Louisiana
Slow down the con-con train • Louisiana Illuminator
This weekend marks 50 years since Louisiana voters ratified the 1974 state constitution. If Gov. Jeff Landry and his financial backers have their way, it might also be the last time we can celebrate the anniversary of our state’s foundational charter.
With three whole months of governing under his belt, Landry is demanding that state legislators, along with 27 of his hand-picked appointees, convene for a constitutional convention that could have a generational impact on how children are educated, our coast is protected, the taxes we pay and the rights that all Louisianans enjoy.
He wants all of this accomplished in just two weeks – from May 20 to June 3 – and to happen at the same time that the Legislature is wrapping up its work on hundreds of other bills moving through the process.
This rushed convention proposal is a grotesque overreach that doesn’t give ordinary citizens nearly enough time, information or input into what is being done in their name.
The constitutional convention should come as a big surprise to anyone who followed Landry’s campaign for office last fall. Backed by big-money donors and the endorsement of Donald Trump, Landry ran as a genial Cajun who hates crime, loves fossil fuel extraction and would move the state in a more conservative direction.
He barely mentioned the constitution during the fall campaign. And the governor still hasn’t said what he actually wants to change about the state’s founding charter – or why it has to be changed before June 3.
Landry’s legislative allies have tried to allay fears by claiming they simply want to shrink the constitution by taking things out and putting them into law, where they can be changed more easily by a simple vote of the Legislature. They promise a limited convention that will focus on rewriting the articles that govern taxes and spending.
Once lawmakers convene a constitutional convention, however, anything and everything could be on the table for debate. The stakes are pretty major.
The constitution ensures that the state sales tax can’t apply to prescription drugs, groceries and home utilities. The constitution safeguards funding for coastal protection and restoration, so the Legislature can’t raid those funds when there’s a budget crunch. It protects the retirement security of teachers, school bus drivers and other public employees, who don’t pay into the Social Security system and rely on their public pensions to sustain them in retirement.
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The constitution protects funding for public schools, and ensures that state dollars are distributed fairly among school districts through the Minimum Foundation Program formula so that politicians don’t get to divide or divert the money. It protects Medicaid dollars that flow to hospitals and nursing homes, and salary stipends for police, firefighters and other local first responders.
The constitution protects the homestead exemption, which keeps the first $75,000 of your home’s value from being subject to property taxes.
All of these protections could be on the table. Removing these protections from the constitution and placing them in statute makes them vulnerable to change. All it would take to tax your prescriptions, or remove the homestead exemption, is a vote of the Legislature.
The last time Louisiana’s constitution was rewritten was in 1973, and it was a much longer, more orderly and transparent process. Edwin Edwards had just been elected governor, and called for a constitutional convention during his campaign. The Legislature made sure the voters had a voice, passing a bill that called for the election of 105 delegates – one from each House district – in the 1972 elections (the governor, then as now, had 27 appointments).
The convention itself lasted a whole year – from January 1973 to January 1974 – with delegates sometimes meeting five days a week. Landry, by contrast, wants all this business wrapped up in just TWO weeks, starting May 20.
No one would dispute that our constitution has grown long and complex in the last 50 years. The Public Affairs Research Council tells us it’s the fourth-largest constitution in the country – at more than 77,000 words. It’s been amended 216 times in the past 49 years. There is something in there for everyone to hate.
But each of those amendments is there for a very good reason: At some point during the last half century, two-thirds of the House and Senate, and a majority of Louisiana voters, decided that it was worth putting in the state constitution.
People can disagree on whether the constitution should be overhauled – which provisions should stay and what should go. But a process this important shouldn’t be rushed through in two weeks, with no election mandate and no opportunity for the public to weigh in by picking delegates. An undertaking this important deserves at least as much time, scrutiny and public input as the last time.
Louisiana ranks among the top 10 most affordable states to retire, according to a new study from Retirement Living, a national journal of retirement research.
