O-26

?NOTICE
Proposed Constitutional Amendments to be voted on at the Open General/
Congressional Election
December 07, 2024
CODING: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law; words in boldface type and/or underscored are additions.
Proposed Amendment No. 1
Regular Session, 2024
ACT No. 405
SENATE BILL NO. 177
BY SENATOR MORRIS
A JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing to amend Article V, Section 25(C) and to add Article V, Section 25(A)(4) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to the judiciary commission; to require the judiciary commission to conduct certain investigations; to provide for membership of the judiciary commission; to specify an election for submission of the proposition to electors; and to provide a ballot proposition.
Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to amend Article V, Section 25(C) and to add Article V, Section 25(A)(4) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows:
§25. Judiciary Commission
Section 25.(A) Composition. The judiciary commission shall consist of

(4) two appointees of the speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, two appointees of the president of the Louisiana Senate, and one appointee of the governor.

(C) Powers. On recommendation of the judiciary commission, the The supreme court may, after an investigation by the judiciary commission, which shall be instituted on recommendation by the judiciary commission or by directive of a majority of the supreme court, 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, malfeasance while in office, conduct while in office which would constitute a felony, or conviction of a felony. On recommendation of the judiciary commission, the The supreme court may, on recommendation of the judiciary commission, or on its own motion, 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 The supreme court may, after an investigation by the judiciary commission, which shall be instituted on recommendation by the judiciary commission or by directive of a majority of the supreme court, 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.

Section 2. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on December 7, 2024. Section 3. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at said election there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows: Do you support an amendment to allow the supreme court to sanction a judge upon an investigation by the judiciary commission, and provide that the recommended sanction shall be instituted by the judiciary commission or by a majority of the supreme court, and to provide for the appointment of five members of the judiciary commission?
(Amends Article V, Section 25(C); adds Article V, Section 25(A)(4))
Proposed Amendment No. 2
Regular Session, 2024
ACT No. 406
HOUSE BILL NO. 48
BY REPRESENTATIVES
BACALA, ADAMS,
AMEDEE,BERAULT, BILLINGS, BOYER,
BUTLER, CARLSON, ROBBY CARTER, CARVER, CHENEVERT, COX,
CREWS, DEVILLIER,
DEWITT, ECHOLS,
EDMONSTON, EGAN, EMERSON, FIRMENT,
GLORIOSO, HEBERT, HENRY, HORTON,
MIKE JOHNSON, JACOB LANDRY, MCCORMICK, MCMAHEN, MCMAKIN, MELERINE, MYERS,
OWEN, SCHAMERHORN, SCHLEGEL, SELDERS, THOMAS, WILEY,
AND WYBLE
A JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing to add Article III, Section 16(F) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to provide relative to consideration of appropriations bills; to provide for time periods and required information relative thereto; to provide for submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; and to provide for related matters.
Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to add Article III, Section 16(F) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows:
§16. Appropriations
Section 16.

(F) Coordination of resources and expenditures. No conference committee report or amendment from the Senate on a bill appropriating money shall be considered for concurrence until at least forty-eight hours after the bill, a summary detailing the proposed changes to the bill, and any additional information required by the joint rules of the legislature and the rules of the house of the legislature considering concurrence have been distributed to each member of that house of the legislature. Section 2. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on December 7, 2024. Section 3. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at the election, there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows: Do you support an amendment to require that the legislature wait for at least forty-eight hours prior to concurring in a conference committee report or amendments to a bill appropriating money? (Adds Article III, Section16(F))
Proposed Amendment No. 3
Regular Session, 2024
ACT No. 407
HOUSE BILL NO. 49
BY REPRESENTATIVE
BACALA
A JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing to amend Article III, Section 2(A)(3)(a) and (4)(a) of the Constitution of Louisiana and to add Article III, Section 2(A)(5) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to regular sessions of the legislature, to allow the legislature to extend a regular session for a limited time period for specific purpose; to provide for submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; and to provide for related matters.
Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to amend Article III, Section 2(A)(3)(a)and (4)(a) of the Constitution of Louisiana and to add Article III, Section 2(A)(5) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows:
§2. Sessions
Section 2.(A) Annual Session.

