appointment and by similar vote, may
provide by law for
the merger or
consolidation of any such office, its department, and functions with any
other office or
department in the
executive branch. No action of the legislature pursuant hereto shall
reduce the term or
compensation of any
incumbent elected official. By law enacted by two-thirds of the elected
members
of each house, the
legislature may reestablish any such office as elective and, in that
event, shall
prescribe
qualifications.
§21. Public Service
Commission
Section 21.(A)
Composition; Term; Domicile. There shall be a Public Service Commission
in the
executive branch. It
shall consist of five members, who shall be elected for overlapping
terms of six
years at the time
fixed for congressional elections from single member districts
established by law. Each
commissioner serving
on the effective date of this constitution shall be the commissioner for
the new
district in which he
resides and shall complete the term for which he was elected. The
commission
annually shall elect
one member as chairman. It shall be domiciled at the state capital, but
may meet,
conduct
investigations, and render orders elsewhere in this state.
(B) Powers and Duties.
The commission shall regulate all common carriers and public utilities
and
have such other
regulatory authority as provided by law. It shall adopt and enforce
reasonable rules,
regulations, and
procedures necessary for the discharge of its duties, and shall have
other powers and
perform other duties
as provided by law.
(C) Limitation. The
commission shall have no power to regulate any common carrier or public
utility
owned, operated, or
regulated on the effective date of this constitution by the governing
authority of one
or more political
subdivisions, except by the approval of a majority of the electors
voting in an election
held for that purpose;
however, a political subdivision may reinvest itself with such
regulatory power in
the manner in which it
was surrendered. This Paragraph shall not apply to safety regulations
pertaining
to the operation of
such utilities.
(D) Applications,
Petitions, and Schedules; Protective Bond and Security.
(1) Within twenty days
after a common carrier or public utility files a proposed rate schedule
which
would result in a
change in rates, it shall give notice thereof by publication in the
official state journal and
in the official
journal of each parish within the geographical area in which the
schedule would become
applicable.
(2) Within twelve
months after the effective filing date, the commission shall render a
full decision on.each application, petition, and proposed rate schedule.
(3) After the
effective filing date of any proposed schedule by a public utility which
would result in a
rate increase, the
commission may permit the proposed schedule to be put into effect, in
whole or in
part, pending its
decision on the application for rate increase and subject to protective
bond or security
approved by the
commission. If no decision is rendered on the application within twelve
months after
such filing date, the
proposed increase may be put into effect, but only if and as provided by
law and
subject to protective
bond or security requirements, until final action by a court of last
resort.
(4) If a proposed
increase which has been put into effect is finally disallowed, in whole
or in part,
the utility shall make
full refund, with legal interest thereon, within the time and in the
manner prescribed
by law.
(E) Appeals. Appeal
may be taken in the manner provided by law by any aggrieved party or
intervenor to the
district court of the domicile of the commission. A right of direct
appeal from any
judgment of the
district court shall be allowed to the supreme court. These rights of
appeal shall extend
to any action by the
commission, including but not limited to action taken by the commission
or by a
public utility under
the provisions of Subparagraph (3) of Paragraph (D) of this Section.
ARTICLE V.
JUDICIAL BRANCH
§1. Judicial Power
Section 1. The
judicial power is vested in a supreme court, courts of appeal, district
courts, and
other courts
authorized by this Article.
§2. Habeas Corpus,
Needful Writs, Orders and Process; Contempt
Section 2. A judge may
issue writs of habeas corpus and all other needful writs, orders, and
process in aid of the
jurisdiction of his court. Exercise of this authority by a judge of the
supreme court
or of a court of
appeal is subject to review by the whole court. The power to punish for
contempt of
court shall be limited
by law.
§3. Supreme Court;
Composition; Judgments; Terms
Section 3. The supreme
court shall be composed of a chief justice and six associate justices,
four of
whom must concur to
render judgment. The term of a supreme court judge shall be ten years.
§4. Supreme Court;
Districts
Section 4. The state
shall be divided into at least six supreme court districts, and at least
one judge
shall be elected from
each. The districts and the number of judges assigned to each on the
effective date
of this constitution
are retained, subject to change by law enacted by two-thirds of the
elected members
of each house of the
legislature..§5. Supreme Court; Jurisdiction; Rule-Making Power;
Assignment of Judges
Section 5.(A)
Supervisory Jurisdiction; Rule-Making Power; Assignment of Judges. The
supreme
court has general
supervisory jurisdiction over all other courts. It may establish
procedural and
administrative rules
not in conflict with law and may assign a sitting or retired judge to
any court. The
supreme court shall
have sole authority to provide by rule for appointments of attorneys as
temporary
or ad hoc judges of
city, municipal, traffic, parish, juvenile, or family courts.
(B) Original
Jurisdiction. The supreme court has exclusive original jurisdiction of
disciplinary
proceedings against a
member of the bar.
(C) Scope of Review.
Except as otherwise provided by this constitution, the jurisdiction of
the
supreme court in civil
cases extends to both law and facts. In criminal matters, its appellate
jurisdiction
extends only to
questions of law.
(D) Appellate
Jurisdiction. In addition to other appeals provided by this
constitution, a case shall be
appealable to the
supreme court if (1) a law or ordinance has been declared
unconstitutional or (2) the
defendant has been
convicted of a capital offense and a penalty of death actually has been
imposed.
(E) Additional
Jurisdiction until July 1, 1982. In addition to the provisions of
Section 5(D) and
notwithstanding the
provisions of Section 5(D), or Sections 10(A)(3) and 10(C), the supreme
court
shall have exclusive
appellate jurisdiction to decide criminal appeals where the defendant
has been
convicted of a felony
or a fine exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment exceeding six
months
actually has been
imposed, but only when an order of appeal has been entered prior to July
1, 1982
and shall have
exclusive supervisory jurisdiction of all criminal writ applications
filed prior to July 1,
1982 and of all
criminal writ applications relating to convictions and sentences imposed
prior to July 1,
1982.
(F) Appellate
Jurisdiction; Civil Cases; Extent. Subject to the provisions in
Paragraph (C), the
supreme court has
appellate jurisdiction over all issues involved in a civil action
properly before it.
Amended by Acts
1980, No. 843, §1, approved Nov. 4, 1980, eff. July 1, 1982; Acts 1987,
No. 945, §1,
approved Nov. 21, 1987, eff. Dec. 24, 1987.
§6. Supreme Court;
Chief Justice
Section 6. The judge
oldest in point of service on the supreme court shall be chief justice.
He is the
chief administrative
officer of the judicial system of the state, subject to rules adopted by
the court.
§7. Supreme Court;
Personnel
Section 7. The supreme
court may select a judicial administrator, its clerks, and other
personnel
and prescribe their
duties.
§8. Courts of
Appeal; Circuits; Panels; Judgments; Terms
Section 8.(A)
Circuits; Panels. The state shall be divided into at least four
circuits, with one court of
appeal in each. Each
court shall sit in panels of at least three judges selected according to
rules adopted.by the court.
(B) Judgments. A
majority of the judges sitting in a case must concur to render judgment.
However,
in civil matters only,
when a judgment of a district court is to be modified or reversed and
one judge
dissents, the case
shall be reargued before a panel of at least five judges prior to
rendition of judgment,
and a majority must
concur to render judgment.
(C) Terms. The term of
a court of appeal judge shall be ten years.
Amended by Acts
1980, No. 843, §1, approved Nov. 4, 1980, eff. July 1, 1982.
§9. Courts of
Appeal; Circuits and Districts
Section 9. Each
circuit shall be divided into at least three districts, and at least one
judge shall be
elected from each. The
circuits and districts and the number of judges as elected in each
circuit on the
effective date of this
constitution are retained, subject to change by law enacted by
two-thirds of the
elected members of
each house of the legislature.
§10. Courts of
Appeal; Jurisdiction
Section 10.(A)
Jurisdiction. Except as otherwise provided by this constitution, a court
of appeal has
appellate jurisdiction
of (1) all civil matters, including direct review of administrative
agency
determinations in
worker's compensation matters as heretofore or hereafter provided by
law, (2) all
matters appealed from
family and juvenile courts, and (3) all criminal cases triable by a
jury, except as
provided in Section 5,
Paragraph (D)(2) of this Article. It has supervisory jurisdiction over
cases which
arise within its
circuit.
(B) Scope of Review.
Except as limited to questions of law by this constitution, or as
provided by
law in the review of
administrative agency determinations, appellate jurisdiction of a court
of appeal
extends to law and
facts. In the review of an administrative agency determination in a
worker's
compensation matter, a
court of appeal may render judgment as provided by law, or, in the
interest of
justice, remand the
matter to the administrative agency for further proceedings. In criminal
cases its
appellate jurisdiction
extends only to questions of law.
(C) Other Criminal
Matters. In all criminal cases not provided for in Paragraph (D)(2) or
Paragraph
(E) of Section 5 or
Paragraph (A)(3) of this Section, a defendant has a right of appeal or
review, as
provided by law.
Amended by Acts
1980, No. 843, §1, approved Nov. 4, 1980, eff. July 1, 1982; Acts 1990,
No. 1098, §1,
approved Oct. 6, 1990, eff. Nov. 8, 1990.
§11. Courts of
Appeal; Certification
Section 11. A court of
appeal may certify any question of law before it to the supreme court,
and
the supreme court then
may give its binding instruction or decide the case upon the whole
record.
§12. Courts of
Appeal; Chief Judge
Section 12. The judge
oldest in point of service on each court of appeal shall be chief judge
of that.court and shall administer the court subject to rules adopted by
it.
§13. Courts of
Appeal; Personnel
Section 13. Each court
of appeal may select its clerk and other personnel and prescribe their
duties.
§14. District
Courts; Judicial Districts
Section 14. The state
shall be divided into judicial districts, each composed of at least one
parish
and served by at least
one district judge.
§15. Courts;
Retention; Jurisdiction; Judicial District Changes; Terms
Section 15.(A) Court
Retention; Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction. The district, family,
juvenile,
parish, city, and
magistrate courts existing on the effective date of this constitution
are retained. Subject
to the limitations in
Sections 16 and 21 of this Article, the legislature by law may abolish
or merge trial
courts of limited or
specialized jurisdiction. The legislature by law may establish trial
courts of limited
jurisdiction with
parishwide territorial jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction
which shall be uniform
throughout the state.
The office of city marshal is continued until the city court he serves
is abolished.
(B) Judicial
Districts. The judicial districts existing on the effective date of this
constitution are
retained. Subject to
the limitations in Section 21 of this Article, the legislature by law
may establish,
divide, or merge
judicial districts with approval in a referendum in each district and
parish affected.
(C) Term. The term of
a district, parish, or city court judge shall be six years.
(D) Number of Judges.
The legislature may change the number of judges in any judicial district
by
law enacted by
two-thirds of the elected members of each house.
§16. District
Courts; Jurisdiction
Section 16.(A)
Original Jurisdiction. (1) Except as otherwise authorized by this
constitution or
except as heretofore
or hereafter provided by law for administrative agency determinations in
worker's
compensation matters,
a district court shall have original jurisdiction of all civil and
criminal matters. (2)
It shall have
exclusive original jurisdiction of felony cases and of cases involving
title to immovable
property, except as
provided in (3) below; the right to office or other public position;
civil or political
right; probate and
succession matters; except for administrative agency determination
provided for in
(1) above, the state,
a political corporation, or political subdivisions, or a succession, as
a defendant;
and the appointment of
receivers or liquidators for corporations or partnerships. (3) The
legislature may
provide by law that a
family court has jurisdiction of cases involving title to movable and
immovable
property when those
cases relate to the partition of community property and the settlement
of claims
arising from
matrimonial regimes when such action arises as a result of divorce or
annulment of
marriage.
(B) Appellate
Jurisdiction. A district court shall have appellate jurisdiction as
provided by law.
Amended by Acts
1990, No. 1098, §1, approved Oct. 6, 1990, eff. Nov. 8, 1990; Acts
1993,.No. 1040, §1, approved Oct. 1, 1994, eff. Nov. 3, 1994.
§17. District
Courts; Chief Judge
Section 17. Each
district court shall elect from its members a chief judge who shall
exercise, for a
term designated by the
court, the administrative functions prescribed by rule of court.
§18. Juvenile and
Family Courts; Jurisdiction
Section 18.
Notwithstanding any contrary provision of Section 16 of this Article,
juvenile and family
courts shall have
jurisdiction as provided by law.
§19. Special
Juvenile Procedures
Section 19. The
determination of guilt or innocence, the detention, and the custody of a
person who
is alleged to have
committed a crime prior to his seventeenth birthday shall be pursuant to
special
juvenile procedures
which shall be provided by law. However, the legislature may (1) by a
two-thirds
vote of the elected
members of each house provide that special juvenile procedures shall not
apply to
juveniles arrested for
having committed first or second degree murder, manslaughter, aggravated
rape,
armed robbery,
aggravated burglary, aggravated kidnapping, attempted first degree
murder, attempted
second degree murder,
forcible rape, simple rape, second degree kidnapping, a second or
subsequent
aggravated battery, a
second or subsequent aggravated burglary, a second or subsequent offense
of
burglary of an
inhabited dwelling, or a second or subsequent felony-grade violation of
Part X or X-B of
Chapter 4 of Title 40
of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, involving the manufacture,
distribution,
or possession with
intent to distribute controlled dangerous substances, and (2) by
two-thirds vote of
the elected members of
each house lower the maximum ages of persons to whom juvenile procedures
shall apply, and (3)
by two-thirds vote of the elected members of each house establish a
procedure by
which the court of
original jurisdiction may waive special juvenile procedures in order
that adult
procedures shall apply
in individual cases. The legislature, by a majority of the elected
members of each
house, shall make
special provisions for detention and custody of juveniles who are
subject to the
jurisdiction of the
district court pending determination of guilt or innocence.
Amended by Acts
1979, No. 801, §1, approved Oct. 27, 1979, eff. Dec. 1, 1979; Acts 1994,
3rd Ex. Sess., No.
152, §1, approved Oct. 1, 1994, eff. Nov. 3, 1994.
§20. Mayors'
Courts; Justice of the Peace Courts
Section 20. Mayors'
courts and justice of the peace courts existing on the effective date of
this
constitution are
continued, subject to change by law.
§21. Judges;
Decrease in Terms and Compensation Prohibited
Section 21. The term
of office, retirement benefits, and compensation of a judge shall not be
decreased during the
term for which he is elected.
§22. Judges;
Election; Vacancy
Section 22.(A)
Election. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, all judges shall
be elected..Election shall be at the regular congressional election.
(B) Vacancy. A
newly-created judgeship or a vacancy in the office of a judge shall be
filled by
special election
called by the governor and held within twelve months after the day on
which the
vacancy occurs or the
judgeship is established, except when the vacancy occurs in the last
twelve
months of an existing
term. Until the vacancy is filled, the supreme court shall appoint a
person meeting
the qualifications for
the office, other than domicile, to serve at its pleasure. The appointee
shall be
ineligible as a
candidate at the election to fill the vacancy or the newly-created
judicial office. No person
serving as an
appointed judge, other than a retired judge, shall be eligible for
retirement benefits
provided for the
elected judiciary.
(C) End of Term. A
judge serving on the effective date of this constitution shall serve
through
December thirty-first
of the last year of his term or, if the last year of his term is not in
the year of a
regular congressional
election, then through December thirty-first of the following year. The
election for
the next term shall be
held in the year in which the term expires, as provided above.
Amended by Acts
1983, No. 728, §1, approved Oct. 22, 1983, eff. Nov. 23, 1983.
§23. Judges;
Retirement
Section 23.(A)
Retirement System. Within two years after the effective date of this
constitution, the
legislature shall
provide for a retirement system for judges which shall apply to a judge
taking office
after the effective
date of the law enacting the system and in which a judge in office at
that time may
elect to become a
member, with credit for all prior years of judicial service and without
contribution
therefor. The
retirement benefits and judicial service rights of a judge in office or
retired on the effective
date of this
constitution shall not be diminished, nor shall the benefits to which a
surviving spouse is
entitled be reduced.
(B) Mandatory
Retirement. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, a judge shall
not remain in
office beyond his
seventieth birthday.
§24. Judges;
Qualifications
Section 24. A judge of
the supreme court, a court of appeal, district court, family court,
parish
court, or court having
solely juvenile jurisdiction shall have been admitted to the practice of
law in this
state for at least
five years prior to his election, and shall have been domiciled in the
respective district,
circuit, or parish for
the two years preceding election. He shall not practice law.
§25. Judiciary
Commission
Section 25.(A)
Composition. The judiciary commission shall consist of
(1) one court of
appeal judge and two district court judges selected by the supreme
court;
(2) two attorneys
admitted to the practice of law for at least ten years and one attorney
admitted to
the practice of law
for at least three years but not more than ten years, selected by the
Conference of
Court of Appeal Judges
or its successor. They shall not be judges, active or retired, or public
officials,
other than notaries
public; and.(3) three citizens, not lawyers, judges active or retired,
or public officials, selected by the Louisiana
District Judges'
Association or its successor.
(B) Term; Vacancy. A
member of the commission shall serve a four-year term and shall be
ineligible to succeed
himself. His term shall end upon the occurrence of any event which would
have
made him ineligible
for appointment. When a vacancy occurs, a successor shall be appointed
for a
four-year term by the
authority which appointed his predecessor.
(C) Powers. On
recommendation of the judiciary commission, the supreme court may
censure,
suspend with or
without salary, remove from office, or retire involuntarily a judge for
willful misconduct
relating to his
official duty, willful and persistent failure to perform his duty,
persistent and public
conduct prejudicial to
the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into
disrepute, conduct
while in office which
would constitute a felony, or conviction of a felony. On recommendation
of the
judiciary commission,
the supreme court may disqualify a judge from exercising any judicial
function,
without loss of
salary, during pendency of proceedings in the supreme court. On
recommendation of the
judiciary commission,
the supreme court may retire involuntarily a judge for disability that
seriously
interferes with the
performance of his duties and that is or is likely to become permanent.
The supreme
court shall make rules
implementing this Section and providing for confidentiality and
privilege of
commission
proceedings.
(D) Other Disciplinary
Action. Action against a judge under this Section shall not preclude
disciplinary action
against him concerning his license to practice law.
§26. District
Attorneys
Section 26.(A)
Election; Qualifications; Assistants. In each judicial district a
district attorney shall
be elected for a term
of six years. He shall have been admitted to the practice of law in the
state for at
least five years prior
to his election and shall have resided in the district for the two years
preceding
election. A district
attorney may select assistants as authorized by law, and other
personnel.
(B) Powers. Except as
otherwise provided by this constitution, a district attorney, or his
designated
assistant, shall have
charge of every criminal prosecution by the state in his district, be
the representative
of the state before
the grand jury in his district, and be the legal advisor to the grand
jury. He shall
perform other duties
provided by law.
(C) Prohibition. No
district attorney or assistant district attorney shall appear, plead, or
in any way
defend or assist in
defending any criminal prosecution or charge. A violation of this
Paragraph shall be
cause for removal.
§27. Sheriffs
Section 27. In each
parish a sheriff shall be elected for a term of four years. He shall be
the chief
law enforcement
officer in the parish, except as otherwise provided by this
constitution, and shall
execute court orders
and process. He shall be the collector of state and parish ad valorem
taxes and
such other taxes and
license fees as provided by law.
This Section shall not
apply to Orleans Parish..§28. Clerks of Court
Section 28.(A) Powers
and Duties; Deputies. In each parish a clerk of the district court shall
be
elected for a term of
four years. He shall be ex officio notary public and parish recorder of
conveyances,
mortgages, and other acts and shall have other duties and powers
provided by law. The
clerk may appoint
deputies with duties and powers provided by law and, with the approval
of the
district judges, he
may appoint minute clerks with duties and powers provided by law.
(B) Office Hours. The
legislature shall establish uniform statewide office hours for clerks of
the
district courts.
§29. Coroners
Section 29. In each
parish a coroner shall be elected for a term of four years. He shall be
a licensed
physician and possess
the other qualifications and perform the duties provided by law. The
requirement
that he be a licensed
physician shall be inapplicable in any parish in which no licensed
physician will
accept the office.
[Acts 2001, No. 1230 proposal to amend
§29: To be submitted to electors on November 5, 2002.]
Section 29. In each parish a coroner
shall be elected for a term of four years. He shall be a licensed
physician and possess the other
qualifications and perform the duties provided by law. The requirement
that
he be a licensed physician shall be
inapplicable in any parish in which no licensed physician will accept
the
office. The qualifications for the office
of coroner in Livingston Parish may be provided for by law.
Amended by Acts 2001, §1230, §1.
§30. Vacancies
Section 30. When a
vacancy occurs in the following offices, the duties of the office, until
it is filled
by election as
provided by law, shall be assumed by the persons herein designated: (1)
sheriff, by the
chief criminal deputy;
(2) district attorney, by the first assistant; (3) clerk of a district
court, by the chief
deputy; (4) coroner,
by the chief deputy. If there is no such person to assume the duties
when the
vacancy occurs, the
governing authority or authorities of the parish or parishes concerned
shall appoint
a qualified person to
assume the duties of the office until filled by election.
§31. Reduction of
Salaries and Benefits Prohibited
Section 31. The salary
and retirement benefits of an attorney general, district attorney,
sheriff,
coroner, or clerk of
the district court shall not be diminished during his term of office.
