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LA Gov Jeff Landry's plan to draft new state constitution
Posted on 4/16/24 at 4:36 pm
Posted on 4/16/24 at 4:36 pm
Say what you will about Landry, but he hit the ground running trying to make changes.
The Advocate
The Advocate
quote:
Gov. Jeff Landry’s effort to rewrite the state constitution ran into a buzzsaw of complaints during its first public airing Tuesday, with Democrats and one Republican on a House committee expressing concerns that the governor is moving too fast.
Despite those complaints, state Rep. Beau Beaullieu said that the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, which he chairs, will approve his bill next Tuesday to convene a special convention of delegates that would redo the constitution.
Landry and Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, the governor’s point person on the effort, want legislators to approve his House Bill 800 within a month to begin the convention on May 20. Delegates would then have two weeks to draft the new document.
quote:
Beaullieu sought to address the concern by saying that the public would ultimately decide whether to adopt the new constitution. That vote would be scheduled for Nov. 5, the same day as the presidential election and congressional primaries in Louisiana.
Three former state representatives who co-chaired Landry’s transition committee on revising the constitution – Loulan Pitre, Jim Tucker and Neil Abramson – also tried to mollify critics by saying that their plan does not call for adding anything new to the existing constitution that voters adopted in 1974.
Instead, the three men said, their plan is to have convention delegates remove a number of unspecified items from the constitution and put them into statute so that legislators could have greater freedom to change laws.
quote:
That’s particularly important, Abramson said, because policymakers are facing a projected $500 million deficit next year and need more flexibility to make budget cuts if they don’t want to approve a tax-raising measure. Under current law, Abramson noted, lawmakers can only make major cuts in spending by slicing higher education and health care for the poor.
“You don’t have the flexibility to make other decisions,” Abramson said.
Abramson didn’t mention it, but one possible change would be to take the protected spending for K-12 public schools out of the constitution and make it available for cuts.
quote:
The plan by Landry and Beaullieu calls for all 105 House members and 39 senators to serve as delegates along with 27 delegates appointed by Landry, or 171 total. They would meet beginning on May 20 during the final two weeks of the regular legislative session, which ends on June 3.
If the House committee approves Beaullieu’s legislation next week, it would then advance to the full House. If approved there, it would go to the Senate, which hasn’t expressed enthusiasm yet for the measure. It would take a two-thirds vote in each chamber to approve HB 800.
Rep. Mike Bayham, R-Chalmette, voiced the fears of senators by saying that spending much of the final two weeks during the regular session on the constitution at the same time could keep lawmakers’ other legislation from getting considered and winning approval.
quote:
The final two weeks of the regular session are typically when lawmakers are trying to pass major pieces of legislation and the annual budget.
Rep. Candace Newell, D-New Orleans, said holding the regular session and the constitutional convention concurrently would give Landry extra influence because he could trade support for proposed constitutional changes for spending projects in members’ districts.
“There should be a separate special session and not something overlapping with this one,” Newell said.
quote:
Under the bill, measures taken out of the constitution could only be restored to it with a two-thirds vote by lawmakers, which would make it harder to add things back to a document that Beaullieu said is the eighth longest in the country.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 4:40 pm to lowhound
So in Louisiana you can only cut spending to education and health care for the poor? Did I read that right?
quote:
Under current law, Abramson noted, lawmakers can only make major cuts in spending by slicing higher education and health care for the poor.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 4:41 pm to lowhound
quote:
The convention shall have full authority to accept grants, monies, aid, facilities, and services from public or private sources for the purpose of accomplishing its task of framing a new constitution. Any such grants, monies, facilities, services, and donations, as well as the names of the donors thereof, shall be recorded in the record of the proceedings of the convention, and such records shall be open to inspection by any person
You're forgetting the best part. It will be funded by donations! How great
Posted on 4/16/24 at 4:43 pm to thejuiceisloose
quote:
You're forgetting the best part. It will be funded by donations! How great
And citizens won’t be allowed to request information pertaining to them. Secret donations will pay for our new constitution. We’re so lucky!