Researchers analyzed each state’s housing costs, living expenses and tax friendliness to compile the ranking. Louisiana, they say, is the eighth most affordable state for retirees.
In Louisiana, the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $932, the median home sale price is $255,000, monthly grocery spend per capita is $272, the average price per gallon of regular gas is $4, the average Medicare Advantage monthly premium is $13.35 and the average effective property tax rate is 0.55%.
West Virginia is the most affordable state to retire, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Indiana and Kansas. Researchers describe the South as “the sweet spot for an affordable retirement.”
The most expensive state to retire, meanwhile, is California, followed by Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Utah, New York and Minnesota.
Read Retirement Living’s full report here.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – With hurricane season approaching, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is bringing the community together to prepare before a storm forms.
“We can’t stop disasters from happening. We can’t stop hurricanes from happening. But what we can do is equip our communities with the resources that they need to prepare for these storms ahead of time,” said Jayda Morris, CPRA outreach manager.
The agency hosted an event featuring interactive storm simulations and a full model of the Mississippi River.
“If you do it now, like on a sunny day like today, you’re ready to go for the rest of the season,” Jay Grymes said.
El Niño may reduce storms, but Louisiana still at risk
State Climatologist Jay Grymes said an El Niño pattern may reduce the number of storms in the Atlantic but warned against a false sense of security.
“In those 25 years, Louisiana, some part of the state has been impacted by 29 storms. That’s one a year, regardless of El Niño. So that should tell you something,” Grymes said.
He said the bigger concern is storms that can form in the Gulf with little warning.
“If we’re going to get a storm, it very possibly could be one that bubbles up in the Gulf and doesn’t give us five or seven days to track it coming our way. It gives us 40 hours to get ready for a landfall. So it’s imperative that you go ahead and do it now,” Grymes said.
Preparation goes beyond stocking water
Preparing now includes walking through yards, checking trees, and knowing whether everyone in the family can survive two weeks without power.
PhD students with the LSU College of the Coast and Environment gave the community a virtual reality experience that puts users inside a storm.
“If they wear the goggles or play with the Apple Vision Pro, they can understand how high will the flood be, and they can know how dangerous is the hurricane scenario,” said Yixuan Wang.
The VR simulation uses real historical data to show users what compound flooding looks like in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The goal is to make the science real for people who can’t picture what a flood map means.
“It’s just to let you understand the environment. We will add the audios, the different sound of the wind and the storm. And you can see how tense of the rainfall around you,” Wang said.
Organizers said the event is about making sure that when a storm threatens the area, families already know their plan.
Information from the event is available on CPRA’s website. Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana homeowners can get financial help to upgrade their roofs and ensure they can better stand up to strong storms.
According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, registration for next Louisiana Fortify Homes Program lottery opens at 8 a.m. on Monday, June 1. The registration period will stay open through 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19.
Under the latest round of the program, 3,000 grants of up to $10,000 will go out. After applying, homeowners will get placed into a lottery and will be randomly selected.
There are many specific benefits of having a roof upgraded through the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program. Officials said the roofs have stronger shingles that can protect against hail up to two inches wide, sealed roof decks to help prevent water damage, and stronger edges to keep wind from getting underneath.
Homeowners with a fortified roof can also get a certificate to receive a discount on insurance premiums.
“At the end of the day, this program is about more than just roofs,” said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. “It is about protecting families, it is about strengthening communities, and it is about putting Louisiana in a stronger position—both physically and economically—to face the challenges ahead.”
Only people living in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, Assumption Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Acadia Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Iberia Parish, Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and Vermilion Parish are eligible to apply for the latest round of the program.
People living in a newly built home, mobile home, or condominium are not qualified.
For a detailed list of eligibility requirements, click here.
If a person registered for the program previously, he or she must do so again. The person will also need to provide the following information:
- A homestead exemption on the primary residence.
- A policy of insurance that provides wind coverage for the primary residence.
- A flood insurance policy on the primary residence if it is in a special flood hazard area.
For more information about applying, click here.
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