§32. Orleans Parish
Courts, Officials
Section 32. Except for
provisions relating to terms of office as provided elsewhere in this
Article,
and notwithstanding
any other contrary provision of this constitution, the following courts
and officers in
Orleans Parish are
continued, subject to change by law; the civil and criminal district
courts; the city,
municipal, traffic,
and juvenile courts; the clerks of the civil and criminal district
courts; the civil and
criminal sheriffs; the
constables and the clerks of the first and second city courts; the
register of
conveyances; and the
recorder of mortgages..§33. Jurors
Section 33.(A)
Qualifications. A citizen of the state who has reached the age of
majority is eligible
to serve as a juror
within the parish in which he is domiciled. The legislature may provide
additional
qualifications.
(B) Exemptions.
Persons who are seventy years of age or older shall be exempt from jury
service
and may decline to
serve as jurors, but may elect to serve as jurors if they meet the other
qualifications
for service as jurors.
The supreme court shall provide by rule for other grounds for the
exemption of
jurors.
Amended by Acts
1999, No. 1406, §1, approved Nov. 20, 1999, eff. Dec. 27, 1999.
§34. Grand Jury
Section 34.(A) Grand
Jury. There shall be a grand jury or grand juries in each parish, whose
qualifications,
duties, and responsibilities shall be provided by law. The secrecy of
the proceedings,
including the identity
of witnesses, shall be provided by law.
(B) Right to Counsel.
The legislature may establish by law terms and conditions under which a
witness may have the
right to the advice of counsel while testifying before the grand jury.
ARTICLE VI.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
PART I. GENERAL
PROVISIONS
§1. Parishes
Section 1.(A) Parishes
and Boundaries Ratified. Parishes and their boundaries as established on
the
effective date of this
constitution are recognized and ratified.
(B) Creation;
Dissolution; Merger; Boundaries. The legislature by law may establish
and organize
new parishes, dissolve
and merge parishes, and change parish boundaries if approved by
two-thirds of
the electors in each
parish affected voting thereon at an election held for that purpose.
(C) Change of Parish
Seat. The governing authority of a parish may call an election on the
question
of changing the parish
seat. The parish seat shall be changed if approved by two-thirds of the
electors
voting thereon.
(D) Adjustment of
Assets and Liabilities. When a parish is enlarged or established from
contiguous
territory, it shall be
entitled to a just proportion of the property and assets and shall be
liable for a just
proportion of the
existing debts and liabilities of the parish or parishes from which the
territory is taken.
§2. Municipalities
Section 2. The
legislature shall provide by general law for the incorporation,
consolidation, merger,.and government of municipalities. No local or
special law shall create a municipal corporation or
amend, modify, or
repeal a municipal charter. However, a special legislative charter
existing on the
effective date of this
constitution may be amended, modified, or repealed by local or special
law.
§3. Classification
Section 3. The
legislature may classify parishes or municipalities according to
population or on any
other reasonable basis
related to the purpose of the classification. Legislation may be limited
in its effect
to any of such class
or classes.
§4. Existing Home
Rule Charters and Plans of Government
Section 4. Every home
rule charter or plan of government existing or adopted when this
constitution
is adopted shall
remain in effect and may be amended, modified, or repealed as provided
therein.
Except as inconsistent
with this constitution, each local governmental subdivision which has
adopted
such a home rule
charter or plan of government shall retain the powers, functions, and
duties in effect
when this constitution
is adopted. If its charter permits, each of them also shall have the
right to powers
and functions granted
to other local governmental subdivisions.
§5. Home Rule
Charter
Section 5.(A)
Authority to Adopt; Commission. Subject to and not inconsistent with
this
constitution, any
local governmental subdivision may draft, adopt, or amend a home rule
charter in
accordance with this
Section. The governing authority of a local governmental subdivision may
appoint
a commission to
prepare and propose a charter or an alternate charter, or it may call an
election to
elect such a
commission.
(B) Petition to Elect
Commission. The governing authority shall call an election to elect such
a
commission when
presented with a petition signed by not less than ten percent of the
electors or ten
thousand electors,
whichever is fewer, who live within the boundaries of the affected
subdivision, as
certified by the
registrar of voters.
(C) Adoption;
Amendment; Repeal. A home rule charter shall be adopted, amended, or
repealed
when approved by a
majority of the electors voting thereon at an election held for that
purpose.
(D) Adoption by Two or
More Local Governmental Subdivisions. Two or more local governmental
subdivisions within
the boundaries of one parish may adopt a home rule charter under this
Section if
approved by a majority
of the electors in each affected local governmental subdivision voting
thereon in
an election held for
that purpose. The legislature shall provide by law the method of
appointment or
election of a
commission to prepare and propose a charter consistent with Paragraph
(A) of this
Section and the method
by which the electors may petition for an election consistent with
Paragraph (B)
of this Section.
However, at least one member of the commission shall be elected or
appointed from
each affected local
governmental subdivision.
(E) Structure and
Organization; Powers; Functions. A home rule charter adopted under this
Section
shall provide the
structure and organization, powers, and functions of the government of
the local
governmental
subdivision, which may include the exercise of any power and performance
of any.function necessary, requisite, or proper for the management of
its affairs, not denied by general law or
inconsistent with this
constitution.
(F) Additional Powers
and Functions. Except as prohibited by its charter, a local governmental
subdivision adopting a
home rule charter under this Section shall have the additional powers
and
functions granted to
local governmental subdivisions by other provisions of this
constitution.
(G) Parish Officials
and School Boards Not Affected. No home rule charter or plan of
government
shall contain any
provision affecting a school board or the offices of district attorney,
sheriff, assessor,
clerk of a district
court, or coroner, which is inconsistent with this constitution or law.
§6. Home Rule
Charter or Plan of Government; Action by Legislature Prohibited
Section 6. The
legislature shall enact no law the effect of which changes or affects
the structure and
organization or the
particular distribution and redistribution of the powers and functions
of any local
governmental
subdivision which operates under a home rule charter.
§7. Powers of Other
Local Governmental Subdivisions
Section 7.(A) Powers
and Functions. Subject to and not inconsistent with this constitution,
the
governing authority of
a local governmental subdivision which has no home rule charter or plan
of
government may
exercise any power and perform any function necessary, requisite, or
proper for the
management of its
affairs, not denied by its charter or by general law, if a majority of
the electors voting
in an election held
for that purpose vote in favor of the proposition that the governing
authority may
exercise such general
powers. Otherwise, the local governmental subdivision shall have the
powers
authorized by this
constitution or by law.
(B) Parish Officials
and School Boards Not Affected. Nothing in this Section shall affect the
powers and functions
of a school board or the offices of district attorney, sheriff,
assessor, clerk of a
district court, or
coroner.
§8. Home Rule
Parish; Incorporation of Cities, Towns, and Villages
Section 8. No parish
plan of government or home rule charter shall prohibit the incorporation
of a
city, town, or village
as provided by general law.
§9. Limitations of
Local Governmental Subdivisions
Section 9.(A)
Limitations. No local governmental subdivision shall (1) define and
provide for the
punishment of a
felony; or (2) except as provided by law, enact an ordinance governing
private or civil
relationships.
(B) Police Power Not
Abridged. Notwithstanding any provision of this Article, the police
power of
the state shall never
be abridged.
§10. Codification
of Ordinances.Section 10. Within two years after the effective date
of this constitution, the governing authority of
each political
subdivision shall have a code prepared containing all of its general
ordinances. When the
code is prepared, the
governing authority shall make copies available for public distribution.
All general
ordinances adopted
after the approval of the code shall be amendments or additions to the
code.
§11. Local
Officials
Section 11. The
electors of each local governmental subdivision shall have the exclusive
right to
elect their governing
authority. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the election of
the members
from single-member
districts.
§12. Local
Officials; Compensation
Section 12. The
compensation or method of fixing the compensation of an elected official
of any
local governmental
subdivision which operates under a home rule charter or plan of
government, as
provided in Sections 4
and 5 of this Article, shall be provided in its charter. The
compensation or
method of fixing the
compensation of an elected official of any other local governmental
subdivision shall
be provided by law.
Compensation of a local official shall not be reduced during the term
for which he
is elected.
§13. Vacancies
Section 13.(A)
Vacancy; Appointment. Except as otherwise provided by this constitution,
a
vacancy in any local
office filled by election wholly within the boundaries of a local
governmental
subdivision or a
school district shall be filled by appointment by the particular
governing authority of the
local governmental
subdivision or school district in which the vacancy occurs, until it is
filled by election
as provided by law.
(B) Exception. This
Section shall apply to each local governmental subdivision unless
otherwise
provided by its home
rule charter or plan of government.
§14. Increasing
Financial Burden of Political Subdivisions
Section 14.(A) No law
or state executive order, rule, or regulation requiring increased
expenditures
for any purpose shall
become effective within a political subdivision until approved by
ordinance
enacted, or resolution
adopted, by the governing authority of the affected political
subdivision or until,
and only as long as,
the legislature appropriates funds for the purpose to the affected
political
subdivision and only
to the extent and amount that such funds are provided, or until a law
provides for a
local source of
revenue within the political subdivision for the purpose and the
affected political
subdivision is
authorized by ordinance or resolution to levy and collect such revenue
and only to the
extent and amount of
such revenue. This Section shall not apply to a school board.
(B) This Section shall
not apply to:
(1) A law requested by
the governing authority of the affected political subdivision.
(2) A law defining a
new crime or amending an existing crime..(3) A law enacted and effective
prior to the adoption of the amendment of this Section by the
electors of the state
in 1991.
(4) A law enacted, or
state executive order, rule, or regulation promulgated, to comply with a
federal mandate.
(5) A law providing
for civil service, minimum wages, hours, working conditions, and pension
and
retirement benefits,
or vacation or sick leave benefits for firemen and municipal policemen.
(6) Any instrument
adopted or enacted by two-thirds of the elected members of each house of
the
legislature and any
rule or regulation adopted to implement such instrument or adopted
pursuant
thereto.
(7) A law having
insignificant fiscal impact on the affected political subdivision.
Acts 1991, No.
1066, §1, approved Oct. 19, 1991, eff. Nov. 21, 1991.
§15. Local
Governmental Subdivisions; Control Over Agencies
Section 15. The
governing authority of a local governmental subdivision shall have
general power
over any agency
heretofore or hereafter created by it, including, without limitation,
the power to abolish
the agency and require
prior approval of any charge or tax levied or bond issued by the agency.
§16. Special
Districts and Local Public Agencies
Section 16.(A)
Consolidation. A local governmental subdivision may consolidate and
merge into
itself any special
district or local public agency, except a school district, situated and
having jurisdiction
entirely within the
boundaries of the local governmental subdivision. Upon the consolidation
and merger,
the local governmental
subdivision shall succeed to and be vested with all of the rights,
revenues,
resources,
jurisdiction, authority, and powers of the special district or local
public agency. A
consolidation and
merger shall become effective only if approved by a majority of the
electors voting
thereon in the local
governmental subdivision as a whole and by a majority of the electors
voting
thereon in the
affected special district. A local public agency shall be consolidated
and merged only if
approved by a majority
of the electors voting thereon in an election held for that purpose in
the local
governmental
subdivision in which the agency is located.
(B) Assumption of
Debt. If the special district or local public agency which is
consolidated and
merged has outstanding
indebtedness, the authority provided by this Section shall not be
exercised
unless provision is
made for the assumption of the indebtedness by the governing authority
of the local
governmental
subdivision involved.
§17. Land Use;
Zoning; Historic Preservation
Section 17. Subject to
uniform procedures established by law, a local governmental subdivision
may (1) adopt
regulations for land use, zoning, and historic preservation, which
authority is declared to
be a public purpose;
(2) create commissions and districts to implement those regulations; (3)
review
decisions of any such
commission; and (4) adopt standards for use, construction, demolition,
and
modification of areas
and structures. Existing constitutional authority for historic
preservation.commissions is retained.
§18. Industrial
Areas
Section 18.(A)
Authorization. The legislature by law may authorize parishes to create
and define
industrial areas
within their boundaries in accordance with procedures and subject to
regulations which
it determines. An
industrial area shall not be a political subdivision of the state.
(B) Access by Public
Road; Police Protection. When an industrial area is so created,
provision
shall be made for
access by public road to each entrance to the premises of every plant in
the area,
which is provided for
use by employees of the company, or for use by employees of independent
contractors working on
the premises, or for delivery of materials or supplies, other than by
rail or water
transportation, to the
premises. Police protection provided by any plant in an industrial area
shall be
confined to the
premises of that plant.
§19. Special
Districts; Creation
Section 19. Subject to
and not inconsistent with this constitution, the legislature by general
law or
by local or special
law may create or authorize the creation of special districts, boards,
agencies,
commissions, and
authorities of every type, define their powers, and grant to the special
districts,
boards, agencies,
commissions, and authorities so created such rights, powers, and
authorities as it
deems proper,
including, but not limited to, the power of taxation and the power to
incur debt and issue
bonds.
§20.
Intergovernmental Cooperation
Section 20. Except as
otherwise provided by law, a political subdivision may exercise and
perform
any authorized power
and function, including financing, jointly or in cooperation with one or
more
political
subdivisions, either within or without the state, or with the United
States or its agencies.
§21. Assistance to
Local Industry
Section 21.(A)
Authorization. In order to (1) induce and encourage the location of or
addition to
industrial enterprises
therein which would have economic impact upon the area and thereby the
state,
(2) provide for the
establishment and furnishing of such industrial plant, or (3) provide
movable or
immovable property, or
both, for pollution control facilities, the legislature by law may
authorize, subject
to restrictions it may
impose, any political subdivision, deep-water port commission, or
deep-water
port, harbor, and
terminal district to
(a) issue bonds,
subject to approval by the State Bond Commission or its successor, and
use the
funds derived from the
sale of the bonds to acquire and improve industrial plant sites and
other property
necessary to the
purposes thereof;
(b) acquire, through
purchase, donation, exchange, and (subject to Article I, Section 4)
expropriation, and
improve industrial plant buildings and industrial plant equipment,
machinery,
furnishings, and
appurtenances; and
(c) sell, lease,
lease-purchase, or demolish all or any part of the foregoing..(B)
Property Expropriated; Sale to Aliens Prohibited. No property
expropriated under the
authority of this
Section shall ever, directly or indirectly, be sold or donated to any
foreign power, any
alien, or any
corporation in which the majority of the stock is controlled by any
foreign power, alien
corporation, or alien.
(C) Exception. This
Section shall not apply to a school board.
§22. Procedure for
Certain Special Elections
Section 22. When an
election is required in a political subdivision under the provisions of
this
constitution which
require submission to the electors of a proposition or question, the
election shall be
called, conducted, and
the returns thereof canvassed, in accordance with the procedures
established by
the law then in effect
pertaining to elections for incurring bonded indebtedness and special
taxes relative
to local finance, or
as may be otherwise provided by law.
§23. Acquisition of
Property
Section 23. Subject to
and not inconsistent with this constitution and subject to restrictions
provided
by general law,
political subdivisions may acquire property for any public purpose by
purchase,
donation,
expropriation, exchange, or otherwise.
§24. Servitudes of
Way; Acquisition by Prescription
Section 24. The
public, represented by local governmental subdivisions, may acquire
servitudes of
way by prescription in
the manner prescribed by law.
§25. Courts Not
Affected
Section 25.
Notwithstanding any provision of this Article, courts and their officers
may be
established or
affected only as provided in Article V of this constitution.
PART II. FINANCE
§26. Parish Ad
Valorem Tax
Section 26.(A) Parish
Tax for General Purposes; Millage Limits; Increase. The governing
authority
of a parish may levy
annually an ad valorem tax for general purposes not to exceed four mills
on the
dollar of assessed
valuation. However, in Orleans Parish the limitation shall be seven
mills, and in
Jackson Parish the
limitation shall be five mills. Millage rates may be increased in any
parish when
approved by a majority
of the electors voting thereon in an election held for that purpose.
(B) Millage Increase
Not for General Purposes. When the millage increase is for other than
general
purposes, the
proposition shall state the specific purpose or purposes for which the
tax is to be levied
and the length of time
the tax is to remain in effect. All proceeds of the tax shall be used
solely for the
purpose or purposes
set forth in the proposition.
(C) Parish Tax in
Municipality. The amount of the parish tax for general purposes which
any parish,.except Orleans Parish, may levy, without a vote of the
electors, on property located wholly within any
municipality which has
a population exceeding one thousand inhabitants according to the last
federal
decennial census, or
other census authorized by law, and which provides and maintains a
system of
street paving, shall
not exceed one-half the tax levy for general purposes.
(D) Withdrawal from
Parish Taxing Authority. This Section shall not affect the withdrawal of
property in a
municipality from parish taxing authority, in whole or in part, by a
provision of the
legislative charter of
a municipality in effect on the effective date of this constitution.
(E) Additional Taxes
for Orleans Parish. In addition to any millage authorized by Paragraph
(A) of
this Section, the
governing authority of Orleans Parish may levy annually, for the year
1991 and
thereafter, an
additional ad valorem tax for fire protection not to exceed five mills
on the dollar of
assessed valuation and
an additional ad valorem tax for police protection not to exceed five
mills on the
dollar of assessed
valuation. The millage rates for such additional ad valorem taxes may
not be
increased.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Article VII, Section 20(A), the
homestead exemption shall
not extend to such
additional ad valorem taxes. Provided, however, that the additional
revenues
generated by these
fire and police millages shall not displace, replace, or supplant
funding by the city of
New Orleans for fire
and police protection for calendar year 1990 nor shall the level of
funding for such
purposes by the city
for that calendar year be decreased below such level in any calendar
year
hereafter. In the
event of either of the above, the authorization for such fire and police
millages herein
shall be null, void,
and of no effect. This provision shall mean that no appropriation for
any calendar
year from such
additional revenues shall be made for any purpose for which a city
appropriation was
made in the previous
year unless the total appropriations for that calendar year from the
city for such
purpose exceed city
appropriations for the previous year. This provision shall in no way
limit city
appropriations in
excess of the minimum amounts herein established.
Amended by Acts
1990, No. 1103, §1, approved Oct. 6, 1990, eff. Nov. 8, 1990.
§27. Municipal Ad
Valorem Tax
Section 27.(A)
Municipal Tax for General Purposes; Millage Limits; Increase. The
governing
authority of a
municipality may levy annually an ad valorem tax for general purposes
not to exceed
seven mills on the
dollar of assessed valuation. However, if a municipality, by its charter
or by law, is
exempt from payment of
parish taxes or, under legislative or constitutional authority,
maintains its own
public schools, it may
levy an annual tax not to exceed ten mills on the dollar of assessed
valuation.
Millage rates may be
increased in any municipality when approved by a majority of the
electors voting
thereon in an election
held for that purpose.
(B) Millage Increase
Not for General Purposes. When the millage increase is for other than
general
purposes, the
proposition shall state the specific purpose or purposes for which the
tax is to be levied
and the length of time
the tax is to remain in effect. All proceeds of the tax shall be used
solely for the
purpose or purposes
set forth in the proposition.
(C) Exception. This
Section shall not apply to the city of New Orleans.
§28. Local
Governmental Subdivisions; Occupational License Tax
Section 28. The
governing authority of a local governmental subdivision may impose
an.occupational license tax not greater than that imposed by the state.
Those who pay a municipal
occupational license
tax shall be exempt from a parish occupational license tax in the amount
of the
municipal tax. The
governing authority of a local governmental subdivision may impose an
occupational
license tax greater
than that imposed by the state when authorized by law enacted by the
favorable vote
of two-thirds of the
elected members of each house of the legislature.
§29. Local
Governmental Subdivisions and School Boards; Sales Tax
Section 29.(A) Sales
Tax Authorized. Except as otherwise authorized in a home rule charter as
provided for in
Section 4 of this Article, the governing authority of any local
governmental subdivision
or school board may
levy and collect a tax upon the sale at retail, the use, the lease or
rental, the
consumption, and the
storage for use or consumption, of tangible personal property and on
sales of
services as defined by
law, if approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon in an
election held
for that purpose. The
rate thereof, when combined with the rate of all other sales and use
taxes,
exclusive of state
sales and use taxes, levied and collected within any local governmental
subdivision,
shall not exceed three
percent.
(B) Additional Sales
Tax Authorized. However, the legislature, by general or by local or
special
law, may authorize the
imposition of additional sales and use taxes by local governmental
subdivisions
or school boards, if
approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon in an election
held for that
purpose.
(C) Bonds; Security.
Nothing in this Section shall affect any sales or use tax authorized or
imposed
on the effective date
of this constitution or affect or impair the security of any bonds
payable from the
proceeds of the tax.
(D) Exemptions;
Protection of Bonds. Except when bonds secured thereby have been
authorized,
the legislature may
provide for the exemption or exclusion of any goods, tangible personal
property, or
services from sales or
use taxes only pursuant to one of the following:
(1) Exemptions or
exclusions uniformly applicable to the taxes of all local governmental
subdivisions, school
boards, and other political subdivisions whose boundaries are not
coterminous with
those of the state.
(2) Exemptions or
exclusions applicable to the taxes of the state or applicable to
political
subdivisions whose
boundaries are coterminous with those of the state, or both.
(3) Exemptions or
exclusions uniformly applicable to the taxes of all the tax authorities
in the state.
Amended by Acts
1996, No. 46, §1, approved Nov. 5, 1996, eff. Dec. 11, 1996.
