In addition to the governor’s race and other elections, the October 12th ballot has four proposed constitutional amendments. Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana Policy Director Steve Procopio advises voters to do their homework before they enter the voting booth.
“Very detailed, small knit-picking amendments, but not to say they are not important, but it’s easy to see how they can escape people’s attention during a governor’s race,” said Procopio.
The proposed constitutional amendment that has received the most attention is Amendment Four, which would give New Orleans the ability to create a residential property tax exemption for affordable housing units. Procopio on why the measure must receive approval statewide.
“Any property tax exemption has to be in the constitution, the constitution says this is a list of exemptions and there shall be no others, so you can’t pass them in regular law,” said Procopio.
Amendment one also deals with a property tax exemption. Procopio says it creates a property tax exemption for certain goods that go back and forth between the rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
“There is an argument on whether these things should be taxed, so the oil and gas industry is trying to solve the issue through a constitutional amendment,” said Procopio.
The other two amendments deal with funding for three schools that are not getting tobacco settlement fund dollars and allowing the Board of Tax Appeals to rule on constitutional amendments. Parlouisiana.org has information on the amendments.
