State’s Nov. 2 ballot includes 10 constitutional changes

Voters may be scratching their heads when they cast ballots Nov. 2 and wade through 10 proposed constitutional changes that delve into complex rules governing taxes, property rights and criminal trial procedure.

The easiest amendment to understand is at the top of the list, prompted by heavy criticism two years ago when lawmakers tried to double their salaries. The pay raise was eventually vetoed by Gov. Bobby Jindal amid intense public pressure.

The proposal by Sen. Joe McPherson, D-Woodworth, would require any approved salary increases for statewide elected officials, legislators and members of the Public Service Commission to take effect at the outset of a new term in office, so officials couldn’t raise their pay while in their current term on the job.

The rest of the amendments take a bit of research.

“This group of 10 proposals ranges from the mundane to the arcane and addresses issues that most voters probably never have considered. It’s a heavy ballot, and I would encourage everyone to start early trying to make sense of it,” said Jim Brandt, president of the nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council, which puts out a constitutional amendments guide for voters.

Among the other amendments:

• Amendment 2 would decrease the share of severance taxes collected on oil and gas production that is paid to the state. It would increase the share of those taxes paid to local governments in the parishes where the oil and gas are produced. By its second year, the proposal would siphon about $60 million from state coffers and send it to local governments instead. But its effective date is tied to revenue forecasts, so it’s unclear when the transfer would start.

• Amendment 3 would allow a more generous property tax exemption for disabled veterans and their spouses, doubling the homestead exemption other homeowners receive. The increased tax break – which would exempt the first $150,000 value of the home from property taxes – would only take effect if a parish calls a local election and a majority of voters in the parish agrees.

• Amendment 4 would narrow non-elected governing authorities’ power to increase their property tax revenue without voters’ approval. Current law requires that local taxing bodies decrease their property tax rate when there is a property value reassessment, so the revenue they collect is equal to the previous year’s amount. However, they are allowed to restore the rate, or “roll it forward” – thus getting more revenue when property assessments go up, without approval from voters. The amendment would limit the roll-forward by certain taxing bodies whose members aren’t all elected, like recreation, sewage, drainage and library districts.

• Amendment 5 would give homeowners more time to retain their homestead exemption property tax break when displaced by a disaster. The proposal is designed to help victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita who are still trying to rebuild their homes but don’t yet live in them because they have pending damage claims with grant programs or private insurers.

• Amendment 6 would require a two-thirds vote of lawmakers to approve retirement system changes that would cost the state more money.

• Amendment 7 would change the bidding rules for tax sale auctions and would let tax collectors charge extra penalties for unpaid property taxes.

• Amendment 8 would remove a requirement that property expropriated by a government agency because of a public safety threat be offered first for repurchase to the original owner who let the property fall into disrepair.

• Amendment 9 would change the rules for legal arguments in certain worker’s compensation claims cases. The cases would have to be reargued before a panel of at least five appeals court judges before an agency’s decision could be reversed or changed.

• Amendment 10 would require any defendant in a criminal case who wants to waive his right to a jury trial to do it at least 45 days before the trial begins. The decision to waive a jury trial couldn’t be revoked once it’s made.

PAR is urging everyone to study up on the constitutional amendments before arriving at the voting booth, but Brandt believes many voters simply will skip that portion of the ballot because they’ll find it too confusing.

“There is no way to develop an informed position while standing in the ballot box for this long list of proposals,” he said in a statement. “If people aren’t prepared with their answers, they likely won’t even vote on most of these questions.”

Louisiana voters have been faced with 223 proposed amendments since the 1974 state constitution was adopted, and 155 of those changes have passed, according to PAR.