§30. Political
Subdivisions; Taxing Power
Section 30.(A) A
political subdivision may exercise the power of taxation, subject to
limitations
elsewhere provided by
this constitution, under authority granted by the legislature for
parish, municipal,
and other local
purposes, strictly public in their nature. This Section shall not affect
similar grants to
political subdivisions
under self-operative sections of this constitution..(B) Notwithstanding
the provisions of Paragraph (A) of this Section, or any other provision
of law
to the contrary, no
political subdivision shall submit the same tax proposition, or a new
tax proposition
that includes such a
tax proposition, to the electorate more than once within a six month
period except
in the case of an
emergency as determined by the governing authority of the political
subdivision.
Amended by Acts
1995, No. 1329, §1, approved Oct. 21, 1995, eff. Nov. 23, 1995.
§30.1. Bonding and
Taxing Authority of Certain Political Subdivisions and Other Public
Entities
Section 30.1.(A) The
Louisiana Recovery District shall have no power or authority, directly
or
indirectly, to incur
debt or issue bonds after the effective date of this Section except to
refund any such
outstanding debt or
bonds at a lower effective rate of interest. Any debt or bonds issued
and
outstanding on the
effective date of this Section, or any debt incurred or bonds issued to
refund such
indebtedness or bonds
as authorized by this Section shall be retired no later than the end of
Fiscal Year
1998-1999. At such
time as there is no debt or bonds of the Louisiana Recovery District
outstanding,
the Louisiana Recovery
District shall cease to exist and any authority or power of the district
shall be
null and void. The
Louisiana Recovery District shall not levy a new tax or increase any
existing tax of
the district.
(B) The legislature
shall not grant any power of taxation or power to incur debt or issue
bonds to
any one or more
political subdivisions, special districts, agencies, boards,
commissions, or other
authorities created by
the legislature for the purpose of generating revenue for the state
whose boundary
or combined boundaries
are coterminous with the state, except by law enacted by a favorable
record
vote of two-thirds of
the elected members of each house of the legislature. This Paragraph
shall not
apply to the Louisiana
Recovery District.
(C) Except as provided
in Paragraphs (A) and (B), this Section shall not apply to any political
subdivision, special
district, agency, board, commission, municipality, parish, school board,
levee
district, port, or to
any other similar authority.
Added by Acts 1994,
No. 48, §1, approved Oct. 1, 1994, eff. Nov. 3, 1994.
§31. Taxes;
Ratification
Section 31. Any tax
validly being levied by a political subdivision under prior legislative
or
constitutional
authority on the effective date of this constitution is ratified.
§32. Special Taxes;
Authorization
Section 32. For the
purpose of acquiring, constructing, improving, maintaining, or operating
any
work of public
improvement, a political subdivision may levy special taxes when
authorized by a
majority of the
electors in the political subdivision who vote thereon in an election
held for that purpose.
§33. Political
Subdivisions; General Obligation Bonds
Section 33.(A)
Authorization. Subject to approval by the State Bond Commission or its
successor,
general obligation
bonds may be issued only after authorization by a majority of the
electors voting on
the proposition at an
election in the political subdivision issuing the bonds. Bonds to refund
outstanding.indebtedness at the same or at a lower effective rate of
interest, even though payable solely from ad
valorem taxes, need
not be authorized at an election if the indebtedness refunded is paid or
cancelled at
the time of the
delivery of the refunding bonds, or if money, or securities made
eligible for such purpose
by law, are deposited
in escrow in an adequate amount, with interest, to be utilized solely to
retire the
refunded indebtedness
or bonds and to pay interest thereon and redemption premiums, if any, to
the
time of retirement.
(B) Full Faith and
Credit. The full faith and credit of a political subdivision is hereby
pledged to the
payment of general
obligation bonds issued by it under this constitution or the statute or
proceedings
pursuant to which they
are issued. The governing authority of the issuing political subdivision
shall levy
and collect or cause
to be levied and collected on all taxable property in the political
subdivision ad
valorem taxes
sufficient to pay principal and interest and redemption premiums, if
any, on such bonds as
they mature.
§34. Limitations on
Bonded Indebtedness
Section 34. The
legislature by law shall fix the limitation on bonded indebtedness
payable solely
from ad valorem taxes
levied by political subdivisions.
§35. Contesting
Political Subdivision Bonds
Section 35.(A)
Contesting Election; Time Limit. For sixty days after promulgation of
the result of an
election held to incur
or assume debt, issue bonds, or levy a tax, any person in interest may
contest the
legality of the
election, the bond issue provided for, or the tax authorized, for any
cause. After that time
no one shall have any
cause or right of action to contest the regularity, formality, or
legality of the
election, tax
provisions, or bond authorization, for any cause whatsoever. If the
validity of any election,
tax, debt assumption,
or bond issue authorized or provided for is not raised within the sixty
days, the
authority to incur or
assume debt, levy the tax, or issue the bonds, the legality thereof, and
the taxes and
other revenues
necessary to pay the same shall be conclusively presumed to be valid,
and no court shall
have authority to
inquire into such matters.
(B) Contesting
Ordinance or Resolution; Time Limit. Every ordinance or resolution
authorizing the
issuance of bonds or
other debt obligation by a political subdivision shall be published at
least once in
the official journal
of the political subdivision or, if there is none, in a newspaper having
general
circulation therein.
For thirty days after the date of publication, any person in interest
may contest the
legality of the
ordinance or resolution and of any provision therein made for the
security and payment of
the bonds. After that
time, no one shall have any cause of action to test the regularity,
formality, legality,
or effectiveness of
the ordinance or resolution, and provisions thereof for any cause
whatever.
Thereafter, it shall
be conclusively presumed that every legal requirement for the issuance
of the bonds
or other debt
obligation, including all things pertaining to the election, if any, at
which the bonds or other
debt obligation were
authorized, has been complied with. No court shall have authority to
inquire into
any of these matters
after the thirty days.
§36. Local
Improvement Assessments
Section 36.(A)
Authorization. The legislature shall provide by general law or by local
or special law
the procedures by
which a political subdivision may levy and collect local or special
assessments on real.property for the purpose of acquiring, constructing,
or improving works of public improvement.
(B) Certificates of
Indebtedness; Security. Certificates of indebtedness may be issued to
cover the
cost of any such
public improvement. They shall be secured by the pledge of the local or
special
assessments levied
therefor and may be further secured by the pledge of the full faith and
credit of the
political subdivision.
(C) Exception. This
Section shall not apply to a school board.
§37.
Revenue-Producing Property
Section 37.(A)
Authorization. The legislature by law may authorize political
subdivisions to issue
bonds or other debt
obligations to construct, acquire, extend, or improve any
revenue-producing public
utility or work of
public improvement. The bonds or other debt obligations may be secured
by
mortgage on the lands,
buildings, machinery, and equipment or by the pledge of the income and
revenues of the public
utility or work of public improvement. They shall not be a charge upon
the other
income and revenues of
the political subdivision.
(B) Exception. This
Section shall not apply to a school board.
PART III. LEVEE
DISTRICTS
§38. Levee
Districts
Section 38.(A)
Retention; Reorganization; Consolidation. Levee districts as organized
and
constituted on January
1, 1974 shall continue to exist, except that
(1) The legislature
may provide by law for the consolidation, division, or reorganization of
existing
levee districts or may
create new levee districts. However, the members of the board of
commissioners
of a district
heretofore or hereafter created shall be appointed or elected from among
residents of the
district, as provided
by law.
(2) A levee district
whose flood control responsibilities are limited to and which is
situated entirely
within one parish may
be consolidated and merged into such parish under the terms and
conditions and
in the manner provided
in Section 16 of this Article.
(B) Obligation of
Contract Affirmed. No action taken under this Section shall impair the
obligation
of outstanding bonded
indebtedness or of any other contract of a levee district.
§39. Levee District
Taxes
Section 39.(A)
District Tax; Millage Limit. For the purpose of constructing and
maintaining levees,
levee drainage, flood
protection, hurricane flood protection, and for all other purposes
incidental
thereto, the governing
authority of a levee district may levy annually a tax not to exceed five
mills,
except the Board of
Levee Commissioners of the Orleans Levee District which may levy
annually a tax
not to exceed two and
one-half mills, on the dollar of the assessed valuation of all taxable
property
situated within the
alluvial portions of the district subject to overflow..(B) Millage
Increase. If the necessity to raise additional funds arises in any levee
district for any
purpose set forth in
Paragraph (A), or for any other purpose related to its authorized powers
and
functions as specified
by law, the tax may be increased. However, the necessity and the rate of
the
increase shall be
submitted to the electors of the district, and the tax increase shall
take effect only if
approved by a majority
of the electors voting thereon in an election held for that purpose.
§40. Bond Issues
Section 40.(A)
Authorization. Subject to approval by the State Bond Commission or its
successor,
the governing
authority of a levee district may fund the proceeds of its taxes or
other revenues into
bonds or other
evidences of indebtedness. Proceeds thus derived shall be used for the
purposes
mentioned in Part III
of this Article or for the funding or payment of any outstanding
indebtedness.
(B) Sale. Bonds issued
under the authority of Paragraph (A) shall be sold as provided by law
concerning the
issuance of bonds by levee districts.
§41. Cooperation
with Federal Government
Section 41. The
governing authority of any levee district may cooperate with the federal
government in
constructing and maintaining levees in this state, under terms and
conditions provided by
the federal
authorities and accepted by the governing authority.
§42. Compensation
for Property Used or Destroyed; Tax
Section 42.(A)
Compensation. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this
constitution, lands
and improvements
thereon hereafter actually used or destroyed for levees or levee
drainage purposes
shall be paid for as
provided by law. However, nothing contained in this Paragraph with
respect to
compensation for lands
and improvements shall apply to batture or to property the control of
which is
vested in the state or
any political subdivision for the purpose of commerce. If the district
has no other
funds or resources
from which the payment can be made, it shall levy on all taxable
property within the
district a tax
sufficient to pay for property used or destroyed to be used solely in
the district where
collected.
(B) Appropriation.
Nothing in this Section shall prevent the appropriation of such property
before
payment.
PART IV. PORT
COMMISSIONS
AND DISTRICTS
§43. Port
Commissions and Districts
Section 43. All
deep-water port commissions and all deep-water port, harbor, and
terminal districts
as organized and
constituted on January 1, 1974, including their powers and functions,
structure and
organization, and
territorial jurisdiction, are ratified and confirmed and shall continue
to exist, except
that
(1) The legislature by
law may grant additional powers and functions to any such commission
or.district and may create new port commissions or port, harbor, and
terminal districts.
(2) Only by law
enacted by the favorable vote of two-thirds of the elected members of
each house,
may the legislature
consolidate or abolish any such commission or district or diminish,
reduce, or
withdraw from any such
commission or district any of its powers and functions and affect the
structure
and organization,
distribution, and redistribution of the powers and functions of any such
commission or
district, including
additions to or reductions of its territorial jurisdiction.
(3) The legislature
shall enact laws with respect to the membership of the commissions
provided in
this Section. Once the
law with respect to membership is enacted, it may be changed only by law
enacted by the
favorable vote of two-thirds of the elected members of each house.
PART V. DEFINITIONS
§44. Terms Defined
Section 44. As used in
this Article:
(1) "Local
governmental subdivision" means any parish or municipality.
(2) "Political
subdivision" means a parish, municipality, and any other unit of local
government,
including a school
board and a special district, authorized by law to perform governmental
functions.
(3) "Municipality"
means an incorporated city, town, or village.
(4) "Governing
authority" means the body which exercises the legislative functions of
the political
subdivision.
(5) "General law"
means a law of statewide concern enacted by the legislature which is
uniformly
applicable to all
persons or to all political subdivisions in the state or which is
uniformly applicable to all
persons or to all
political subdivisions within the same class.
(6) "General
obligation bonds" means those bonds, the principal and interest of which
are secured
by and payable from ad
valorem taxes levied without limitation as to rate or amount.
(7) "Deep-water port
commissions" and "deep-water port, harbor, and terminal districts" mean
those commissions or
districts within whose territorial jurisdiction exist facilities capable
of
accommodating vessels
of at least twenty-five feet of draft and of engaging in foreign
commerce.
ARTICLE VII.
REVENUE AND FINANCE
PART I. GENERAL
PROVISIONS
§1. Power to Tax;
Public Purpose.Section 1.(A) Except as otherwise provided by this
constitution, the power of taxation shall be
vested in the
legislature, shall never be surrendered, suspended, or contracted away,
and shall be
exercised for public
purposes only.
(B) The power to tax
may not be exercised by any court in the state, either by ordering the
levy of
a tax, an increase in
an existing tax, or the repeal of an existing tax exemption or by
ordering the
legislature or any
municipal or parish governing authority or any other political
subdivision or
governmental entity to
do so.
Acts 1997, No.
1493, §1, approved Oct. 3, 1998, eff. Nov. 5, 1998.
§2. Power to Tax;
Limitation
Section 2. The levy of
a new tax, an increase in an existing tax, or a repeal of an existing
tax
exemption shall
require the enactment of a law by two-thirds of the elected members of
each house of
the legislature.
§2.1. Fees and
Civil Fines; Limitation
Section 2.1.(A) Any
new fee or civil fine or increase in an existing fee or civil fine
imposed or
assessed by the state
or any board, department, or agency of the state shall require the
enactment of a
law by a two-thirds
vote of the elected members of each house of the legislature.
(B) The provisions of
this Section shall not apply to any department which is constitutionally
created
and headed by an
officer who is elected by majority vote of the electorate of the state.
Added by Acts 1995,
No. 1324, §1, approved Oct. 21, 1995, eff. Nov. 23, 1995.
§3. Collection of
Taxes
Section 3.(A) The
legislature shall prohibit the issuance of process to restrain the
collection of any
tax. It shall provide
a complete and adequate remedy for the prompt recovery of an illegal tax
paid by a
taxpayer.
(B)(1) Notwithstanding
any contrary provision of this constitution, sales and use taxes levied
by
political subdivisions
shall be collected by a single collector for each parish. On or before
July 1, 1992,
all political
subdivisions within each parish which levy a sales and use tax shall
agree between and
among themselves to
provide for the collection of such taxes by a single collector or a
central collection
commission. The
legislature, by general law, shall provide for the collection of sales
and use taxes,
levied by political
subdivisions, by a central collection commission in those parishes where
a single
collector or a central
collection commission has not been established by July 1, 1992.
(2) The legislature,
by local law enacted by two-thirds of the elected members of each house
of the
legislature, may
establish an alternate method of providing for a single collector or a
central collection
commission in each
parish.
(3) Except when
authorized by the unanimous agreement of all political subdivisions
levying a sales
and use tax within a
parish, only those political subdivisions levying a sales and use tax
shall be
authorized to act as
the single collector or participate on any commission established for
the collection.of such taxes.
(4) The legislature
shall provide for the prompt remittance to the political subdivisions
identified on
the taxpayers' returns
of funds collected pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph by a
single
collector or under any
other centralized collection arrangement.
(5) The provisions of
this Paragraph shall not apply in those parishes which have a single
collector
or a centralized
collection arrangement as of July 1, 1992.
Amended by Acts
1991, No. 1072, §1, approved Oct. 19, 1991, eff. Nov. 21, 1991.
§4. Income Tax;
Severance Tax; Political Subdivisions
Section 4.(A) Income
Tax. Equal and uniform taxes may be levied on net incomes, and these
taxes
may be graduated
according to the amount of net income. However, the state individual and
joint
income tax schedule of
rates shall never exceed the rates set forth in Title 47, Section 32 of
the
Louisiana Revised
Statutes on January 1, 1974. Federal income taxes paid shall be allowed
as a
deductible item in
computing state income taxes for the same period.
(B) Severance Tax.
Taxes may be levied on natural resources severed from the soil or water,
to be
paid proportionately
by the owners thereof at the time of severance. Natural resources may be
classified for the
purpose of taxation. Such taxes may be predicated upon either the
quantity or value of
the products at the
time and place of severance. No further or additional tax or license
shall be levied or
imposed upon oil, gas,
or sulphur leases or rights. No additional value shall be added to the
assessment
of land by reason of
the presence of oil, gas, or sulphur therein or their production
therefrom. However,
sulphur in place shall
be assessed for ad valorem taxation to the person, firm, or corporation
having the
right to mine or
produce the same in the parish where located, at no more than twice the
total assessed
value of the physical
property subject to taxation, excluding the assessed value of sulphur
above
ground, as is used in
sulphur operations in such parish. Likewise, the severance tax shall be
the only tax
on timber; however,
standing timber shall be liable equally with the land on which it stands
for ad
valorem taxes levied
on the land.
(C) Political
Subdivisions; Prohibitions. A political subdivision of the state shall
not levy a severance
tax, income tax,
inheritance tax, or tax on motor fuel.
(D) Severance Tax
Allocation. One-third of the sulphur severance tax, but not to exceed
one
hundred thousand
dollars; one-third of the lignite severance tax, but not to exceed one
hundred
thousand dollars;
one-fifth of the severance tax on all natural resources, other than
sulphur, lignite, or
timber, but not to
exceed five hundred thousand dollars; and three-fourths of the timber
severance tax
shall be remitted to
the governing authority of the parish in which severance or production
occurs.
Effective July 1,
1999, one-third of the sulphur severance tax, but not to exceed one
hundred thousand
dollars; one-third of
the lignite severance tax, but not to exceed one hundred thousand
dollars; one-fifth
of the severance tax
on all natural resources, other than sulphur, lignite, or timber, but
not to exceed
seven hundred fifty
thousand dollars; and three-fourths of the timber severance tax shall be
remitted to
the governing
authority of the parish in which severance or production occurs.
(E) Royalties
Allocation. One-tenth of the royalties from mineral leases on
state-owned land, lake
and river beds and
other water bottoms belonging to the state or the title to which is in
the public for.mineral development shall be remitted to the governing
authority of the parish in which severance or
production occurs. A
parish governing authority may fund these royalties into general
obligation bonds
of the parish in
accordance with law. The provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply to
properties
comprising the Russell
Sage Wildlife and Game Refuge.
Amended by Acts
1990, No. 1100, §1, approved Oct. 6, 1990, eff. Aug. 1, 1990; Acts 1990,
No. 1105, §1,
approved Oct. 6, 1990, eff. Jan. 1, 1991; Acts 1997, No. 1499, §1,
approved Oct.
3, 1998, eff. Nov.
5, 1998.
§5. Motor Vehicle
License Tax
Section 5. The
legislature shall impose an annual license tax of not more than one
dollar per each
one thousand dollars
of actual value on automobiles for private use based on the actual value
of the
vehicle, as provided
by law. However, the annual license tax shall not be less than ten
dollars per
automobile for private
use. On other motor vehicles, the legislature shall impose an annual
license tax
based upon carrying
capacity, horsepower, value, weight, or any of these. After satisfying
the
requirements of
Section 9(B) of this Article, and after satisfying pledges respecting
that portion of the
revenues attributable
to the tax rates in effect at the time of such pledges for the payment
of obligations
for bonds or other
evidences of indebtedness and upon the creation of a Transportation
Trust Fund
within this
constitution, the revenues from the license tax on automobiles for
private use shall be
deposited therein. In
the event no such trust fund is established in this constitution, the
revenues shall be
used exclusively and
solely as provided by law for the construction, maintenance, and safety
of the
federal and state
system of roads and bridges, for the parish and municipal road systems,
for the
operations of the
office of state police, Department of Public Safety and Corrections or
its successor,
and for the payment of
any obligation for bonds issued or indebtedness incurred in connection
with any
of the foregoing,
which bonds may be issued as revenue bonds under Article VII, Section
6(C) of this
constitution, subject
to existing pledges only as to that portion of the tax collections
attributable to the
rates in effect at the
time of such pledges for the payment of any obligations for bonds or
other
evidences of
indebtedness outstanding on the effective date of this Section. No
parish or municipality
may impose a license
fee on motor vehicles.
Amended by Acts
1989, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 28, §1, approved Oct. 7, 1989, eff. Nov. 7,
1989.
§6. State Debt;
Full Faith and Credit Obligations
Section 6.(A)
Authorization. Unless otherwise authorized by this constitution, the
state shall have no
power, directly or
indirectly, or through any state board, agency, commission, or
otherwise, to incur
debt or issue bonds
except by law enacted by two-thirds of the elected members of each house
of the
legislature. The debt
may be incurred or the bonds issued only if the funds are to be used to
repel
invasion; suppress
insurrection; provide relief from natural catastrophes; refund
outstanding
indebtedness at the
same or a lower effective interest rate; or make capital improvements,
but only in
accordance with a
comprehensive capital budget, which the legislature shall adopt.
(B) Capital
Improvements. (1) If the purpose is to make capital improvements, the
nature and
location and, if more
than one project, the amount allocated to each and the order of priority
shall be
stated in the
comprehensive capital budget which the legislature adopts.
(2) The estimated
amount of debt service to be paid for capital improvements for the next
fiscal
year shall be stated
as a separate item and by budget unit in the budget estimate required to
be.submitted by the governor in accordance with Section 11 of this
Article.
(C) Full Faith and
Credit. The full faith and credit of the state shall be pledged to the
repayment of
all bonds or other
evidences of indebtedness issued by the state directly or through any
state board,
agency, or commission
pursuant to the provisions of Paragraphs (A) and (B) hereof. The full
faith and
credit of the state is
not hereby pledged to the repayment of bonds of a levee district,
political
subdivision, or local
public agency. In addition, any state board, agency, or commission
authorized by
law to issue bonds, in
the manner so authorized and with the approval of the State Bond
Commission or
its successor, may
issue bonds which are payable from fees, rates, rentals, tolls, charges,
grants, or
other receipts or
income derived by or in connection with an undertaking, facility,
project, or any
combination thereof,
without a pledge of the full faith and credit of the state. Such revenue
bonds may,
but are not required
to, be issued in accordance with the provisions of Paragraphs (A) and
(B) hereof.
