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Bills to statutorily limit and reduce state debt will mean little without strong constitutional backing. A statutory limit alone could be changed or suspended at any time by a simple majority vote of the Legislature. A weak constitutional provision also might allow the statutory limits to be easily adjusted or avoided.
The August 1992 Louisiana Constitutional Convention, which was limited to fiscal matters, adopted a single proposal to be voted on Nov. 3, 1992. The amendment would make the following changes…
The upcoming constitutional convention should be viewed as an opportunity to reform structurally the spending and taxing sides of government. PAR has several general recommendations regarding the course of action that should be followed by the convention.
Louisiana’s Public Service Commission should be provided an adequate in-house staff of hearing examiners, legal counsel, auditors, engineers and economic, financial and rate analysts.
The state’s inadequate revenue structure has been the root of its fiscal instability. The result has been a decade of “quick fix” budgets requiring major corrective actions when bills come due. Several options are available for correcting the tax structure. The Legislature can pass either individual constitutional amendments or a comprehensive amendment for the voters […]
The pressure is on in Louisiana for more efficient local government–and the best way to achieve that is through a home rule charter approved by the voters. The 1974 state constitution greatly expanded the opportunities for cities and parishes to become truly “home rule.”