Editorial: Press supports three of four amendments

Louisiana voters have been asked to decide 330 state constitutional amendments since the present document was ratified in 1974. Another 10 amendments are on the Nov. 3 election ballot. So far, 221 changes have won approval from voters.

The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana on its website (parlouisiana.org) contains information about the 10 proposed constitutional amendments. PAR has provided that information since the 1974 constitution was adopted.

Amendment No. 1 would allow the spouse of a disabled veteran who was eligible for a special, higher property tax exemption to move to a different home and keep the exemption after the veteran’s death, in a one-time transfer.

The Louisiana Constitution authorizes homeowners to receive an exemption from most parish property taxes up to $75,000 of the value of the homestead if they live in the home, known as the homestead exemption.

The American Press is recommending a yes vote.

Amendment No. 2 would give local governments the full period of their tax levy (usually 10 years) to decide in any given year if they want to “roll forward” or “roll back”” a tax rate instead of having to decide this every four years when property is reassessed.

This is a good amendment for taxpayers because it won’t force a local government agency to decide early that it needs to raise the full tax rate. Many taxing bodies choose to roll forward their mileage rates to the maximum rate because they don’t want to lose the decision-making ability that forces homeowners and businesses to pay higher property taxes.

PAR said the roll-forward decisions still would require a two-thirds vote of taxing body members.

The American Press is recommending a yes vote.

Amendment No. 3 would prohibit bail for people convicted of certain aggravated offenses against children under state law. With certain exceptions that involve serious crimes, bail is allowed after someone has been convicted of a crime under Louisiana law. A judge decides whether such bail is authorized.

The amendment would ban post-conviction bail for any person convicted under Louisiana law of a long list of aggravated offenses against anyone younger than 18, including crimes of rape, sexual battery, kidnapping and human trafficking.

The Louisiana House approved this amendment with a vote of 92-0. The Senate vote was 31-1.

We believe judges should have the flexibility to decide post-conviction bail cases during appeals. However, this amendment only deals with crimes involving persons under the age of 18.

The American Press is recommending a yes vote.

Amendment No. 4 would limit anyone elected Louisiana governor to two four-year terms in a lifetime, rather than two consecutive terms. Edwin W. Edwards and Earl Long were the only two governors across the last century who served more than two four-year terms.

Voters were happy to have Edwards around when he defeated White supremacist and former wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke on Nov. 16, 1991, to win his fourth term. Voters want the right to cast a ballot for someone with that kind of experience and background.

The American Press is recommending a no vote.