If issued other than
as provided in Paragraphs (A) and (B), such revenue bonds shall not
carry the
pledge of the full
faith and credit of the state and the issuance of the bonds shall not
constitute the
incurring of state
debt under this constitution. The rights granted to deep-water port
commissions or
deep-water port,
harbor, and terminal districts under this constitution shall not be
impaired by this
Section.
(D) Referendum. The
legislature, by law enacted by two-thirds of the elected members of each
house, may propose a
statewide public referendum to authorize incurrence of debt for any
purpose for
which the legislature
is not herein authorized to incur debt.
(E) Exception. Nothing
in this Section shall apply to any levee district, political
subdivision, or local
public agency unless
the full faith and credit of the state is pledged to the payment of the
bonds of the
levee district,
political subdivision, or local public agency.
(F) Limitation. (1)
The legislature shall provide for the determination of a limit to the
amount of net
state tax supported
debt which may be issued by the state in any fiscal year. Net state tax
supported
debt shall be defined
by law. When enacted, such definition shall not be changed except by
specific
legislative instrument
which receives a favorable vote of two-thirds of the elected members of
each
house of the
legislature. The limitation shall be established so that by Fiscal Year
2003-2004 and
thereafter the amount
necessary to service outstanding net state tax supported debt shall not
exceed six
percent of the
estimate of money to be received by the state general fund and dedicated
funds
contained in the
official forecast adopted by the Revenue Estimating Conference at its
first meeting after
the beginning of each
fiscal year and any other money required to be included in the estimate
by this
Paragraph. In making
such estimate, the conference shall include all amounts which are to be
used to
service net state tax
supported debt. For purposes of this Paragraph, servicing outstanding
net state tax
supported debt
includes payments of principal, interest, and sinking fund requirements.
The limitation
established pursuant
to this Paragraph shall not be construed to prevent the payment of debt
service on
net state tax
supported debt.
(2) The limitation
established pursuant to this Paragraph may be changed by passage of a
specific
legislative instrument
by a favorable vote of two-thirds of the elected members of each house
of the
legislature. The
limitation may be exceeded by passage of a specific legislative
instrument for a project
or related projects by
a favorable vote of two-thirds of the elected members of each house of
the
legislature, provided
that any debt service payment required for such projects shall, once
bonds have
been issued in
connection therewith, not be impaired in any future year by application
of this limitation..The limitation established pursuant to this
Subparagraph shall be deemed to be increased as necessary
to accommodate any
projects approved to exceed this limit if approved as provided in this
Paragraph,
but only as long as
there are bonds outstanding for the projects.
(3) Except as provided
in Subparagraph (2) of this Paragraph, the State Bond Commission shall
not approve the
issuance of any net state tax supported debt, the debt service
requirement of which
would cause the limit
herein established to be exceeded.
Amended by Acts
1993, No. 1043, §1, approved Oct. 16, 1993, eff. Nov. 18, 1993; Acts
1993,
No. 1044, §1,
approved Oct. 16, 1993, eff. Nov. 18, 1993.
§7. State Debt;
Interim Emergency Board
Section 7.(A)
Composition. The Interim Emergency Board is created. It shall be
composed of the
governor, lieutenant
governor, state treasurer, presiding officer of each house of the
legislature,
chairman of the Senate
Finance Committee, and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee,
or
their designees.
(B) Powers. Between
sessions of the legislature, when the board by majority vote determines
that
an emergency or
impending flood emergency exists, it may appropriate from the state
general fund or
borrow on the full
faith and credit of the state an amount to meet the emergency. The
appropriation may
be made or the
indebtedness incurred only for a purpose for which the legislature may
appropriate
funds and then only
after the board obtains, as provided by law, the written consent of
two-thirds of the
elected members of
each house of the legislature. For the purposes of this Paragraph, an
emergency is
an event or occurrence
not reasonably anticipated by the legislature and an impending flood
emergency
shall be an
anticipated situation which endangers an existing flood protection
structure. The
appropriation or
indebtedness incurred for an impending flood emergency shall not exceed
two hundred
fifty thousand dollars
for any one event or occurrence. For an impending emergency to qualify
for
funding it must be
determined as such by the United States Army Corp of Engineers or the
United
States Coast Guard.
Total funding for such impending emergencies shall not exceed
twenty-five percent
of the funds annually
available to the Interim Emergency Board.
(C) Limits. The
aggregate of indebtedness outstanding at any one time and the amount
appropriated
from the state general
fund for the current fiscal year under the authority of this Section
shall not exceed
one-tenth of one
percent of total state revenue receipts for the previous fiscal year.
(D) Allocation. An
amount sufficient to pay indebtedness incurred during the preceding
fiscal year
under the authority of
this Section is allocated, as a first priority, each year from the state
general fund.
Acts 1997, No.
1500, §1, approved Oct. 3, 1998, eff. Nov. 5, 1998.
§8. State Bond
Commission
Section 8.(A)
Creation. The State Bond Commission is created. Its membership and
authority shall
be determined by law.
(B) Approval of Bonds.
No bonds or other obligations shall be issued or sold by the state,
directly
or through any state
board, agency, or commission, or by any political subdivision of the
state, unless
prior written approval
of the bond commission is obtained..(C) Contesting State Bonds. Bonds,
notes, certificates, or other evidences of indebtedness of the
state (hereafter
referred to as "bonds") shall not be invalid because of any irregularity
or defect in the
proceedings or in the
issuance and sale thereof and shall be incontestable in the hands of a
bona fide
purchaser or holder.
The issuing agency, after authorizing the issuance of bonds by
resolution, shall
publish once in the
official journal of the state, as provided by law, a notice of intention
to issue the
bonds. The notice
shall include a description of the bonds and the security therefor.
Within thirty days
after the publication,
any person in interest may contest the legality of the resolution, any
provision of
the bonds to be issued
pursuant to it, the provisions securing the bonds, and the validity of
all other
provisions and
proceedings relating to the authorization and issuance of the bonds. If
no action or
proceeding is
instituted within the thirty days, no person may contest the validity of
the bonds, the
provisions of the
resolution pursuant to which the bonds were issued, the security of the
bonds, or the
validity of any other
provisions or proceedings relating to their authorization and issuance,
and the
bonds shall be
presumed conclusively to be legal. Thereafter no court shall have
authority to inquire into
such matters.
§9. State Funds
Section 9.(A) Deposit
in State Treasury. All money received by the state or by any state
board,
agency, or commission
shall be deposited immediately upon receipt in the state treasury,
except that
received:
(1) as a result of
grants or donations or other forms of assistance when the terms and
conditions
thereof or of
agreements pertaining thereto require otherwise;
(2) by trade or
professional associations;
(3) by the employment
security administration fund or its successor;
(4) by retirement
system funds;
(5) by state agencies
operating under authority of this constitution preponderantly from fees
and
charges for the
shipment of goods in international maritime trade and commerce; and
(6) by a state board,
agency, or commission, but pledged by it in connection with the issuance
of
revenue bonds as
provided in Paragraph (C) of Section 6 of this Article, other than any
surplus as may
be defined in the law
authorizing such revenue bonds.
(B) Bond Security and
Redemption Fund. Subject to contractual obligations existing on the
effective date of this
constitution, all state money deposited in the state treasury shall be
credited to a
special fund
designated as the Bond Security and Redemption Fund, except money
received as the
result of grants or
donations or other forms of assistance when the terms and conditions
thereof or of
agreements pertaining
thereto require otherwise. In each fiscal year an amount is allocated
from the
bond security and
redemption fund sufficient to pay all obligations which are secured by
the full faith
and credit of the
state and which become due and payable within the current fiscal year,
including
principal, interest,
premiums, sinking or reserve fund, and other requirements. Thereafter,
except as
otherwise provided by
law, money remaining in the fund shall be credited to the state general
fund..(C) Exception. Nothing in this Section shall apply to a levee
district or political subdivision unless
the full faith and
credit of the state is pledged to the payment of the bonds of the levee
district or
political subdivision.
§10. Expenditure of
State Funds
Section 10.(A) Revenue
Estimating Conference. The Revenue Estimating Conference shall be
composed of four
members: the governor, or his designee, the president of the senate, or
his designee,
the speaker of the
house or his designee, and a faculty member of a university or college
in Louisiana
who has expertise in
forecasting revenues. Changes to the membership beyond the four members
shall
be made by law enacted
by a favorable vote of two-thirds of the elected members of each house.
(B) Official Forecast.
The conference shall prepare and publish initial and revised estimates
of
money to be received
by the state general fund and dedicated funds for the current and next
fiscal years
which are available
for appropriation. In each estimate, the conference shall designate the
money in the
estimate which is
recurring and which is nonrecurring. All conference decisions to adopt
these estimates
shall be by unanimous
vote of its members. Changes to the unanimous vote requirement shall be
made
by law enacted by a
favorable vote of two-thirds of the elected members of each house. The
most
recently adopted
estimate of money available for appropriation shall be the official
forecast.
(C) Expenditure Limit.
(1) The legislature shall provide for the determination of an
expenditure limit
for each fiscal year
to be established during the first quarter of the calendar year for the
next fiscal year.
However, the
expenditure limit for the 1991-1992 Fiscal Year shall be the actual
appropriations from
the state general fund
and dedicated funds for that year except funds allocated by Article VII,
Section
4, Paragraphs (D) and
(E). For subsequent fiscal years, the limit shall not exceed the
expenditure limit
for the current fiscal
year plus an amount equal to that limit times a positive growth factor.
The growth
factor is the average
annual percentage rate of change of personal income for Louisiana as
defined and
reported by the United
States Department of Commerce for the three calendar years prior to the
fiscal
year for which the
limit is calculated.
(2) The expenditure
limit may be changed in any fiscal year by a favorable vote of
two-thirds of the
elected members of
each house. Any such change in the expenditure limit shall be approved
by passage
of a specific
legislative instrument which clearly states the intent to change the
limit.
(3) Beginning with the
1995-1996 Fiscal Year, the expenditure limit shall be determined in
accordance with the
provisions of Paragraph (J) of this Section. The redetermination of the
expenditure
limit for each fiscal
year from the 1991-1992 Fiscal Year through the 1994-1995 Fiscal Year
shall only
be used in computing
the expenditure limit for the 1995-1996 Fiscal Year and shall not affect
the
expenditure limit
already computed in accordance with this Paragraph for such fiscal
years.
(4) The provisions of
this Paragraph shall not apply to or affect funds allocated by Article
VII,
Section 4, Paragraphs
(D) and (E).
(D) Appropriations.
(1) Except as otherwise provided by this constitution, money shall be
drawn
from the state
treasury only pursuant to an appropriation made in accordance with law.
Appropriations
from the state general
fund and dedicated funds except funds allocated by Article VII, Section
4,
Paragraphs (D) and (E)
shall not exceed the expenditure limit for the fiscal year..(2) Except
as otherwise provided in this constitution, the appropriation or
allocation of any money
designated in the
official forecast as nonrecurring shall be made only for the following
purposes:
(a) Retiring or for
the defeasance of bonds in advance or in addition to the existing
amortization
requirements of the
state.
(b) Providing for
payments against the unfunded accrued liability of the public retirement
systems
which are in addition
to any payments required for the annual amortization of the unfunded
accrued
liability of the
public retirement systems, as required by Article X, Section 29(E)(2)(c)
of this
constitution; however,
any such payments to the public retirement systems shall not be used,
directly or
indirectly, to fund
cost-of-living increases for such systems.
(c) Providing funding
for capital outlay projects in the comprehensive state capital budget.
(d) Providing for
allocation or appropriation for deposit into the Budget Stabilization
Fund
established in Article
VII, Section 10.3 of this constitution.
[Proposed Amendment to add §10(D)(3): To
be submitted to electors November 5, 2002.]
(3)(a) The legislature shall provide by
law for the payment by the state of supplements to the salaries of
full-time local law enforcement and fire
protection officers of the state. Beginning with the fiscal year which
begins July 1, 2003, the legislature
shall appropriate funds sufficient to fully fund the cost of such state
supplement to the salaries of full-time
law enforcement and fire protection officers.
(b) For the purposes of this
Subparagraph, local law enforcement and fire protection officers shall
mean
and include the same classes of officers
which are eligible for such state salary supplements under the law as
of July 1, 2003.
(c) Full funding as required in
Subsubparagraph (a) of this Subparagraph shall be equal to the amount
which is required to meet the
requirements of law as such requirements are in effect on July 1, 2001.
(d) Neither the governor nor the
legislature may reduce an appropriation made pursuant to this
Subparagraph except that the governor may
reduce such appropriation using means provided in the Act
containing the appropriation, provided
that two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the
legislature consent to any such reduction
in writing.
(E) Balanced Budget.
Appropriations by the legislature from the state general fund and
dedicated
funds for any fiscal
year except funds allocated by Article VII, Section 4, Paragraphs (D)
and (E) shall
not exceed the
official forecast in effect at the time the appropriations are made.
(F) Projected Deficit.
The legislature by law shall establish a procedure to determine if
appropriations will
exceed the official forecast and an adequate method for adjusting
appropriations in
order to eliminate a
projected deficit. If within thirty days of the determination that
appropriations will
exceed the official
forecast the necessary adjustments in appropriations are not made to
eliminate the
projected deficit, the
governor shall call a special session of the legislature for this
purpose unless the
legislature is in
regular session. This special session shall commence as soon as possible
as allowed by
the provisions of this
constitution, including but not limited to Article III, Section 2(B).
[Acts 2001, No. 1236 proposal to amend
§10(F): To be submitted to electors November 5, 2002.]
(F) Projected Deficit. (1) The
legislature by law shall establish a procedure to determine
if.appropriations will exceed the official forecast and an adequate
method for adjusting appropriations in order
to eliminate a projected deficit. Any law
establishing a procedure to determine if appropriations will exceed
the official forecast and methods for
adjusting appropriations, including any constitutionally protected or
mandated allocations or appropriations,
once enacted, shall not be changed except by specific legislative
instrument which receives a favorable
vote of two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the
legislature. Notwithstanding the
provisions of Article III, Section 2 of this constitution, such law may
be
introduced and considered in any regular
session of the legislature.
(2)(a) Notwithstanding any other
provision of this constitution to the contrary, adjustments to any
constitutionally protected or mandated
allocations or appropriations, and transfer of monies associated with
such adjustments, are authorized when
state general fund allocations or appropriations have been reduced in
an aggregate amount equal to at least
seven-tenths of one percent of the total of such allocations and
appropriations for a fiscal year. Such
adjustments may not exceed five percent of the total appropriation or
allocation from a fund for the fiscal
year. For purposes of this Subsubparagraph, reductions to expenditures
required by Article VIII, Section 13(B)
of this constitution shall not exceed one percent and such reductions
shall not be applicable to instructional
activities included within the meaning of instruction pursuant to the
Minimum Foundation Program formula.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this constitution to the
contrary, monies transferred as a result
of such budget adjustments are deemed available for appropriation
and expenditure in the year of the
transfer from one fund to another, but in no event shall the aggregate
amount of any transfers exceed the amount
of the deficit.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision
of this constitution to the contrary, for the purposes of the
budget estimate and enactment of the
budget for the next fiscal year, when the official forecast of recurring
revenues for the next fiscal year is at
least one percent less than the official forecast for the current fiscal
year, the following procedure may be
employed to avoid a budget deficit in the next fiscal year. An amount
not to exceed five percent of the total
appropriations or allocations for the current fiscal year from any fund
established by law or this constitution
shall be available for expenditure in the next fiscal year for a purpose
other than as specifically provided by
law or this constitution. For the purposes of this Subsubparagraph, an
amount not to exceed one percent of the
current fiscal year appropriation for expenditures required by Article
VIII, Section 13(B) of this constitution
shall be available for expenditures for other purposes in the next
fiscal year. Notwithstanding any other
provisions of this constitution to the contrary, monies made available
as authorized under this Subsubparagraph
may be transferred to a fund for which revenues have been
forecast to be less than the revenues in
the current fiscal year for such fund. Monies transferred as a result of
the budget actions authorized by this
Subsubparagraph are deemed available for appropriation and
expenditure, but in no event shall the
aggregate amount of any such transfers exceed the amount of the
difference between the official forecast
for the current fiscal year and the next fiscal year.
(c) The legislature may provide by law
for the implementation of the provisions of this Subparagraph.
(3) If within thirty days of the
determination that appropriations will exceed the official forecast the
necessary adjustments in appropriations
are not made to eliminate the projected deficit, the governor shall
call a special session of the legislature
for this purpose unless the legislature is in regular session. This
special session shall commence as soon as
possible as allowed by the provisions of this constitution, including
but not limited to Article III, Section
2(B).
(4) The provisions of Subparagraphs (1)
and (2) of this Paragraph shall not be applicable to, nor
affect:
(a) The Bond Security and Redemption Fund
or any bonds secured thereby, or any other funds pledged
as security for bonds or other evidences
of indebtedness.
(b) The allocations provided for by
Article VII, Section 4(D) and (E) of this constitution.
(c) The contributions made in accordance
with Article X, Section 29(E) of this constitution.
(d) The Louisiana Education Quality Trust
Fund as defined in Article VII, Section 10.1(A)(1) of this
constitution.
(e) The Millennium Trust as provided in
Article VII, Section 10.8 of this constitution, except for
appropriations from the trust.
(f) Any monies not required to be
deposited in the state treasury as provided in Article VII, Section 9 of
this constitution.
(G) Year End Deficit.
If a deficit exists in any fund at the end of a fiscal year, that
deficit shall be.eliminated no later than the end of the next fiscal
year.
(H) Publication. The
legislature shall have published a regular statement of receipts and
expenditures of all
state money at intervals of not more than one year.
(I) Public Purpose. No
appropriation shall be made except for a public purpose.
(J) Definition of
Funds. For the purposes of this Article, the state general fund and
dedicated funds
shall be all money
required to be deposited in the state treasury, except that money the
origin of which
is:
(1) The federal
government.
(2) Self-generated
collections by any entity subject to the policy and management authority
established by Article
VIII, Sections 5 through 7.
(3) A transfer from
another state agency, board, or commission.
(4) The provisions of
this Paragraph shall not apply to or affect funds allocated by Article
VII,
Section 4, Paragraphs
(D) and (E).
Amended by Acts
1990, No. 1096, §1, approved Oct. 6, 1990, eff. Nov. 8, 1990; Acts 1993,
No. 1042, §1,
approved, Oct. 16, 1993, eff. Nov. 18, 1993; Acts 1993, No. 1045, §1,
approved
Oct. 16, 1993, eff.
Nov. 18, 1993; Acts 1997, No. 1501, §1, approved Oct. 3, 1998, eff. Nov.
5,
1998; Acts 2001,
No. 1234, §1; Acts 2001, No. 1236, §1.
§10-A. Wildlife and
Fisheries; Conservation Fund
Section 10-A. (A)
Conservation Fund. Effective July 1, 1988, there shall be established in
the state
treasury, as a special
fund, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Fund,
hereinafter referred
to as the Conservation
Fund. Out of the funds remaining in the Bond Security and Redemption
Fund
after a sufficient
amount is allocated from that fund to pay all obligations secured by the
full faith and
credit of the state
which become due and payable within any fiscal year as required by
Article VII,
Section 9(B) of this
constitution, the treasurer shall pay into the Conservation Fund all of
the following,
except as provided in
Article VII, Section 9(A), and except for the amount provided in R.S.
56:10(B)(1)(a) as that
provision existed on the effective date of this Section:
(1) All revenue from
the types and classes of fees, licenses, permits, royalties, or other
revenue paid
into the Conservation
Fund as provided by law on the effective date of this Section. Such
revenue shall
be deposited in the
Conservation Fund even if the names of such fees, licenses, permits, or
other
revenues are changed.
Any increase in the
amount charged for such fees, licenses, permits, royalties, and other
revenue, or
any new fee, license,
permit, royalty, or other revenue, enacted by the legislature after the
effective date
of this Section, shall
be irrevocably dedicated and deposited in the Conservation Fund unless
the
legislature enacts a
law specifically appropriating or dedicating such revenue to another
fund or
purpose..(2) The
balance remaining on June 30, 1988 in the Conservation Fund established
pursuant to R.S.
56:10.
(3) All funds or
revenues which may be donated expressly to the Conservation Fund.
(B) The monies in the
Conservation Fund shall be appropriated by the legislature to the
Department
of Wildlife and
Fisheries, or its successor, and shall be used solely for the programs
and purposes of
conservation,
protection, preservation, management, and replenishment of the state's
natural resources
and wildlife,
including use for land acquisition or for federal matching fund programs
which promote
such purposes, and for
the operation and administration of the Department and the Wildlife and
Fisheries Commission,
or their successors.
(C) All unexpended and
unencumbered monies in the Conservation Fund at the end of the fiscal
year shall remain in
the fund. The monies in the fund shall be invested by the treasurer in
the manner
provided by law. All
interest earned on monies invested by the treasurer shall be deposited
in the fund.
The treasurer shall
prepare and submit to the department on a quarterly basis a printed
report showing
the amount of money
contained in the fund from all sources.
