Election 2023 Preview: Ballot Initiatives

By Clancy DuBos

Source: Gambit

September 29, 2023

This year, Louisiana voters are once again being asked to weigh in on a number of policy issues. At the state level, lawmakers have proposed four amendments to the Louisiana constitution, while here in Orleans Parish voters will be asked to consider two charter amendments and a school board millage extension.

State Constitutional Amendments
Four proposed amendments to the Louisiana Constitution appear on the Oct. 14 ballot.

Amendment 1 prohibits the use of donations by a foreign government or nongovernmental source to help conduct elections in Louisiana. State lawmakers passed several bills barring this in recent years, but they were vetoed by Gov. John Bel Edwards. Critics of the amendment say it’s an attempt to outlaw legitimate nonprofit grants that help our elections run smoothly and increase voter participation.

Amendment 2 requires courts to apply “strict scrutiny” (the highest legal standard) to laws regulating houses of worship. This proposal has drawn criticism as unnecessary and an attack on legitimate public health measures.

Amendment 3 increases from 10% to 25% the amount of non-recurring state revenues that must be used to pay down state retirement systems’ debt, which now approaches $17 billion. That debt reduces revenue available for state services, local school boards, colleges and other priorities.

Amendment 4 allows local governments to deny property tax exemptions for nonprofit housing that endangers public safety. This amendment has its roots in New Orleans, where city officials have wrestled to combat substandard housing properties owned by an out-of-state nonprofit.

For more information and analysis of all four proposed amendments, check out the Public Affairs Research Council (PAR) website. PAR is a nonpartisan research and policy organization dedicated to making state government more efficient and transparent.

City Charter Propositions
The New Orleans City Council has proposed two amendments to the City Charter. Both are essentially housekeeping measures, but both are considered important. The Bureau of Governmental Research, a local nonpartisan watchdog, has endorsed both propositions.

Proposition 1 establishes a new Department of Code Enforcement to provide a single office for administrative, personnel, funding support and accountability — a function that’s now scattered throughout city government.

Proposition 2 moves up the deadline for the mayor to deliver the annual operating and capital budgets to the City Council for review — from Nov. 1 to Oct. 1. The proposed change would give the council significantly more time to review the administration’s spending plans and give citizens more fiscal transparency.

Orleans School Board Millage
The Orleans Parish School Board seeks renewal of a 10-year, 4.97-mill property tax dedicated to facilities maintenance and capital improvements. This is not a tax increase, but the renewal would be for 20 years instead of 10. The board says that’s because it needs the longer extension in order to complete a 20-year strategic plan for capital projects.

After local public schools sustained massive damage as a result of Hurricane Katrina flooding, a $1.8 billion settlement with FEMA fostered a massive investment in state-of-the-art schools.

The current 10-year millage expires at the end of 2024. The Bureau of Governmental Research has endorsed the proposed renewal.

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