(3)(a) All regular sessions convening in even-numbered years shall be general in nature and shall convene at noon on the second 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 except as provided in Subparagraph (5) of this Paragraph. 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 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.

(4)(a) All regular sessions convening in odd-numbered years shall convene at noon on the second 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 except as provided in Subparagraph (5) of this Paragraph. 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.

(5) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of Subsubparagraphs (3)(a) and (4)(a) of this Paragraph and only if necessary to finally pass a bill appropriating money, the legislature, by a favorable record vote of two-thirds of the elected members of each house, may extend a regular session in increments of two legislative or calendar days. During the time a regular session has been extended, the legislature shall not consider any matter having the effect of law other than those contained in a bill appropriating money. No regular session shall be extended more than six calendar days beyond the original time and day for the session to adjourn sine die. Section 2. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on December 7, 2024. Section 3. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at the election, there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows: Do you support an amendment to allow the legislature to extend a regular session in increments of two days up to a maximum of six days if necessary to pass a bill appropriating money? (Amends Article III, Sections 2(A)(3)(a) and(4)(a); Adds Article III, Section 2(A)(5))
Proposed Amendment No. 4
Regular Session, 2024
ACT No. 409
SENATE BILL NO. 119
BY SENATOR MILLER
AND REPRESENTATIVES BRYANT, CARRIER,
EGAN, FREEMAN,
GADBERRY, GLORIOSO, MCMAKIN AND WYBLE
A JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing to amend Article VII, Section 25 of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to ad valorem tax; to provide for the administration of tax sales of immovable property; to provide for the postponement of taxes under certain circumstances; and to specify an election for submission of the proposition to electors and provide a ballot proposition.
Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to amend Article VII, Section 25 of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows:
§25. Tax Sales Administration
Section 25.(A) Tax Sales Immovables. (1) There shall be no forfeiture of property for nonpayment of taxes. However, the assessment of ad valorem taxes and other impositions on immovable property shall constitute a lien and privilege on the property assessed in favor of the political subdivision to which taxes and other impositions are owed. The legislature shall provide, by law, for the efficient administration of tax sales, which shall include at a minimum:
(a) Imposition of interest on the delinquent taxes and other impositions not to exceed one percent per month on a noncompounding basis.
(b) Imposition of penalty not to exceed five percent of the delinquent taxes and other impositions.
(c) A period of time during which the lien cannot be enforced.
(d) A procedure for claiming the excess proceeds from the sale of the property, as a result of the enforcement of the lien.
(2) The legislature may, by law, provide authority to the tax collector to waive penalties for good cause.
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.
(3) In any parish other than Orleans, when such property sold is vacant residential or commercial property which has been declared blighted, as defined by R.S. 33:1374(B)(1) on January 1, 2013, or abandoned, as defined by R.S. 33:4720.59(D)(2) on January 1, 2013, 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)(B) 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)(C) Postponement of Taxes. The legislature may postpone the payment of taxes, but only in cases of an emergency declared by the governor or a parish president pursuant to the Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act, 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 taxes are postponed. 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.
Section 2. Be it further resolved that the provisions of the amendment contained in this Joint Resolution shall become effective January 1, 2026.
Section 3. Be it further resolved that if a proposed amendment to Article VII, Section 25 of the Constitution of Louisiana which authorizes liens and privileges on immovable property for nonpayment of taxes is adopted at statewide election prior to December 7, 2024, then the amendment to the constitution proposed in this Joint Resolution is hereby withdrawn, and the secretary of state is hereby ordered not to include this proposed amendment on the ballot on December 7, 2024.
Section 4. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on December 7, 2024.
Section 5. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at said election there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows:
Do you support an amendment to eliminate mandatory tax sales for nonpayment of property taxes and require the legislature to provide for such procedures by law; to limit the amount of penalty and interest on delinquent property taxes; and to provide for the postponement of property tax payments under certain circumstances?
(Amends Article VII, Section 25)
RUN: Oct. 24 (O 26)