Added by Acts 1987,
No. 946, §1, approved Nov. 21, 1987, eff. Dec. 23, 1987.
§10.1. Quality
Trust Fund; Education
Section 10.1.(A)
Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund. (1) Effective January 1, 1987,
there shall
be established in the
state treasury as a special permanent trust fund the Louisiana Education
Quality
Trust Fund,
hereinafter referred to as the "Permanent Trust Fund." After allocation
of money to the
Bond Security and
Redemption Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of this
constitution, and
notwithstanding
Article XIV, Section 10 of this constitution, the treasurer shall
deposit in and credit to
the Permanent Trust
Fund all money which is received after the first one hundred million
dollars from
the federal government
under Section 1337(g) of Title 43 of the United States Code which is
attributable to
mineral production activity or leasing activity on the Outer Continental
Shelf which has
been held in escrow
pending a settlement between the United States and the state of
Louisiana; twenty-five
percent of the
recurring revenues received under Section 1337(g) of Title 43 of the
United States
Code which are
attributable to mineral production activity or leasing activity on the
Outer Continental
Shelf; twenty-five
percent of the interest income earned on investment of monies in the
Permanent Trust
Fund; seventy-five
percent of the realized capital gains on investment of the Permanent
Trust Fund,
unless such percentage
is changed by law enacted by two-thirds of the elected members of each
house
of the legislature;
and twenty-five percent of the dividend income earned on investment of
the
Permanent Trust Fund.
No appropriation shall be made from the Permanent Trust Fund. If any
such
money has been
received prior to the effective date of this Section, the treasurer
shall transfer from the
state general fund to
the Permanent Trust Fund on the effective date of this Section an amount
of money
which shall make the
Permanent Trust Fund balance equal to the amount of such money
previously
received, except for
the first one hundred million dollars. After six hundred million dollars
has been
credited to the
Permanent Trust Fund, the sum of fifty million dollars shall be credited
to the Coastal
Environment Protection
Trust Fund, as established in R.S. 30:313, from those monies received
from the
federal government
under Section 1337(g) of Title 43 of the United States Code which is
attributable to
mineral production
activity or leasing activity on the Outer Continental Shelf and which
has been held in
escrow pending a
settlement between the United States and the state of Louisiana; all
funds in excess of
seven hundred fifty
million dollars shall be credited to the Permanent Trust Fund..(2) After
allocation of money to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as provided
in Article
VII, Section 9(B) of
the constitution, and notwithstanding Article XIV, Section 10 of the
constitution,
seventy-five percent
of the recurring revenues received under Section 1337(g) of Title 43 of
the United
States Code which are
attributable to mineral production activity or leasing activity, and the
percent
remaining of the
realized capital gains and interest income and dividend income earned on
investment of
the Permanent Trust
Fund after the deposit required to the Permanent Trust Fund in Paragraph
A(1) of
this Section shall be
deposited and credited to a special fund which is hereby created in the
state
treasury and which
shall be known as the Louisiana Quality Education Support Fund,
hereinafter
referred to as the
"Support Fund".
(3) All recurring
revenues and interest earnings shall be credited to the respective funds
as provided
in Subparagraphs (1)
and (2) above until the balance in the Permanent Trust Fund equals two
billion
dollars. After the
Permanent Trust Fund reaches a balance of two billion dollars, all
interest earnings on
the Permanent Trust
Fund shall be credited to the Support Fund and all recurring revenues
shall be
credited to the State
General Fund.
(B) Investment. The
money credited to the Permanent Trust Fund pursuant to Paragraph (A) of
this
Section shall be
permanently credited to the Permanent Trust Fund and shall be invested
by the
treasurer.
Notwithstanding any provision of this constitution or other law to the
contrary, a portion of
money in the Permanent
Trust Fund, not to exceed thirty-five percent, may be invested in stock.
The
legislature shall
provide for procedures for the investment of such monies by law. The
treasurer shall
contract, subject to
the approval of the State Bond Commission, for the management of such
investments. The
amounts in the Support Fund shall be available for appropriation to pay
expenses
incurred in the
investment and management of the Permanent Trust Fund and for
educational purposes
only as provided in
Paragraphs (C) and (D) of this Section.
(C) Reports;
Allocation. (1) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
and the
Board of Regents shall
annually submit to the legislature and the governor not less than sixty
days prior
to the beginning of
each regular session of the legislature a proposed program and budget
for the
expenditure of the
monies in the Support Fund. Proposals for such expenditures shall be
designed to
improve the quality of
education and shall specifically designate those monies to be used for
administrative costs,
as defined and authorized by law.
(2) Except for
appropriations to pay expenses incurred in the investment and management
of the
Permanent Trust Fund,
the legislature shall appropriate from the Support Fund only for
educational
purposes provided in
Paragraph (D) of this Section and shall appropriate fifty percent of the
available
funds for higher
educational purposes and fifty percent for elementary and secondary
educational
purposes. Those monies
to be used for administrative costs shall be expended for such purposes
only if
so approved and
appropriated by the legislature.
(3) The legislature
shall appropriate the total amount intended for higher educational
purposes to the
Board of Regents and
the total amount intended for elementary and secondary educational
purposes to
the State Board of
Elementary and Secondary Education which boards shall allocate the
monies so
appropriated to the
programs as previously approved by the legislature.
(4) The monies
appropriated by the legislature and disbursed from the Support Fund
shall not
displace, replace, or
supplant appropriations from the general fund for elementary and
secondary.education, including implementing the Minimum Foundation
Program, or displace, replace, or supplant
funding for higher
education. For elementary and secondary education and for higher
education, this
Paragraph shall mean
that no appropriation for any fiscal year from the Support Fund shall be
made for
any purpose for which
a general fund appropriation was made in the previous year unless the
total
appropriations for
that fiscal year from the state general fund for such purpose exceed
general fund
appropriations for the
previous year. This Paragraph shall in no way limit general fund
appropriations in
excess of the minimum
amounts herein established.
(D) Disbursement;
Higher Education and Elementary and Secondary Education.
(1) The treasurer
shall disburse not more than fifty percent of the monies in the Support
Fund as
that money is
appropriated by the legislature and allocated by the Board of Regents
for any or all of the
following higher
educational purposes to enhance economic development:
(a) The carefully
defined research efforts of public and private universities in
Louisiana.
(b) The endowment of
chairs for eminent scholars.
(c) The enhancement of
the quality of academic, research, or agricultural departments or units
within a community
college, college, or university. These funds shall not be used for
athletic purposes or
programs.
(d) The recruitment of
superior graduate students.
(2) The treasurer
shall disburse not more than fifty percent of the monies in the Support
Fund as
that money is
appropriated by the legislature and allocated by the State Board of
Elementary and
Secondary Education
for any or all of the following elementary and secondary educational
purposes:
(a) To provide
compensation to city or parish school board professional instructional
employees.
(b) To insure an
adequate supply of superior textbooks, library books, equipment, and
other
instructional
materials.
(c) To fund exemplary
programs in elementary and secondary schools designed to improve
elementary or
secondary student academic achievement or vocational-technical skill.
(d) To fund carefully
defined research efforts, including pilot programs, designed to improve
elementary and
secondary student academic achievement.
(e) To fund school
remediation programs and preschool programs.
(f) To fund the
teaching of foreign languages in elementary and secondary schools.
(g) To fund an
adequate supply of teachers by providing scholarships or stipends to
prospective
teachers in academic
or vocational-technical areas where there is a critical teacher
shortage.
Added by Acts 1985,
No. 1020, §1, approved Sept. 27, 1986, eff. Oct. 30, 1986; Amended by
Acts 1989, No. 846,
§1, approved Oct. 6, 1990, eff. Nov. 8, 1990; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess.,
No..151, §1, approved Oct. 1, 1994, eff. Nov. 3, 1994; Acts 1998, 1st
Ex. Sess., No. 170, §1,
approved Oct. 3,
1998, eff. Nov. 5, 1998.
§10.2. Wetlands
Conservation and Restoration Fund
Section 10.2(A)
Effective July 1, 1990, there shall be established in the state treasury
the Wetlands
Conservation and
Restoration Fund to provide a dedicated, recurring source of revenues
for the
development and
implementation of a program to conserve and restore Louisiana's
vegetated wetlands.
Of revenues received
in each fiscal year by the state as a result of the production of or
exploration
for minerals,
hereinafter referred to as mineral revenues from severance taxes,
royalty payments, bonus
payments, or rentals,
and excluding such revenues received by the state as a result of grants
or
donations when the
terms or conditions thereof require otherwise, the treasurer shall make
the following
allocations:
(1) To the Bond
Security and Redemption Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of
this
constitution.
(2) To the political
subdivisions of the state as provided in Article VII, Sections 4(D) and
(E) of this
constitution.
(3) As provided by the
requirements of Article VII, Sections 10-A and 10.1 of this
constitution.
(B)(1) After making
the allocations provided for in Paragraph (A), the treasurer shall then
deposit in
and credit to the
Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Fund any amount of mineral
revenues that
may be necessary to
insure that a total of five million dollars is deposited into such fund
for the fiscal
year from this source;
provided that the balance of the fund which consists of mineral revenues
from
severance taxes,
royalty payments, bonus payments, or rentals shall not exceed forty
million dollars.
(2) After making the
allocations and deposits provided for in Paragraphs (A) and (B)(1) of
this
Section, the treasurer
shall deposit in and credit to the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration
Fund as
follows:
(a) Ten million
dollars of the mineral revenues in excess of six hundred million dollars
which remain
after the allocations
provided for in Paragraph (A) are made by the treasurer.
(b) Ten million
dollars of the mineral revenues in excess of six hundred fifty million
dollars which
remain after the
allocations provided in Paragraph (A) are made by the treasurer.
However, the balance
of the fund which consists of mineral revenues from severance taxes,
royalty
payments, bonus
payments, or rentals shall not exceed forty million dollars.
(C) The money in the
fund shall be invested as provided by law and any earnings realized on
investment of money in
the fund shall be deposited in and credited to the fund. Money from
other
sources, such as
donations, appropriations, or dedications, may be deposited in and
credited to the
fund; however, the
balance of the fund which consists of mineral revenues from severance
taxes, royalty
payments, bonus
payments, or rentals shall not exceed forty million dollars. Any
unexpended money.remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year
shall be retained in the fund.
(D) The money in the
fund may be appropriated for purposes consistent with the Wetlands
Conservation and
Restoration Plan developed by the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration
Authority, or its
successor.
No appropriation shall
be made from the fund inconsistent with the purposes of the plan.
Added by Acts 1989,
2nd Ex. Sess., No. 24, §1, approved Oct. 7, 1989, eff. Nov. 7, 1989.
§10.3. Budget
Stabilization Fund
Section 10.3.(A) There
is hereby established in the state treasury a Budget Stabilization Fund
hereinafter referred
to as the fund. Money shall be deposited in the fund as follows:
(1) All money
available for appropriation from the state general fund and dedicated
funds in excess
of the expenditure
limit, except funds allocated by Article VII, Section 4, Paragraphs (D)
and (E), shall
be deposited in the
fund.
(2)(a) All revenues
received in each fiscal year by the state in excess of seven hundred
fifty million
dollars, hereinafter
referred to as the base, as a result of the production of or exploration
for minerals,
hereinafter referred
to as mineral revenues, including severance taxes, royalty payments,
bonus
payments, or rentals,
and excluding such revenues received by the state as a result of grants
or
donations when the
terms or conditions thereof require otherwise and revenues derived from
any tax on
the transportation of
minerals, shall be deposited in the fund after the following allocations
of said
mineral revenues have
been made:
(i) To the Bond
Security and Redemption Fund as provided by Article VII, Section 9 (B)
of this
constitution.
(ii) To the political
subdivisions of the state as provided in Article VII, Sections 4 (D) and
(E) of
this constitution.
(iii) As provided by
the requirements of Article VII, Section 10-A and 10.1 of this
constitution.
(b) The base may be
increased every ten years beginning in the year 2000 by a law enacted by
two-thirds of the
elected members of each house of the legislature. Any such increase
shall not exceed
fifty percent in the
aggregate of the increase in the consumer price index for the
immediately preceding
ten years.
(3) Twenty-five
percent of any money designated in the official forecast as nonrecurring
as
provided in Article
VII, Section 10(D)(2) of this constitution shall be deposited in and
credited to the
fund.
(4) Any money
appropriated to the fund by the legislature including any appropriation
to the fund
from money designated
in the official forecast as provided in Article VII, Section 10(D)(2) of
this
constitution shall be
deposited in the fund..(B) Money in the fund shall be invested as
provided by law. Earnings realized in each fiscal year on
the investment of
monies in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund. All
unexpended and
unencumbered monies in
the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund.
(C) The money in the
fund shall not be available for appropriation or use except under the
following
conditions:
(1) If the official
forecast of recurring money for the next fiscal year is less than the
official forecast
of recurring money for
the current fiscal year, the difference, not to exceed one-third of the
fund shall be
incorporated into the
next year's official forecast only after the consent of two-thirds of
the elected
members of each house
of the legislature. If the legislature is not in session, the two-thirds
requirement
may be satisfied upon
obtaining the written consent of two-thirds of the elected members of
each house
of the legislature in
a manner provided by law.
(2) If a deficit for
the current fiscal year is projected due to a decrease in the official
forecast, an
amount equal to
one-third of the fund not to exceed the projected deficit may be
appropriated after the
consent of two-thirds
of the elected members of each house of the legislature. Between
sessions of the
legislature the
appropriation may be made only after the written consent of two-thirds
of the elected
members of each house
of the legislature.
(3) In no event shall
the amount included in the official forecast for the next fiscal year
plus the
amount appropriated in
the current fiscal year exceed one-third of the fund balance at the
beginning of
the current fiscal
year.
(4) No appropriation
or deposit to the fund shall be made if such appropriation or deposit
would
cause the balance in
the fund to exceed four percent of total state revenue receipts for the
previous
fiscal year.
Added by Acts 1990,
No. 1096, §1, approved Oct. 6, 1990, eff. Nov. 8, 1990; Acts 1997, No.
1501, §1, approved
Oct. 3, 1998, eff. Nov. 5, 1998.
§10.4. Higher
Education Louisiana Partnership Fund; Program
Section 10.4.(A)
Higher Education Louisiana Partnership Fund. (1) There is hereby
established a
special fund in the
state treasury to be known as the Higher Education Louisiana Partnership
Fund,
hereinafter referred
to as the "fund", consisting of monies appropriated annually by the
legislature,
grants, gifts, and
donations received by the state for the purposes of this Section, and
other revenues as
may be provided by
law; provided that no such monies shall come from the allocations
provided in
Article VII, Section
4, Paragraphs (D) and (E) of this constitution.
(2) All unexpended and
unencumbered monies in the Higher Education Louisiana Partnership Fund
at the end of a fiscal
year shall remain in such fund and be available for appropriation in the
next fiscal
year. The monies in
the fund shall be invested by the state treasurer in accordance with
state law, and
interest earned on the
investment of these monies shall be credited to the fund, after
compliance with the
requirements of
Article VII, Section 9(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to
the Bond Security
and Redemption Fund.
(B) Higher Education
Louisiana Partnership Program. (1) Upon appropriation by the
legislature, the.monies in the fund shall be divided into matching
grants for the Higher Education Louisiana Partnership
Program which shall be
administered by the Board of Regents. The Board of Regents may allocate
program funds to each
public or independent institution of higher education on a one to one
and
one-half matching
basis or one twenty thousand dollar state matching grant for each thirty
thousand
dollars raised
specifically for the purposes of participation in the Higher Education
Louisiana
Partnership Program by
the institutions of higher education from private sources. The state
matching
portion shall be
allocated by the Board of Regents only after it determines that an
eligible institution has
accumulated not less
than the minimum required amount from private sources for the purposes
of the
Higher Education
Louisiana Partnership Program.
(2)(a) No public
institution of higher education shall be eligible in any given fiscal
year to receive a
share of program funds
which is greater than that institution's proportion of the full-time
equivalent
number of students
enrolled in public higher education in the state.
(b) No independent
institution of higher education shall be eligible in any given fiscal
year to receive
a share of program
funds which is greater than that institution's proportion of the
full-time equivalent
number of students
enrolled in independent institutions of higher education in the state.
(c) However, if there
are monies which have been appropriated to the fund but remain on March
first of any fiscal
year unallocated to any matching grant, then any participating
institution of higher
education which has
raised the required funds from private sources may apply for and be
awarded the
number of additional
matching grants for which unallocated funding is available and which the
institution
is able to match.
Provided however, that no participating institution shall receive more
than fifty percent
of available funds in
any fiscal year.
(d) However, the share
of the program funds received annually by independent institutions of
higher
education shall not
exceed fifteen percent in the aggregate of the total amount of program
funds
available for matching
grants under this program.
(3) State matching
funds shall be applied only to private source funds contributed after
July 1,
1991, and pledged for
the purposes of this Section as certified by the Board of Regents.
Pledged
contributions shall
not be eligible for state matching funds prior to their actual
collection.
(4) Each institution
of higher education may establish its own Higher Education Louisiana
Partnership Program
fund as a depository for private contributions and state matching funds
as
provided herein. The
state matching funds allocated by the Board of Regents shall be
transferred to an
institution upon
notification that the institution has received and deposited the
necessary private
contributions in its
own Higher Education Louisiana Partnership Program fund.
(5) Each institution
of higher education, under the supervision and management of its board,
shall
have the
responsibility for the administration of the Higher Education Louisiana
Partnership Program at
that institution and
for maintenance and investment of its fund. The institution shall be
responsible for
soliciting and
receiving gifts from private sources to be used for the purposes of this
Section.
(6) State matching
grants from funds allocated for the Higher Education Louisiana
Partnership
Program may be made
for the purposes of endowed professorships totaling one hundred thousand
dollars or more;
endowed undergraduate scholarships totaling fifty thousand dollars or
more; library.acquisitions, laboratory enhancement, or research and
instructional equipment acquisitions totaling fifty
thousand dollars or
more; or facilities construction or renovations totaling one hundred
thousand dollars
or more.
(7) The monies
appropriated by the legislature and disbursed from the Higher Education
Louisiana
Partnership Fund shall
not displace, replace, or supplant appropriations for higher education
from the
general fund or from
bond proceeds. This shall mean that no disbursement from the fund for a
current
fiscal year shall be
made for any higher education purpose for which an appropriation was
made the
previous year from the
general fund or from bond proceeds unless the total appropriations for
the
current fiscal year
for higher education from the state general fund or from bond proceeds
exceed
general fund
appropriations or bond proceeds appropriations for higher education for
the previous
year. This requirement
shall in no way limit appropriations from the general fund or from bond
proceeds
in excess of the
minimum amounts herein established.
(C) Implementation.
The legislature shall
provide for the implementation of this Section.
Added by Acts 1991,
No. 1069, §1, approved Oct. 19, 1991, ff. Nov. 21, 1991.
§10.5. Mineral
Revenue Audit and Settlement Fund
Section 10.5.(A) There
shall be established in the state treasury the Mineral Revenue Audit and
Settlement Fund,
hereinafter referred to as the "fund". Of revenues received in each
fiscal year by the
state through
settlements or judgments which equal, in both principal and interest,
five million dollars or
more for each such
settlement or judgment, resulting from underpayment to the state of
severance
taxes, royalty
payments, bonus payments, or rentals, the treasurer shall make the
following allocations
as required:
(1) To the Bond
Security and Redemption Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of
this
constitution.
(2) To the political
subdivisions of the state as provided in Article VII, Section 4(D) and
(E) of this
constitution.
(3) As provided by the
requirements of Article VII, Sections 10-A, 10.1, 10.2, and 10.3 of this
constitution.
(B) After making the
allocations provided for in Paragraph (A), the treasurer shall then
deposit in
and credit to the
Mineral Revenue Audit and Settlement Fund any such remaining revenues.
Any
revenues deposited in
and credited to the fund shall be considered mineral revenues from
severance
taxes, royalty
payments, bonus payments, or rentals for purposes of determining
deposits and credits to
be made in and to the
Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Fund as provided in Article VII,
Section
10.2 of this
constitution. Any revenues deposited in and credited to the fund shall
not be considered
mineral revenues for
purposes of the Revenue Stabilization Mineral Trust Fund as provided in
Article
VII, Section 10.3 of
this constitution. Money in the fund shall be invested as provided by
law. The
earnings realized in
each fiscal year on the investment of monies in the Mineral Revenue
Audit and
Settlement Fund shall
be deposited in and credited to the Mineral Revenue Audit and Settlement
Fund..(C) The legislature may annually appropriate monies in the Mineral
Revenue Audit and Settlement
Fund only for the
purposes of retirement in advance of maturity through redemption,
purchase, or
repayment of debt of
the state or of the Louisiana Recovery District, or both, pursuant to a
plan
proposed by the State
Bond Commission to maximize the savings to the state, or to provide for
payments against the
unfunded accrued liability of the public retirement systems which are in
addition to
any payments required
for the annual amortization of the unfunded accrued liability of the
public
retirement systems,
required by Article X, Section 29 of this constitution; however, any
such payment
to the public
retirement systems shall not be used, directly or indirectly, to fund
cost-of-living increases
for such systems.
Added by Acts 1991,
No. 1070, §1, approved Oct. 19, 1991, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Amended by
Acts 1995, No.
1325, §1, approved Oct. 21, 1995, eff. Nov. 23, 1995.