Posted on 4/16/24 at 4:45 pm to GeauxtigersMs36
Some how they'll frick this up and we'll end up only being able to cut higher education spending.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 4:46 pm to lowhound
I think this should have been done in a special session and not in the regular session when they're trying to get budgets passed.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 4:54 pm to GeauxtigersMs36
quote:
So in Louisiana you can only cut spending to education and health care for the poor? Did I read that right?
Correct. Been like that since the last time it was changed, since 1974. That was done by the political cronies to make sure that no one could keep the state government in check.
It's time that every part of the government's budget is up on the chopping block.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 4:57 pm to lowhound
That’s crazy that he’s gonna force every citizen to have a billboard in their yard
Posted on 4/16/24 at 5:03 pm to thejuiceisloose
quote:
You're forgetting the best part. It will be funded by donations! How great
Hoes for hire!
Posted on 4/16/24 at 5:06 pm to lowhound
quote:
Delegates would then have two weeks to draft the new document.
That doesn’t seem like anywhere near enough time.
For reference, the US constitution, which remains one of the shortest governing documents in the world, took four months.
I don’t see how they can accomplish this in two weeks while also handling ordinary business UNLESS the new constitution has already been drafted by special interests and merely needs rubber stamping.
This post was edited on 4/16/24 at 5:10 pm
Posted on 4/16/24 at 5:13 pm to lowhound
quote:
Jim Tucker
Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 5:45 pm to lowhound
FWIW - I did communicate with Beau Beaullieu and volunteered to be a delegate.
My goal is to be the love child of Betsy Ross and James Madison of Louisiana if this thing passes.
And to enshrine an appointment process with term limits for judges.
My goal is to be the love child of Betsy Ross and James Madison of Louisiana if this thing passes.
And to enshrine an appointment process with term limits for judges.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 5:51 pm to GeauxtigersMs36
quote:
So in Louisiana you can only cut spending to education and health care for the poor? Did I read that right?
You did and this has been the biggest problem in this state forever. I pray this happens, but I’m not holding my breath.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 5:56 pm to GeauxtigersMs36
Posted on 4/16/24 at 5:59 pm to Indefatigable
quote:Why would it have to be drafted by special interests? You don’t think legislators have worked on this?
I don’t see how they can accomplish this in two weeks while also handling ordinary business UNLESS the new constitution has already been drafted by special interests and merely needs rubber stamping.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 8:57 pm to shrevetigertom
quote:
Why would it have to be drafted by special interests? You don’t think legislators have worked on this?
I’d wager my entire 401k that a member of the Louisiana legislature hasn’t actually authored a substantive piece of legislation in at least a decade.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 9:25 pm to lowhound
This is long overdue but Landry isn’t the one I trust to do it correctly.
Given that they’re trying to squeeze it in at the very end of session tells me there’s likely already a draft somewhere.
Given that they’re trying to squeeze it in at the very end of session tells me there’s likely already a draft somewhere.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 9:28 pm to lowhound
The anti-convention people are already buying billboards to attack Landry over this, claiming some bullshite about ignoring the will of the people.
They mad.
They mad.
Posted on 4/16/24 at 10:56 pm to GeauxtigersMs36
Damn near everything else in the state budget is constitutionally protected funding so the legislature can’t touch it. You read correctly.
Does any other state have 5-10 constitutional amendments to vote on in every election cycle? Presidential elections, federal midterms, state elections in odd number years…every one of them has a handful of amendments to vote on
Does any other state have 5-10 constitutional amendments to vote on in every election cycle? Presidential elections, federal midterms, state elections in odd number years…every one of them has a handful of amendments to vote on
Posted on 4/17/24 at 6:52 am to 4cubbies
quote:
And citizens won’t be allowed to request information pertaining to them. Secret donations will pay for our new constitution. We’re so lucky!
If they draft a new constitution, and you don't like what's in it then vote against it when it is put up for a vote.
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