2 weeks Ago
A sign informs people that C.E. Byrd High School is a polling location Tuesday, Nov.
5, 2024, Shreveport, La. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Louisianans will head to the polls on Saturday to decide whether to approve four constitutional amendments. Those amendments would add new rules for how the Legislature passes the annual state budget and overhaul the system local governments use to handle tax-delinquent properties .
Another would change the make-up of the commission that enforces judicial ethics rules . Amendment 1 If approved, Amendment 1 would add five political appointees to the nine-member Judiciary Commission. The House Speaker would select two, the Senate President would select two and the governor would select one.
Currently, panels of judges choose the members, which include three attorneys, three judges and three citizen-members. The Judiciary Commission investigates complaints against judges and may recommend discipline to the Supreme Court, which votes on whether to impose it. Supporters say the change would make the commission more efficient and accountable to the public, because it would gain members who are not appointed by judges.
They say the commission handles complaints too slowly and too secretly. The process is confidential up until a certain point. The commission also has the power to settle matters with judges and keep the result secret.
Detractors, including several former commissioners, say the change would do nothing to improve efficiency but would instead harm the commission’s independence by injecting politics into it. They argue it creates a separation of powers issue because the legislative and executive branches would become involved in the judicial branch. Under the U.
S. Constitution, the three branches of government — the judiciary, executive and legislative branches — must work independently of one another. Detractors also say complaints are initially kept secret for a reason—to protect judges’ reputations if the accusation is false.
Amendments 2 & 3 Amendment 2 and Amendment 3 are companion amendments that affect the Legislature’s budget process. The Legislature passes a sweeping set of appropriations bills each year. In 2023, legislators received the final package with less than an hour before the end of session, leaving little time for them to review complex bills.
Amendment 2 would require a 48-hour waiting period after legislators receive the package to take a final vote on budget bills. Amendment 3 would allow legislators to extend the session by up to six days, so that they could comply with the 48-hour rule. Amendment 4 Amendment 4 impacts what happens to tax-delinquent property.
Supporters say it would be more protective of homeowners, while opponents worry it would discourage amendments and are skeptical about whether it would truly benefit property owners. Under the current system, if a property has unpaid taxes, it goes to a sheriff’s auction where investors bid on a stake in the property in exchange for paying the tax debt. The original owner has three years to pay back the investor the debt, which collects interest.
If not, the property may go up for auction, the bid money goes first to paying back the investor and then to attorney’s fees. The rest is divided between the investor and the original owner, depending on how much ownership stake each has. Katie Belanger, vice president of the Louisiana Land Title Association, has said the bids are often very low and can leave the homeowner without anything after all the debt is paid off.
There also have been cases where an investor bids for 100% ownership, in which case the original owner may lose a $100,000 property to a $3,000 tax payment. Amendment 4 would instead establish a tax lien system, where investors bid on the amount of interest they can accept on the debt. Again, the owner has three years to pay it off.
If not, the property would go up for auction, but the starting bid would be two-thirds of the market value of the property. After the bidding process ends, the money would first go toward paying back the investor and then to other creditors. But the owner would get to keep the rest.
Detractors say the current system at least leaves homeowners with a stake in the property when it goes up for sale. They note that homeowner is still not guaranteed their share of equity since the bids start at two-thirds of market value..