§10.6. Oilfield
Site Restoration Fund
Section 10.6.(A)
Oilfield Site Restoration Fund. Effective January 4, 1996, there shall
be
established in the
state treasury, as a special fund, the Oilfield Site Restoration Fund,
hereinafter
referred to as the
restoration fund. Out of the funds remaining in the Bond Security and
Redemption
Fund after a
sufficient amount is allocated from that fund to pay all obligations
secured by the full faith
and credit of the
state which become due and payable within any fiscal year as required by
Article VII,
Section 9(B) of this
constitution, the treasurer shall pay into the restoration fund all of
the following:
(1) All revenue from
the types and classes of fees, penalties, other revenues, or judgments
associated with site
cleanup activities paid into the restoration fund as provided by law on
the effective
date of this Section.
Such revenue shall be deposited in the restoration fund even if the
names of such
fees, other revenues,
or penalties are changed.
Any increase in the
amount charged for such fees, penalties, other revenues, or judgments
associated with site
cleanup activities enacted by the legislature after the effective date
of this Section,
for the purpose of
orphaned oilfield site restoration shall be irrevocably dedicated and
deposited in the
restoration fund.
(2) The balance
remaining on January 4, 1996 in the Oilfield Site Restoration Fund
established by
law.
(3) All funds or
revenues which may be donated expressly to the restoration fund.
(4) All site-specific
trust account funds established by law.
(B) The monies in the
restoration fund shall be appropriated by the legislature to the
Department of
Natural Resources, or
its successor, and shall be used solely for the programs and purposes of
oilfield
site restoration as
required by law.
(C) All unexpended and
unencumbered monies in the restoration fund at the end of the fiscal
year
shall remain in the
fund. The monies in the fund shall be invested by the treasurer in the
manner provided
by law. All interest
earned on monies invested by the treasurer shall be deposited in the
fund. The
treasurer shall
prepare and submit to the department on a quarterly basis a printed
report showing the
amount of money
contained in the fund from all sources..(D) The provisions of this
Section shall not apply to or affect funds allocated by Article VII,
Section
4, Paragraphs (D) and
(E).
Added by Acts 1995,
No. 1330, §1, approved Oct. 21, 1995, eff. Nov. 23, 1995.
§10.7. Oil Spill
Contingency Fund
Section 10.7.(A) Oil
Spill Contingency Fund. Effective January 4, 1996, there shall be
established
in the state treasury,
as a special fund, the Oil Spill Contingency Fund, hereinafter referred
to as the
contingency fund. Out
of the funds remaining in the Bond Security and Redemption Fund after a
sufficient amount is
allocated from that fund to pay all obligations secured by the full
faith and credit of
the state which become
due and payable within any fiscal year as required by Article VII,
Section 9(B)
of this constitution,
the treasurer shall pay into the contingency fund all of the following,
on the effective
date of this Section:
(1) All revenue from
the types and classes of fees, taxes, penalties, judgments,
reimbursements,
charges, and federal
funds collected or other revenue paid into the contingency fund as
provided by law
on the effective date
of this Section. Such revenue shall be deposited in the contingency fund
even if the
names of such fees,
taxes, penalties, judgments, reimbursements, charges, and federal funds
collected
or other revenues are
changed.
Any increase in the
amount charged for such fees, taxes, penalties, judgments,
reimbursements,
charges, and federal
funds collected or other revenue, or any new fees, taxes, penalties,
judgments,
reimbursements,
charges, and federal funds collected or other revenue enacted by the
legislature for the
purposes of abatement
and containment of actual or threatened unauthorized discharges of oil
after the
effective date of this
Section, shall be irrevocably dedicated and deposited in the contingency
fund.
(2) The balance
remaining on January 4, 1996 in the Oil Spill Contingency Fund
established by law.
(3) All funds or
revenues which may be donated expressly to the contingency fund.
(B) The monies in the
contingency fund shall be appropriated by the legislature to be used
solely for
the programs and
purposes of abatement and containment of actual or threatened
unauthorized
discharges of oil as
provided by law; and for administrative expenses associated with such
programs
and purposes as
provided by law.
(C) All unexpended and
unencumbered monies in the contingency fund at the end of the fiscal
year
shall remain in the
fund. The monies in the fund shall be invested by the treasurer in the
manner provided
by law. All interest
earned on monies invested by the treasurer shall be deposited in the
fund. The
balance of the fund
shall not exceed thirty million dollars or otherwise as provided by law.
(D) The provisions of
this Section shall not apply to or affect funds allocated by Article
VII, Section
4, Paragraphs (D) and
(E).
Added by Acts 1995,
No. 1331, §1, approved Oct. 21, 1995, eff. Nov. 23, 1995.
§10.8. Millennium
Trust
Section 10.8.
Millennium Trust.(A) Creation
(1) There shall be
established in the state treasury as a special permanent trust the
"Millennium
Trust". After
allocation of money to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as provided
in Article
VII, Section 9(B) of
this constitution, the treasurer shall deposit in and credit to the
Millennium Trust
certain monies
received as a result of the Master Settlement Agreement, hereinafter the
"Settlement
Agreement", executed
November 23, 1998, and approved by Consent Decree and Final Judgment
entered in the case
"Richard P. Ieyoub, Attorney General, ex rel. State of Louisiana v.
Philip Morris,
Incorporated, et al.",
bearing Number 98-6473 on the docket of the Fourteenth Judicial District
for the
parish of Calcasieu,
state of Louisiana; and all dividend and interest income and all
realized capital gains
on investment of the
monies in the Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall deposit in and
credit to the
Millennium Trust the
following amounts of monies received as a result of the Settlement
Agreement:
(a) Fiscal Year
2000-2001, forty-five percent of the total monies received that year.
(b) Fiscal Year
2001-2002, sixty percent of the total monies received that year.
(c) Fiscal Year
2002-2003 and each fiscal year thereafter, seventy-five percent of the
total monies
received that year.
(d) For Fiscal Year
2000-2001, Fiscal Year 2001-2002, and Fiscal Year 2002-2003, ten percent
of the total monies
received in each of those years for credit to the Education Excellence
Fund which,
notwithstanding the
provisions of Subparagraph (C)(1) of this Section, shall be appropriated
for the
purposes provided in
Subsubparagraph (d) of Subparagraph (3) of Paragraph (C) of this
Section.
(2) The Health
Excellence Fund shall be established as a special fund within the
Millennium Trust.
The treasurer shall
credit to the Health Excellence Fund one-third of the Settlement
Agreement
proceeds deposited
each year into the Millennium Trust, and one-third of all investment
earnings on the
investment of the
Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall report annually to the legislature
as to the amount
of Millennium Trust
investment earnings credited to the Health Excellence Fund.
(3) The Education
Excellence Fund shall be established as a special fund within the
Millennium
Trust. The treasurer
shall credit to the Education Excellence Fund one-third of the
Settlement
Agreement proceeds
deposited each year into the Millennium Trust, and one-third of all
investment
earnings on the
investment of the Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall report annually
to the legislature
and the state
superintendent of education as to the amount of Millennium Trust
investment earnings
credited to the
Education Excellence Fund.
(4) The TOPS Fund
shall be established as a special fund within the Millennium Trust. The
treasurer shall
deposit in and credit to the TOPS Fund one-third of the Settlement
Agreement proceeds
deposited into the
Millennium Trust, and one-third of all investment earnings on the
investment of the
Millennium Trust. The
treasurer shall report annually to the legislature as to the amount of
Millennium
Trust investment
earnings credited to the TOPS Fund.
(5) The amount of
Settlement Agreement revenues deposited in the Millennium Trust and
credited
to the respective
funds may be increased and the amount of such revenues deposited into
the Louisiana
Fund may be decreased
by a specific legislative instrument which receives a favorable vote of
two-.thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature.
(B) Investment. Monies
credited to the Millennium Trust pursuant to Paragraph (A) of this
Section
shall be invested by
the treasurer with the same authority and subject to the same
restrictions as the
Louisiana Education
Quality Trust Fund. However, the portion of monies in the Millennium
Trust which
may be invested in
stock may be increased to no more than fifty percent by a specific
legislative
instrument which
receives a favorable vote of two-thirds of the elected members of each
house of the
legislature. The
legislature shall provide for procedures for the investment of such
monies by law. The
treasurer may
contract, subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission, for the
management of
such investments and,
if a contract is entered into, amounts necessary to pay the costs of the
contract
shall be appropriated
from the Millennium Trust.
(C) Appropriations.
(1) Appropriations from the Health Excellence Fund, Education Excellence
Fund, and TOPS Fund
shall be limited to an annual amount not to exceed the estimated
aggregate
annual earnings from
interest, dividends, and realized capital gains on investment of the
trust as
recognized by the
Revenue Estimating Conference. Amounts determined to be available for
appropriation shall be
those aggregate investment earnings which are in excess of an inflation
factor as
determined by the
Revenue Estimating Conference. The amount of realized capital gains on
investment
which may be included
in the aggregate earnings available for appropriation in any year shall
not exceed
the aggregate of
earnings from interest and dividends for that year.
(2) Appropriations
from the Health Excellence Fund shall be restricted to the following
purposes:
(a) Initiatives to
ensure the optimal development of Louisiana's children through the
provision of
appropriate health
care, including children's health insurance, services provided by
school-based health
clinics, rural health
clinics, and primary care clinics, and early childhood intervention
programs targeting
children from birth
through age four including programs to reduce infant mortality.
(b) Initiatives to
benefit the citizens of Louisiana with respect to health care through
pursuit of
innovation in advanced
health care sciences, and the provision of comprehensive chronic disease
management services.
(c) Each appropriation
from the Health Excellence Fund shall include performance expectations
to
ensure accountability
in the expenditure of such monies.
(3) Appropriations
from the Education Excellence Fund shall be limited as follows:
(a) Fifteen percent of
monies available for appropriation in any fiscal year from the Education
Excellence Fund shall
be appropriated to the state superintendent of education for
distribution on behalf
of all children
attending private elementary and secondary schools that have been
approved by the
State Board of
Elementary and Secondary Education, both academically and as required
for such
school to receive
money from the state.
(b) Appropriations
shall be made each year to the Louisiana School for the Deaf, the
Louisiana
School for the
Visually Impaired, the Louisiana Special Education Center in Alexandria,
the Louisiana
School for Math,
Science and the Arts, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and the
Louis
Armstrong High School
for the Arts, after such schools are operational, to provide for a
payment to.each school of seventy-five thousand dollars plus an
allocation for each pupil equal to the average
statewide per pupil
amount provided each city, parish, and local school system pursuant to
Subsubparagraphs (d)
and (e) of this Subparagraph.
(c) Appropriations may
be made for independent public schools which have been approved by the
State Board of
Elementary and Secondary Education or any city, parish, or other local
school system
and for alternative
schools and programs which are authorized and approved by the State
Board of
Elementary and
Secondary Education but are not subject to the jurisdiction and
management of any
city, parish, or local
school system, to provide for an allocation for each pupil, which shall
be the
average statewide per
pupil amount provided in each city, parish, or local school system
pursuant to
Subsubparagraphs (d)
and (e) of this Subparagraph.
(d) Beginning Fiscal
Year 2000-2001 and for each fiscal year through the end of Fiscal Year
2006-2007, of the
monies available for appropriation after providing for the purposes
enumerated in
Subsubparagraphs (a),
(b), and (c) of this Subparagraph, the following appropriations shall be
made to
the state
superintendent of education for distribution as follows:
(i) Thirty percent of
the funds available to be divided equally among each city, parish, and
other
local school system.
(ii) Seventy percent
of the funds available to be divided among each city, parish, and other
local
school system in
amounts which are proportionate to each school's share of the total
state share of the
Minimum Foundation
Program appropriation as contained in the most recent Minimum Foundation
Program budget letter
approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
(e) Beginning Fiscal
Year 2007-2008 and for each fiscal year thereafter, of the monies
available for
appropriation after
providing for the purposes enumerated in Subsubparagraphs (a), (b), and
(c) of this
Subparagraph, one
hundred percent of the monies available for appropriation in any fiscal
year shall be
appropriated for each
city, parish, and other local school system on a pro rata basis which is
based on
the ratio of the
student population of that school or school system to that of the total
state student
population as
contained in the most recent Minimum Foundation Program.
(f) Monies
appropriated pursuant to this Subparagraph shall be restricted to
expenditure for pre-kindergarten
through twelfth grade
instructional enhancement for students, including early childhood
education programs
focused on enhancing the preparation of at-risk children for school,
remedial
instruction, and
assistance to children who fail to achieve the required scores on any
tests passage of
which are required
pursuant to state law or rule for advancement to a succeeding grade or
other
educational programs
approved by the legislature. Expenditures for maintenance or renovation
of
buildings, capital
improvements, and increases in employee salaries are prohibited. The
state
superintendent of
education shall be responsible for allocating all money due private
schools.
(g) Each recipient
school or school system shall annually prepare and submit to the state
Department of
Education, hereinafter the "department", a prioritized plan for
expenditure of funds it
expects to receive in
the coming year from the Education Excellence Fund. The plan shall
include
performance
expectations to ensure accountability in the expenditure of such monies.
The department
shall review such
plans for compliance with the requirements of this Subparagraph and to
assure that
the expenditure plans
will support excellence in educational practice. No funds may be
distributed to.any school or school system until its plan has received
both legislative and departmental approval as
provided by law.
(h) No amount
appropriated as required in this Paragraph shall displace, replace, or
supplant
appropriations from
the general fund for elementary and secondary education, including
implementing
the Minimum Foundation
Program. This Subsubparagraph shall mean that no appropriation for any
fiscal year from the
Education Excellence Fund shall be made for any purpose for which a
general fund
appropriation was made
in the previous year unless the total appropriations for the fiscal year
from the
state general fund for
such purpose exceed general fund appropriations of the previous year.
Nor shall
any money allocated to
a city or parish school board pursuant to this Paragraph displace,
replace, or
supplant locally
generated revenue, which means that no allocation to any city or parish
school board
from the investment
earnings attributable to the Education Excellence Fund shall be expended
for any
purpose for which a
local revenue source was expended for that purpose for the previous year
unless
the total of the local
revenue amount expended that fiscal year exceeds the total of such local
revenue
amounts for the
previous fiscal year.
(i) The treasurer
shall maintain within the state treasury a record of the amounts
appropriated and
credited for each
entity through appropriations authorized in this Subparagraph and which
remain in the
state treasury.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this constitution to the
contrary, such amounts,
and investment
earnings attributable to such amounts, shall remain to the credit of
each recipient entity
at the close of each
fiscal year.
(4) Appropriations
from the TOPS Fund shall be restricted to support of state programs for
financial assistance
for students attending Louisiana institutions of postsecondary
education.
Added by Acts 1999,
No. 1392, §1, approved Oct. 23, 1999, eff. 7/1/2000.
§10.9. Louisiana
Fund
Section 10.9.
Louisiana Fund
A. The Louisiana Fund
is established in the state treasury as a special fund. After allocation
of
money to the Bond
Security and Redemption Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of
this
constitution, the
treasurer shall deposit in and credit to the Louisiana Fund all
remaining monies received
as a result of the
Settlement Agreement after deposits into the Millennium Trust as
provided in Section
10.8 of this Article,
and all interest income on the investment of monies in the Louisiana
Fund. Monies
in the Louisiana Fund
shall be invested by the treasurer in the same manner as the state
general fund.
B. Appropriations from
the Louisiana Fund shall be restricted to the following purposes:
(1) Initiatives to
ensure the optimal development of Louisiana's children through
enhancement of
educational
opportunities and the provision of appropriate health care, which shall
include but not be
limited to:
(a) Early childhood
intervention programs targeting children from birth through age four,
including
programs to reduce
infant mortality.
(b) Support of state
programs for children's health insurance..(c) School-based health
clinics, rural health clinics, and primary care clinics.
(2) Initiatives to
benefit the citizens of Louisiana with respect to health care through
pursuit of
innovation in advanced
health care sciences, provision of comprehensive chronic disease
management
services, and
expenditures for capital improvements for state health care facilities.
(3) Provision of
direct health care services for tobacco-related illnesses.
(4) Initiatives to
diminish tobacco-related injury and death to Louisiana's citizens
through
educational efforts,
cessation assistance services, promotion of a tobacco-free lifestyle,
and
enforcement of the
requirements of the Settlement Agreement by the attorney general.
C. Each appropriation
from the Louisiana Fund shall include performance expectations to ensure
accountability in the
expenditure of such monies. Any unexpended and unencumbered monies in
each
fund at the end of a
fiscal year shall remain in the respective fund.
Added by Acts 1999,
No. 1392, §1, approved Oct. 23, 1999, eff. 7/1/2000.
§10.10. Millennium
Leverage Fund
A. Millennium Leverage
Fund. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article VII, Sections 10.8 and
10.9 of this
constitution, the legislature may provide, by passage of a specific
legislative instrument by a
favorable vote of
two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature, for
the deposit of
all or a portion of
monies received by the state as a result of the Master Settlement
Agreement,
hereinafter the
"Settlement Agreement", executed November 23, 1998, and approved by
Consent
Decree and Final
Judgment entered in the case "Richard P. Ieyoub, Attorney General, ex
rel. State of
Louisiana v. Philip
Morris, Incorporated, et al.", bearing Number 98-6473 on the docket of
the
Fourteenth Judicial
District for the parish of Calcasieu, state of Louisiana; after
satisfying the
requirements of
Article VII, Section 9(B) of this constitution, into the Millennium
Leverage Fund which
is hereby established
as a special permanent trust fund in the state treasury. The Millennium
Leverage
Fund shall hereinafter
be referred to as the "Leverage Fund".
B. Investment. Monies
deposited in the Leverage Fund shall be invested and administered by the
treasurer.
Notwithstanding any provision of this constitution to the contrary, a
portion of the monies in
the Leverage Fund, not
to exceed fifty percent, may be invested in stock. The legislature shall
provide
for the procedure for
the investment of such monies by law. The treasurer shall contract,
subject to
approval of the State
Bond Commission, for the management of such investments. The monies in
the
Leverage Fund shall be
available for appropriation to pay expenses incurred in the investment
and
management of monies
in the fund.
C. Revenue Bonds. The
State Bond Commission, or its successor, may issue and sell bonds,
notes,
or other obligations,
hereinafter the "bonds" secured by a pledge of a portion of the monies
received by
the state as a result
of the Settlement Agreement which are otherwise to be deposited in the
Leverage
Fund as provided in
this Section. Such bonds may be issued only in amounts authorized by the
legislature by
two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature. If
settlement revenues
are pledged to secure
any revenue bonds issued pursuant to this Section, any portion thereof
needed to
pay principal,
interest, or premium, if any, and other obligations incident to the
issuance, security,
prepayment,
defeasance, and payment in respect thereof may be expended by the
treasurer without the.need for an appropriation, provided that the
prepayment or defeasance has been approved by the
legislature. Bonds so
issued may also be further secured by a collateralization of all or a
portion of
monies in the Leverage
Fund. If bonds are issued subject to such a collateralization, the
treasurer may
pay from the Leverage
Fund any principal, interest, or premium, if any, and other obligations
incident to
the issuance,
security, prepayment, defeasance, and payment in respect thereof without
the need for an
appropriation,
provided that the prepayment or defeasance has been approved by the
legislature. The
net proceeds of any
bonds issued pursuant to this Section shall be deposited in and credited
to the
Leverage Fund. Any
revenue bonds issued under authority of this Section shall not be
general obligation
bonds secured by the
full faith and credit of the state.
D. Appropriations. (1)
The legislature may annually appropriate the bond proceeds credited to
the
Leverage Fund and all
earnings, income, and realized capital gains on investment of monies in
the
Leverage Fund as
recognized as available for appropriation in the official forecast of
the Revenue
Estimating Conference.
The Revenue Estimating Conference shall include in its forecast of
monies
available for
appropriation only that amount of earnings, income, and realized capital
gains which are in
excess of inflation as
determined by the conference.
(2) Appropriations may
be made only for the following purposes:
(a) Twenty-five
percent shall be available for appropriation for the purposes as
provided in the
TOPS Fund.
(b) Twenty-five
percent shall be available for appropriation for the purposes as
provided in the
Health Excellence
Fund.
(c) Twenty-five
percent shall be available for appropriation as provided in the
Education Excellence
Fund.
(d) Twenty-five
percent shall be available for appropriation as provided in the
Louisiana Fund.
(e) The amounts
available for appropriation for each of the purposes contained in
Subparagraphs
(a) through (c) of
this Paragraph may be increased, and the amount available for
appropriation for the
purposes of
Subsubparagraph (d) may be decreased by a specific legislative
instrument which receives
a favorable vote of
two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature.
E. Termination. The
legislature may, by passage of a specific legislative instrument by a
favorable
vote of two-thirds of
the elected members of each house of the legislature, provide for the
termination
of deposits to the
Leverage Fund. Any such termination shall be made in such a manner so as
to not
impair the obligation,
validity, or security of any bonds issued under the authority of this
Section. Upon
termination, the
amount of any settlement revenues over and above the amount pledged for
security of
any bonds issued
pursuant to the authority granted in this Section, shall be deposited in
and credited as
provided in Article
VII, Sections 10.8 and 10.9 of this Constitution.
Added by Acts 1999,
No. 1392, §1, approved Oct. 23, 1999, eff. 7/1/2000.
§10.11. Farm support program; Drought
Protection Trust Fund
[Acts 2001, No. 1233 proposal to add
§10.11: To be submitted to electors on November 5, 2002].A.
Notwithstanding any provision of this constitution to the contrary, the
legislature by law may establish
and implement one or more programs to
assist farmers who voluntarily forgo irrigating with groundwater for
agricultural production for the purpose
of protecting, conserving, or replenishing groundwater supply during
periods of drought or to enhance and
develop surface water resources for use by farmers for irrigation
purposes, or both.
B. The Drought Protection Trust Fund is
hereby established in the state treasury as a special fund. The
source of monies in this fund shall be
public and private monies received by the state for the purposes of
protection, development, and enhancement
of groundwater and surface water resources of the state, any
other revenues as may be provided by law,
and any other monies which may be appropriated to the fund. The
legislature may appropriate from the fund
for the purpose of providing revenue to assist eligible farmers in
the form of loans, grants, or other
subsidies and to provide revenue for the development and enhancement of
surface water resources. The legislature
may provide by law relative to the Drought Protection Trust Fund.
Added by Acts 2001, No. 1233, §1.
§11. Budgets
Section 11.(A) Budget
Estimate. The governor shall submit to the legislature, at the time and
in the
form fixed by law, a
budget estimate for the next fiscal year setting forth all proposed
state
expenditures. This
budget shall include a recommendation for appropriations from the state
general fund
and from dedicated
funds, except funds allocated by Article VII, Section 4, Paragraphs (D)
and (E),
which shall not exceed
the official forecast of the Revenue Estimating Conference and the
expenditure
limit for the fiscal
year. The recommendation shall also comply with the provisions of
Article VII,
Section 10(D).
[Acts 2001, No. 1234 proposal to amend
§11(A): To be submitted to the electors on November 5, 2002.]
(A) Budget Estimate. The governor shall
submit to the legislature, at the time and in the form fixed by
law, a budget estimate for the next
fiscal year setting forth all proposed state expenditures. This budget
shall
include a recommendation for
appropriations from the state general fund and from dedicated funds,
except
funds allocated by Article VII, Section
4, Paragraphs (D) and (E), which shall not exceed the official
forecast of the Revenue Estimating
Conference and the expenditure limit for the fiscal year. The
recommendation shall also comply with the
provisions of Article VII, Section 10(D). This budget shall
include a recommendation for funding of
state salary supplements for full-time law enforcement and fire
protection officers of the state, as
provided in Article VII, Section 10(D)(3) of this constitution.
(B) Operating Budget.
The governor shall cause to be submitted a general appropriation bill
for
proposed ordinary
operating expenditures which shall be in conformity with the
recommendations for
appropriations
contained in the budget estimate. The governor may cause to be submitted
a bill or bills
to raise additional
revenues with proposals for the use of these revenues.
(C) Capital Budget.
The governor shall submit to the legislature, at each regular session, a
proposed five-year
capital outlay program and request implementation of the first year of
the program.
Prior to inclusion in
the comprehensive capital budget which the legislature adopts, each
capital
improvement project
shall be evaluated through a feasibility study, as defined by the
legislature, which
shall include an
analysis of need and estimates of construction and operating costs. The
legislature shall
provide by law for
procedures, standards, and criteria for the evaluation of such
feasibility studies and
shall set the schedule
of submission of such feasibility studies which shall take effect not
later than
December thirty-first
following the first regular session convening after this Paragraph takes
effect.
These procedures,
standards, and criteria for evaluation of such feasibility studies
cannot be changed or.altered except by a separate legislative instrument
approved by a favorable vote of two-thirds of the
elected members of
each house of the legislature. For those projects not eligible for
funding under the
provisions of Article
VII, Section 27 of this constitution, the request for implementation of
the first year
of the program shall
include a list of the proposed projects in priority order based on the
evaluation of
the feasibility
studies submitted. Capital outlay projects approved by the legislature
shall be made a part
of the comprehensive
state capital budget, which shall be adopted by the legislature.
Amended by Acts
1990, No. 1096, §1, approved Oct. 6, 1990, eff. Nov. 8, 1990; Acts 1993,
No. 1045, §1,
approved Oct. 16, 1993, eff. Nov. 18, 1993.
§12. Reports and
Records
Section 12. Reports
and records of the collection, expenditure, investment, and use of state
money
and those relating to
state obligations shall be matters of public record, except returns of
taxpayers and
matters pertaining to
those returns.
§13. Investment of
State Funds
Section 13. All money
in the custody of the state treasurer which is available for investment
shall be
invested as provided
by law.
§14. Donation,
Loan, or Pledge of Public Credit
Section 14.(A)
Prohibited Uses. Except as otherwise provided by this constitution, the
funds,
credit, property, or
things of value of the state or of any political subdivision shall not
be loaned,
pledged, or donated to
or for any person, association, or corporation, public or private.
Except as
otherwise provided in
this Section, neither the state nor a political subdivision shall
subscribe to or
purchase the stock of
a corporation or association or for any private enterprise.
(B) Authorized Uses.
Nothing in this Section shall prevent (1) the use of public funds for
programs
of social welfare for
the aid and support of the needy; (2) contributions of public funds to
pension and
insurance programs for
the benefit of public employees; (3) the pledge of public funds, credit,
property,
or things of value for
public purposes with respect to the issuance of bonds or other evidences
of
indebtedness to meet
public obligations as provided by law; (4) the return of property,
including mineral
rights, to a former
owner from whom the property had previously been expropriated, or
purchased
under threat of
expropriation, when the legislature by law declares that the public and
necessary
purpose which
originally supported the expropriation has ceased to exist and orders
the return of the
property to the former
owner under such terms and conditions as specified by the legislature;
(5)
acquisition of stock
by any institution of higher education in exchange for any intellectual
property; (6)
the donation of
abandoned or blighted housing property by the governing authority of a
municipality or
a parish to a
nonprofit organization which is recognized by the Internal Revenue
Service as a 501(c)(3)
or 501(c)(4) nonprofit
organization and which agrees to renovate and maintain such property
until
conveyance of the
property by such organization; (7) the deduction of any tax, interest,
penalty, or
other charges forming
the basis of tax liens on blighted property so that they may be
subordinated and
waived in favor of any
purchaser who is not a member of the immediate family of the blighted
property
owner or which is not
any entity in which the owner has a substantial economic interest, but
only in
connection with a
property renovation plan approved by an administrative hearing officer
appointed by
the parish or
municipal government where the property is located; (8) the deduction of
past due taxes,.interest and penalties in favor of an owner of a
blighted property, but only when the owner sells the
property at less than
the appraised value to facilitate the blighted property renovation plan
approved by
the parish or
municipal government and only after the renovation is completed such
deduction being
canceled, null and
void, and to no effect in the event ownership of the property in the
future reverts
back to the owner or
any member of his immediate family; (9) the donation by the state of
asphalt
which has been removed
from state roads and highways to the governing authority of the parish
or
municipality where the
asphalt was removed, or if not needed by such governing authority, then
to any
other parish or
municipal governing authority, but only pursuant to a cooperative
endeavor agreement
between the state and
the governing authority receiving the donated property; or (10) the
investment in
stocks of a portion of
the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust and Protection Fund, created under
the
provisions of R.S.
56:797, and the Russell Sage or Marsh Island Refuge Fund, created under
the
provisions of R.S.
56:798, such portion not to exceed thirty-five percent of each fund.
[Proposed Amendment to §14(B) by Act
1234: To be submitted to electors November 5, 2002.]
(B) Authorized Uses. Nothing in this
Section shall prevent (1) the use of public funds for programs of
social welfare for the aid and support of
the needy; (2) contributions of public funds to pension and
insurance programs for the benefit of
public employees; (3) the pledge of public funds, credit, property, or
things of value for public purposes with
respect to the issuance of bonds or other evidences of indebtedness
to meet public obligations as provided by
law; (4) the return of property, including mineral rights, to a
former owner from whom the property had
previously been expropriated, or purchased under threat of
expropriation, when the legislature by
law declares that the public and necessary purpose which originally
supported the expropriation has ceased to
exist and orders the return of the property to the former owner
under such terms and conditions as
specified by the legislature; (5) acquisition of stock by any
institution of
higher education in exchange for any
intellectual property; (6) the donation of abandoned or blighted
housing property by the governing
authority of a municipality or a parish to a nonprofit organization
which
is recognized by the Internal Revenue
Service as a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization and which
agrees to renovate and maintain such
property until conveyance of the property by such organization; (7) the
deduction of any tax, interest, penalty,
or other charges forming the basis of tax liens on blighted property so
that they may be subordinated and waived
in favor of any purchaser who is not a member of the immediate
family of the blighted property owner or
which is not any entity in which the owner has a substantial
economic interest, but only in connection
with a property renovation plan approved by an administrative
hearing officer appointed by the parish
or municipal government where the property is located; (8) the
deduction of past due taxes, interest and
penalties in favor of an owner of a blighted property, but only when
the owner sells the property at less than
the appraised value to facilitate the blighted property renovation
plan approved by the parish or municipal
government and only after the renovation is completed such
deduction being canceled, null and void,
and to no effect in the event ownership of the property in the future
reverts back to the owner or any member
of his immediate family; (9) the donation by the state of asphalt
which has been removed from state roads
and highways to the governing authority of the parish or
municipality where the asphalt was
removed, or if not needed by such governing authority, then to any other
parish or municipal governing authority,
but only pursuant to a cooperative endeavor agreement between the
state and the governing authority
receiving the donated property; (10) the investment in stocks of a
portion
of the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust
and Protection Fund, created under the provisions of R.S. 56:797,
and the Russell Sage or Marsh Island
Refuge Fund, created under the provisions of R.S. 56:798, such
portion not to exceed thirty-five percent
of each fund; or (11) the investment in stocks of a portion of the
Medicaid Trust Fund for the Elderly
created under the provisions of R.S. 46:2691 et seq., such portion not
to
exceed thirty-five percent of the fund.
[Proposed Amendment to §14(B) by Act
1235: To be submitted to electors November 5, 2002.]
(B) Authorized Uses. Nothing in this
Section shall prevent (1) the use of public funds for programs of
social welfare for the aid and support of
the needy; (2) contributions of public funds to pension and.insurance
programs for the benefit of public employees; (3) the pledge of public
funds, credit, property, or
things of value for public purposes with
respect to the issuance of bonds or other evidences of indebtedness
to meet public obligations as provided by
law; (4) the return of property, including mineral rights, to a
former owner from whom the property had
previously been expropriated, or purchased under threat of
expropriation, when the legislature by
law declares that the public and necessary purpose which originally
supported the expropriation has ceased to
exist and orders the return of the property to the former owner
under such terms and conditions as
specified by the legislature; (5) acquisition of stock by any
institution of
higher education in exchange for any
intellectual property; (6) the donation of abandoned or blighted
housing property by the governing
authority of a municipality or a parish to a nonprofit organization
which
is recognized by the Internal Revenue
Service as a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization and which
agrees to renovate and maintain such
property until conveyance of the property by such organization; (7) the
deduction of any tax, interest, penalty,
or other charges forming the basis of tax liens on blighted property so
that they may be subordinated and waived
in favor of any purchaser who is not a member of the immediate
family of the blighted property owner or
which is not any entity in which the owner has a substantial
economic interest, but only in connection
with a property renovation plan approved by an administrative
hearing officer appointed by the parish
or municipal government where the property is located; (8) the
deduction of past due taxes, interest,
and penalties in favor of an owner of a blighted property, but only
when the owner sells the property at less
than the appraised value to facilitate the blighted property
renovation plan approved by the parish or
municipal government and only after the renovation is completed
such deduction being canceled, null and
void, and to no effect in the event ownership of the property in the
future reverts back to the owner or any
member of his immediate family; (9) the donation by the state of
asphalt which has been removed from state
roads and highways to the governing authority of the parish or
municipality where the asphalt was
removed, or if not needed by such governing authority, then to any other
parish or municipal governing authority,
but only pursuant to a cooperative endeavor agreement between the
state and the governing authority
receiving the donated property; (10) the investment in stocks of a
portion
of the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust
and Protection Fund, created under the provisions of R.S. 56:797,
and the Russell Sage or Marsh Island
Refuge Fund, created under the provisions of R.S. 56:798, such
portion not to exceed thirty-five percent
of each fund; or (11) the investment in stocks by institutions of
higher education or their respective
management boards of a portion of the aggregate funds in the possession
of an institution or board not to exceed
fifty percent of such funds, which are derived from gifts and grants,
funds functioning as endowments, or other
permanent funds.
(C) Cooperative
Endeavors. For a public purpose, the state and its political
subdivisions or political
corporations may
engage in cooperative endeavors with each other, with the United States
or its
agencies, or with any
public or private association, corporation, or individual.
(D) Prior Obligations.
Funds, credit, property, or things of value of the state or of a
political
subdivision heretofore
loaned, pledged, dedicated, or granted by prior state law or authorized
to be
loaned, pledged,
dedicated, or granted by the prior laws and constitution of this state
shall so remain for
the full term as
provided by the prior laws and constitution and for the full term as
provided by any
contract, unless the
authorization is revoked by law enacted by two-thirds of the elected
members of
each house of the
legislature prior to the vesting of any contractual rights pursuant to
this Section.
(E) Surplus Property.
Nothing in this Section shall prevent the donation or exchange of
movable
surplus property
between or among political subdivisions whose functions include public
safety.
Amended by Acts
1983, No. 729, §1, approved Oct. 22, 1983, eff. 11/23/83; Acts 1990, No.
1099, §1, approved
Oct. 6, 1990, eff. 11/8/90; Acts 1995, No. 1320, §1, approved Oct. 21,
1995,
eff. 11/23/95; Acts
1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 97, §1, approved Nov. 5, 1996, eff. 12/11/96;
Acts
1998, No. 75, §1,
approved Oct. 3, 1998, eff. 11/5/98; Acts 1999, No. 1395, §1, approved
Oct.
23, 1999, eff.
11/25/99; Acts 1999, No. 1396, §1, approved Oct. 23, 1999, eff.
11/25/99; Acts
1999, No. 1402, §1,
approved Nov. 20, 1999, eff. 12/27/99; Acts 2001, No. 1232, §1; Acts
2001,.No. 1235, §1.
§15. Release of
Obligations to State, Parish, or Municipality
Section 15. The
legislature shall have no power to release, extinguish, or authorize the
releasing or
extinguishing of any
indebtedness, liability, or obligation of a corporation or individual to
the state, a
parish, or a
municipality. However, the legislature, by law, may establish a system
under which claims
by the state or a
political subdivision may be compromised, and may provide for the
release of heirs to
confiscated property
from taxes due thereon at the date of its reversion to them.
§16. Taxes;
Prescription
Section 16. Taxes,
except real property taxes, and licenses shall prescribe in three years
after the
thirty-first day of
December in the year in which they are due, but prescription may be
interrupted or
suspended as provided
by law.
§17. Legislation to
Obtain Federal Aid
Section 17. The
legislature may enact laws to enable the state, its agencies, boards,
commissions,
and political
subdivisions and their agencies to comply with federal laws and
regulations in order to
secure federal
participation in funding capital improvement projects.
PART II. PROPERTY
TAXATION
§18. Ad Valorem
Taxes
Section 18.(A)
Assessments. Property subject to ad valorem taxation shall be listed on
the
assessment rolls at
its assessed valuation, which, except as provided in Paragraphs (C) and
(G), shall
be a percentage of its
fair market value. The percentage of fair market value shall be uniform
throughout
the state upon the
same class of property.
(B) Classification.
The classifications of property subject to ad valorem taxation and the
percentage
of fair market value
applicable to each classification for the purpose of determining
assessed valuation
are as follows:
Classifications
Percentages
1. Land 10%
2. Improvements for
residential purposes
10%
3. Electric
cooperative properties,
excluding land 15%
4. Public service
properties;
excluding land 25%
5. Other property 15%
The legislature may
enact laws defining electric cooperative properties and public service
properties..(C) Use
Value. Bona fide agricultural, horticultural, marsh, and timber lands,
as defined by general
law, shall be assessed
for tax purposes at ten percent of use value rather than fair market
value. The
legislature may
provide by law similarly for buildings of historic architectural
importance.
(D) Valuation. Each
assessor shall determine the fair market value of all property subject
to taxation
within his respective
parish or district except public service properties, which shall be
valued at fair
market value by the
Louisiana Tax Commission or its successor. Each assessor shall determine
the use
value of property
which is to be so assessed under the provisions of Paragraph (C). Fair
market value
and use value of
property shall be determined in accordance with criteria which shall be
established by
law and which shall
apply uniformly throughout the state.
(E) Review. The
correctness of assessments by the assessor shall be subject to review
first by the
parish governing
authority, then by the Louisiana Tax Commission or its successor, and
finally by the
courts, all in
accordance with procedures established by law.
(F) Reappraisal. All
property subject to taxation shall be reappraised and valued in
accordance
with this Section, at
intervals of not more than four years.
(G)(1) Special
Assessment Level.
(a)(i) The assessment
of residential property receiving the homestead exemption which is owned
and occupied by any
person or persons sixty-five years of age or older and who meet all of
the other
requirements of this
Section shall not be increased above the total assessment of that
property for the
first year that the
owner qualifies for and receives the special assessment level, unless
the owner fails to
qualify for and
receive the special assessment level in a subsequent year. Such property
of an owner
who has failed to
qualify for the special assessment level in one year and who requalifies
in a subsequent
year shall be assessed
at the level at which it was assessed for the most recent year the owner
failed to
receive the special
assessment level.
(ii) Any person or
persons shall be prohibited from receiving the special assessment as
provided in
this Section if such
person or persons' adjusted gross income, as reported in the federal tax
return for
the year prior to the
application for the special assessment, exceeds fifty thousand dollars.
For persons
applying for the
special assessment whose filing status is married filing separately, the
adjusted gross
income for purposes of
this Section shall be determined by combining the adjusted gross income
on
both federal tax
returns. Beginning for the tax year 2001, and for each tax year
thereafter, the fifty
thousand dollar limit
shall be adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index as reported by
the United
States Government. The
income requirement to receive the special assessment level shall be met
annually by the person
or persons receiving the special assessment level.
(iii) An eligible
owner shall annually apply for the special assessment level by filing a
signed
application
establishing that the owner qualifies for the special assessment level
with the assessor of the
parish or, in the
parish of Orleans, the assessor of the district where the property is
located.
(b) Any millage rate
applied to the special assessment level shall not be subject to a
limitation.
(2) The special
assessment level shall remain on the property as long as:.(a) That
owner, or that owner's surviving spouse who is fifty-five years of age
or older or who has
minor children,
remains eligible for and applies annually for the benefit of the special
assessment level on
that property.
(b) The value of the
property does not increase more than twenty-five percent because of
construction or
reconstruction.
(3) A new or
subsequent owner of the property may claim a special assessment level
when eligible
under this Section.
The new owner is not necessarily entitled to the same special assessment
level on
the property as when
that property was owned by the previous owner.
(4)(a) The special
assessment level on property that is sold shall automatically expire on
the last day
of December in the
year prior to the year that the property is sold. The property shall be
immediately
revalued at fair
market value by the assessor and shall be assessed by the assessor on
the assessment
rolls in the year it
was sold at the assessment level provided for in Article VII, Section 18
of the
Constitution of
Louisiana.
(b) This new
assessment level shall remain in effect until changed as provided by
this Section or this
Constitution.
Amended by Acts
1979, No. 799, §1, approved Oct. 27, 1979, eff. Dec. 1, 1979; Acts 1997,
No. 1491, §1,
approved Oct. 3, 1998, eff. Jan. 1, 2000.
§19. State Property
Taxation; Rate Limitation
Section 19. State
taxation on property for all purposes shall not exceed an annual rate of
five and
three-quarter mills on
the dollar of assessed valuation.
§20. Homestead
Exemption
Section 20.(A)
Homeowners.
(1) The bona fide
homestead, consisting of a tract of land or two or more tracts of land
with a
residence on one tract
and a field, pasture, or garden on the other tract or tracts, not
exceeding one
hundred sixty acres,
buildings and appurtenances, whether rural or urban, owned and occupied
by any
person, shall be
exempt from state, parish, and special ad valorem taxes to the extent of
seven thousand
five hundred dollars
of the assessed valuation. The same homestead exemption shall also fully
apply to
the primary residence,
including a mobile home, which serves as a bona fide home and which is
owned
and occupied by any
person, regardless of whether the homeowner owns the land upon which the
home or mobile home is
sited; however, this homestead exemption shall not apply to the land
upon
which such primary
residence is sited if the homeowner does not own the land.
(2) The homestead
exemption shall extend to the surviving spouse or minor children of a
deceased
owner and shall apply
when the homestead is occupied as such and title to it is in either
husband or wife
but not to more than
one homestead owned by the husband or wife.
(3) This exemption
shall not extend to municipal taxes. However, the exemptions shall apply
(a) in
Orleans Parish, to
state, general city, school, levee, and levee district taxes and (b) to
any municipal.taxes levied for school purposes.
(B) Residential
Lessees. Notwithstanding any contrary provision in this constitution,
the legislature
may provide for tax
relief to residential lessees in the form of credits or rebates in order
to provide
equitable tax relief
similar to that granted to homeowners through homestead exemptions.
Amended by Acts
1980, No. 844, §1, approved Nov. 4, 1980; Acts 1993, No. 1046, §1,
approved Oct. 16,
1993, eff. Nov. 18, 1993.
§21. Other Property
Exemptions
Section 21. In
addition to the homestead exemption provided for in Section 20 of this
Article, the
following property and
no other shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation:
(A) Public lands;
other public property used for public purposes.
(B)(1)(a) Property
owned by a nonprofit corporation or association organized and operated
exclusively for
religious, dedicated places of burial, charitable, health, welfare,
fraternal, or educational
purposes, no part of
the net earnings of which inure to the benefit of any private
shareholder or member
thereof and which is
declared to be exempt from federal or state income tax; and
(b) property leased to
such a nonprofit corporation or association for use solely as housing
for
homeless persons, as
defined by regulation adopted by the tax commission or its successor
provided
that the term of such
lease shall be for at least five years, that as a condition of entering
into the lease the
property be in
compliance with all applicable health and sanitation codes for use as
housing for
homeless persons, that
the lease shall provide that compensation to be paid the lessor shall
not exceed
one dollar per year,
and that such contract of lease shall recite that the property shall be
used
exclusively for the
purpose of housing the homeless, and further provided that at such time
as the
property is no longer
used solely as housing for homeless persons, the property shall no
longer be
exempt from taxation;
(2) property of a bona
fide labor organization representing its members or affiliates in
collective
bargaining efforts;
and
(3) property of an
organization such as a lodge or club organized for charitable and
fraternal
purposes and
practicing the same, and property of a nonprofit corporation devoted to
promoting trade,
travel, and commerce,
and also property of a trade, business, industry or professional society
or
association, if that
property is owned by a nonprofit corporation or association organized
under the
laws of this state for
such purposes.
None of the property
listed in Paragraph (B) shall be exempt if owned, operated, leased, or
used
for commercial
purposes unrelated to the exempt purposes of the corporation or
association.
(C)(1) Cash on hand or
deposit;
(2) stocks and bonds,
except bank stocks, the tax on which shall be paid by the banking
institution;
(3) obligations
secured by mortgage on property located in Louisiana and the notes or
other.evidence thereof;
(4) loans by life
insurance companies to policyholders, if secured solely by their
policies;
(5) the legal reserve
of domestic life insurance companies;
(6) loans by a
homestead or building and loan association to its members, if secured
solely by stock
of the association;
(7) debts due for
merchandise or other articles of commerce or for services rendered;
(8) obligations of the
state or its political subdivisions;
(9) personal property
used in the home or on loan in a public place;
(10) irrevocably
dedicated places of burial held by individuals for purposes of burial of
themselves
or members of their
families;
(11) agricultural
products while owned by the producer, agricultural machinery and other
implements used
exclusively for agricultural purposes, animals on the farm, and property
belonging to an
agricultural fair
association;
(12) property used for
cultural, Mardi Gras carnival, or civic activities and not operated for
profit to
the owners;
(13) rights-of-way
granted to the State Department of Highways;
(14) boats using
gasoline as motor fuel;
(15) commercial
vessels used for gathering seafood for human consumption; and
(16) ships and
oceangoing tugs, towboats, and barges engaged in international trade and
domiciled
in Louisiana ports.
However, this exemption shall not apply to harbor, wharf, shed, and
other port dues
or to any vessel
operated in the coastal trade of the states of the United States.
(17) Materials, boiler
fuels, and energy sources used by public utilities to fuel the
generation of
electricity.
(18) All incorporeal
movables of any kind or nature whatsoever, except public service
properties,
bank stocks, and
credit assessments on premiums written in Louisiana by insurance
companies and loan
and finance companies.
For purposes of this Section, incorporeal movables shall have the
meaning set
forth in the Louisiana
Civil Code of 1870, as amended.
(D)(1) Raw materials,
goods, commodities, and articles imported into this state from outside
the
states of the United
States:
(a) so long as the
imports remain on the public property of the port authority or docks of
the.common carrier where they first entered this state;
(b) so long as the
imports (other than minerals and ores of the same kind as any mined or
produced
in this state and
manufactured articles) are held in this state in the original form in
bales, sacks, barrels,
boxes, cartons,
containers, or other original packages, and raw materials held in bulk
as all or a part of
the new material
inventory of manufacturers or processors, solely for manufacturing or
processing; or
(c) so long as the
imports are held by an importer in any public or private storage in the
original
form in bales, sacks,
barrels, boxes, cartons, containers, or other original packages and
agricultural
products in bulk. This
exemption shall not apply to these imports when held by a retail
merchant as part
of his stock-in-trade
for sale at retail.
(2) Raw materials,
goods, commodities, and other articles being held on the public property
of a
port authority, on
docks of any common carrier, or in a warehouse, grain elevator, dock,
wharf, or
public storage
facility in this state for export to a point outside the states of the
United States.
(3) Goods,
commodities, and personal property in public or private storage while in
transit through
this state which are
moving in interstate commerce through or over the territory of the state
or which are
in public or private
storage within Louisiana, having been shipped from outside Louisiana for
storage in
transit to a final
destination outside Louisiana, whether such destination was specified
when
transportation began
or afterward.
Property described in
Paragraph (D), whether or not entitled to exemption, shall be reported
to the
proper taxing
authority on the forms required by law.
(E) Motor vehicles
used on the public highways of this state, from state, parish, and
special ad
valorem taxes. This
exemption shall not extend to any general or special tax levied by a
municipal
governing authority,
or by a district created by it, unless the governing authority thereof
provides for the
exemption by ordinance
or resolution.
(F) Notwithstanding
any contrary provision of this Section, the State Board of Commerce and
Industry or its
successor, with the approval of the governor, may enter into contracts
for the exemption
from ad valorem taxes
of a new manufacturing establishment or an addition to an existing
manufacturing
establishment, on such
terms and conditions as the board, with the approval of the governor,
deems in
the best interest of
the state.
The exemption shall be
for an initial term of no more than five calendar years, and may be
renewed
for an additional five
years. All property exempted shall be listed on the assessment rolls and
submitted
to the Louisiana Tax
Commission or its successor, but no taxes shall be collected thereon
during the
period of exemption.
The terms
"manufacturing establishment" and "addition" as used herein mean a new
plant or
establishment or an
addition or additions to any existing plant or establishment which
engages in the
business of working
raw materials into wares suitable for use or which gives new shapes,
qualities or
combinations to matter
which already has gone through some artificial process.
(G) Coal or lignite
stockpiled in Louisiana for use in Louisiana for industrial or
manufacturing.purposes or for boiler fuel, gasification, feedstock, or
process purposes.
(H) Notwithstanding
any contrary provision of this constitution, the State Board of Commerce
and
Industry or its
successor, with the approval of the governor and the local governing
authority and in
accordance with
procedures and conditions provided by law, may enter into contracts
granting to a
property owner, who
proposes the expansion, restoration, improvement, or development of an
existing
structure or
structures in a downtown, historic, or economic development district
established by a local
governing authority or
in accordance with law, the right for an initial term of five years
after completion
of the work to pay ad
valorem taxes based upon the assessed valuation of the property for the
year
prior to the
commencement of the expansion, restoration, improvement, or development.
Contracts
may be renewed,
subject to the same conditions, for an additional five years extending
such right for a
total of ten years
from completion of the work.
(I)(1) Notwithstanding
any contrary provision of this Section, the authority or district
charged with
economic development
of each parish is hereby authorized to enter into contracts for the
exemption
from parish,
municipal, and special ad valorem taxes of goods held in inventory by
distribution centers.
In the absence of the
existence of an economic development authority or district, the parish
governing
authority is
authorized to grant contracts of exemption as are provided for in this
Paragraph.
(2) The contract for
exemption shall be on such terms and to the extent, up to and including
the full
assessed valuation of
the goods held in inventory, as the economic development authority or
district
deems in the best
interest of the parish. However, prior to entering into each individual
contract, the
economic development
authority or district must request and receive written approval of the
contract,
including its terms
and an estimated fiscal impact, from each affected tax recipient body in
the parish, as
evidenced by a
favorable vote of a majority of the members of the governing authority
of the tax
recipient body.
Failure to receive all required approvals from the tax recipient bodies
before entering
into a contract shall
render the contract null and void and of no effect.
(3) The term
"distribution center" as used herein means an establishment engaged in
the sale of
products for resale or
further processing for resale. The term "goods held in inventory" as
used herein
means goods or
products which have been given new shapes, qualities, or combinations
through some
artificial process and
does not include raw materials such as natural gas, crude oil, sulphur,
or timber or
goods or products held
for sale to consumers.
Amended by Acts
1981, No. 942, §1, eff. Oct. 16, 1982; Acts 1981, No. 943, §1, eff. Oct.
16,
1982; Acts 1981,
No. 944, §1, eff. Oct. 16, 1982; Acts 1989, No. 845, §1, approved Oct.
6, 1990,
eff. Jan. 1, 1991;
Acts 1990, No. 1101, §1, approved Oct. 6, 1990, eff. Jan. 1, 1991; Acts
1990,
No. 1104, §1,
approved Oct. 6, 1990, eff. Jan. 1, 1991; Acts 1996, No. 47, §1,
approved Sept.
21, 1996, eff. Nov.
5, 1996.
§22. No Impairment
of Existing Taxes or Obligations
Section 22. This Part
shall not be applied in a manner which will (a) invalidate taxes
authorized and
imposed prior to the
effective date of this constitution or (b) impair the obligations,
validity, or security
of any bonds or other
debt obligations authorized prior to the effective date of this
constitution.
§23. Adjustment of
Ad Valorem Tax Millages.Section 23.(A) First Adjustment. Prior to
the end of the third year after the effective date of this
constitution, the
assessors and the Louisiana Tax Commission or its successor shall
complete
determination of the
fair market value or the use value of all property subject to taxation
within each
parish for use in
implementing this Article. Except as provided in this Section, the total
amount of ad
valorem taxes
collected by any taxing authority in the year in which Sections 18 and
20 of this Article
are implemented shall
not be increased or decreased, because of their provisions, above or
below ad
valorem taxes
collected by that taxing authority in the year preceding implementation.
To accomplish
this result, it shall
be mandatory for each affected taxing authority, in the year in which
Sections 18 and
20 of this Article are
implemented, to adjust millages upwards or downwards without regard to
millage
limitations contained
in this constitution, and the maximum authorized millages shall be
increased or
decreased, without
further voter approval, in proportion to the amount of the adjustment
upward or
downward. Thereafter,
such millages shall remain in effect unless changed as permitted by this
constitution.
(B) Subsequent
Adjustments. Except as otherwise permitted in this Section, the total
amount of ad
valorem taxes
collected by any taxing authority in the year in which the reappraisal
and valuation
provisions of Section
18, Paragraph (F) of this Article are implemented shall not be increased
or
decreased because of a
reappraisal or valuation or increases or decreases in the homestead
exemption
above or below the
total amount of ad valorem taxes collected by that taxing authority in
the year
preceding
implementation of the reappraisal and valuation. To accomplish this
result, the provisions of
millage adjustments
relative to implementation of Section 18 and Section 20 of this Article,
as set forth
in Paragraph (A) of
this Section shall be mandatory. Thereafter, following implementation of
each
subsequent reappraisal
and valuation required by Paragraph (F) of Section 18 of this Article,
the
millages as fixed in
each such implementation shall remain in effect unless changed as
permitted by
Paragraph (C) of this
Section.
(C) Increases
Permitted. Nothing herein shall prohibit a taxing authority from
collecting, in the year
in which Sections 18
and 20 of this Article are implemented or in any subsequent year, a
larger dollar
amount of ad valorem
taxes by (1) levying additional or increased millages as provided by law
or (2)
placing additional
property on the tax rolls. Increases in the millage rate in excess of
the rates
established as
provided by Paragraph (B) above but not in excess of the prior year's
maximum
authorized millage
rate may be levied by two-thirds vote of the total membership of a
taxing authority
without further voter
approval but only after a public hearing held in accordance with the
open meetings
law; however, in
addition to any other requirements of the open meetings law, public
notice of the time,
place, and subject
matter of such hearing shall be published on two separate days no less
than thirty
days before the public
hearing. Such public notice shall be published in the official journal
of the taxing
authority, and another
newspaper with a larger circulation within the taxing authority than the
official
journal of the taxing
authority, if there is one.
(D) Application. This
Section shall not apply to millages required to be levied for the
payment of
general obligation
bonds.
Amended by Acts
1980, 2nd Ex.Sess., No. 1, §1, approved Nov. 4, 1980, eff. Dec. 8, 1980;
Acts 1997, No.
1496, §1, approved Oct. 3, 1998, eff. Nov. 5, 1998.
§24. Tax Assessors
Section 24.(A)
Election; Term. A tax assessor shall be elected by the electors of each
parish,.Orleans Parish excepted. His term of office shall be four years.
His election, duties, and compensation
shall be as provided
by law.
(B) Orleans Parish.
There shall be seven assessors in New Orleans, who shall compose the
Board
of Assessors for
Orleans Parish. One shall be elected from each municipal district of New
Orleans, and
each shall be a
resident of the district from which he is elected. The assessors shall
be elected at the
same time as the
municipal officers of New Orleans, for terms of four years each. Their
duties and
compensation shall be
as provided by law.
(C) Vacancy. When a
vacancy occurs in the office of tax assessor, the duties of the office,
until
filled by election as
provided by law, shall be assumed by the chief deputy assessor, except
in Orleans
Parish where the Board
of Assessors shall appoint an interim assessor.
§25. Tax Sales
Section 25.(A) Tax
Sales. (1) There shall be no forfeiture of property for nonpayment of
taxes.
However, at the
expiration of the year in which the taxes are due, the collector,
without suit, and after
giving notice to the
delinquent in the manner provided by law, shall advertise for sale the
property on
which the taxes are
due. The advertisement shall be published in the official journal of the
parish or
municipality, or, if
there is no official journal, as provided by law for sheriffs' sales, in
the manner
provided for judicial
sales. On the day of sale, the collector shall sell the portion of the
property which
the debtor points out.
If the debtor does not point out sufficient property, the collector
shall sell
immediately the least
quantity of property which any bidder will buy for the amount of the
taxes,
interest, and costs.
The sale shall be without appraisement. A tax deed by a tax collector
shall be prima
facie evidence that a
valid sale was made.
(2) If property
located in a municipality with a population of more than four hundred
fifty thousand
persons as of the most
recent federal decennial census fails to sell for the minimum required
bid in the
tax sale, the
collector may offer the property for sale at a subsequent sale with no
minimum required
bid. The proceeds of
the sale shall be applied to the taxes, interest, and costs due on the
property, and
any remaining
deficiency shall be eliminated from the tax rolls.
(B) Redemption. (1)
The property sold shall be redeemable for three years after the date of
recordation of the tax
sale, by paying the price given, including costs, five percent penalty
thereon, and
interest at the rate
of one percent per month until redemption.
(2) In the city of New
Orleans, when such property sold is residential or commercial property
which is abandoned
property as defined by R.S. 33:4720.12(1) or blighted property as
defined by Act
155 of the 1984
Regular Session, it shall be redeemable for eighteen months after the
date of
recordation of the tax
sale by payment in accordance with Subparagraph (1) of this Paragraph.
(C) Annulment. No sale
of property for taxes shall be set aside for any cause, except on proof
of
payment of the taxes
prior to the date of the sale, unless the proceeding to annul is
instituted within six
months after service
of notice of sale. A notice of sale shall not be served until the final
day for
redemption has ended.
It must be served within five years after the date of the recordation of
the tax
deed if no notice is
given. The fact that taxes were paid on a part of the property sold
prior to the sale
thereof, or that a
part of the property was not subject to taxation, shall not be cause for
annulling the.sale of any part thereof on which the taxes for which it
was sold were due and unpaid. No judgment
annulling a tax sale
shall have effect until the price and all taxes and costs are paid, and
until ten percent
per annum interest on
the amount of the price and taxes paid from date of respective payments
are paid
to the purchaser;
however, this shall not apply to sales annulled because the taxes were
paid prior to
the date of sale.
(D) Quieting Tax
Title. The manner of notice and form of proceeding to quiet tax titles
shall be
provided by law.
(E) Movables; Tax
Sales. When taxes on movables are delinquent, the tax collector shall
seize and
sell sufficient
movable property of the delinquent taxpayer to pay the tax, whether or
not the property
seized is the property
which was assessed. Sale of the property shall be at public auction,
without
appraisement, after
ten days advertisement, published within ten days after date of seizure.
It shall be
absolute and without
redemption.
If the tax collector
can find no corporeal movables of the delinquent to seize, he may levy
on
incorporeal rights, by
notifying the debtor thereof, or he may proceed by summary rule in the
courts to
compel the delinquent
to deliver for sale property in his possession or under his control.
(F) Postponement of
Taxes. The legislature may postpone the payment of taxes, but only in
cases
of overflow, general
conflagration, general crop destruction, or other public calamity, and
may provide
for the levying,
assessing, and collecting of such postponed taxes. In such case, the
legislature may
authorize the
borrowing of money by the state on its faith and credit, by bond issue
or otherwise, and
may levy taxes, or
apply taxes already levied and not appropriated, to secure payment
thereof, in order
to create a fund from
which loans may be made through the Interim Emergency Board to the
governing
authority of the
parish where the calamity occurs. The money loaned shall be applied to
and shall not
exceed the deficiency
in revenue of the parish or a political subdivision therein or of which
the parish is
a part, caused by
postponement of taxes. No loan shall be made to a parish governing
authority without
the approval of the
Interim Emergency Board.
Amended by Acts
1995, No. 1319, §1, approved Oct. 21, 1995, eff. Nov. 23, 1995; Acts
1997,
No. 1495, §1,
approved Oct. 3, 1998, eff. Nov. 5, 1998.
PART III. REVENUE
SHARING
§26. Revenue
Sharing Fund
Section 26.(A)
Creation of Fund. The Revenue Sharing Fund is created as a special fund
in the
state treasury.
(B) Annual Allocation.
The sum of ninety million dollars is allocated annually from the state
general
fund to the revenue
sharing fund. The legislature may appropriate additional sums to the
fund.
(C) Distribution
Formula. The revenue sharing fund shall be distributed annually as
provided by law
solely on the basis of
population and number of homesteads in each parish in proportion to
population
and the number of
homesteads throughout the state. Unless otherwise provided by law,
population
statistics of the last
federal decennial census shall be utilized for this purpose. After
deductions in each
parish for retirement
systems and commissions as authorized by law, the remaining funds, to
the extent.available, shall be distributed by first priority to the tax
recipient bodies within the parish, as defined by
law, to offset current
losses because of homestead exemptions granted in this Article. Any
balance
remaining in a parish
distribution shall be allocated to the municipalities and tax recipient
bodies within
each parish as
provided by law.
(D) Distributing
Officer. The funds distributed to each parish as provided in Paragraph
(C) shall be
distributed in Orleans
Parish by the city treasurer of New Orleans and in all other parishes by
the parish
tax collector. The
funds allocated to the Monroe City School Board or its successor shall
be distributed
to and by the city
treasurer of Monroe.
(E) Bonded Debt. A
political subdivision, as defined by Article VI of this constitution,
may incur
debt by issuing
negotiable bonds and may pledge for the payment of all or part of the
principal and
interest of such bonds
the proceeds derived or to be derived from that portion of the funds
received by
it from the revenue
sharing fund, to offset current losses caused by homestead exemptions
granted by
this Article. Unless
otherwise provided by law, no moneys allocated within any parish from
the balance
remaining in its
distribution may be pledged to the payment of the principal or interest
of any bonds.
Bonds issued under
this Paragraph shall be issued and sold as provided by law, and shall
require
approval of the State
Bond Commission or its successor prior to issuance and sale.
PART IV.
TRANSPORTATION
§27. Transportation
Trust Fund
Section 27.(A)
Creation of fund. Effective January 1, 1990, there shall be established
in the state
treasury as a special
permanent trust fund the Transportation Trust Fund ("the trust fund") in
which shall
be deposited the
"excess revenues" as defined herein which are a portion of the avails
received in each
year from all taxes
levied on gasoline and motor fuels and on special fuels (said avails
being referred to
as the "revenues") as
provided herein. After satisfying pledges respecting that portion of the
revenues
attributable to the
tax rates in effect at the time of such pledges for the payment of
obligations for bonds
or other evidences of
indebtedness on the effective date of this Section, the treasurer shall
allocate such
portion of the
revenues received in each year as necessary to pay all principal,
interest, premium, if any,
and other obligations
incident to the issuance, security, and payment in respect of bonds as
authorized
in Paragraph (C)
hereof. Thereafter, the portion of the revenues remaining shall be
deposited in the
Bond Security and
Redemption Fund in the state treasury. After (1) the payment of any
obligations for
bonds or other
evidences of indebtedness in existence on the effective date of this
Section which are
secured by revenues;
(2) payments in respect of bonds authorized in Paragraph (C) hereof; and
(3)
credit to the Bond
Security and Redemption Fund, the treasurer shall deposit in and credit
to the trust
fund all of the
revenues remaining (the "excess revenues") from the avails of all taxes
levied on gasoline
and motor fuels and on
special fuels, as follows: for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1989,
the avails of
twelve cents per
gallon of said taxes received on and after January 1, 1990; for the
fiscal year beginning
on July 1, 1990, the
avails of fourteen cents per gallon of said taxes; for the fiscal year
beginning on July
1, 1991, and
thereafter, the avails of all taxes levied on gasoline and motor fuels
and on special fuels.
Purchases of gasoline,
diesel fuel, or special fuels which are subject to excise tax under
Chapter 7 of
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