Jeremy Alford and David Jacobs: The debate rages on over the constitution and the cash

While a conservative mega-donor pleads with Louisiana legislators to hold an everything-goes constitutional convention later this summer, the state revenue secretary is pushing instead for a narrowly- ailored special session in the coming weeks.
Both men agree the Constitution’s tax and finance section, Article VII, deserves an overhaul, although they differ on the amount of attention lawmakers should give to this particular issue.
Voters, meanwhile, are already slated to weigh in on two proposed constitutional amendments this fall targeting Article VII. A two-month fiscal-focused regular session is also on the books for April 14 and could host any of these money matters.
So why the rush? In short, electoral politics are to blame.
If lawmakers produce a new constitution via a convention or if they decide to go in a different direction and adopt a package of proposed amendments this summer, the end-product will have to be sent to voters either way. Serious fiscal issues are on the horizon, as in next year, and the current statewide election cycle could yield a turnout that we may not see here again for quite a while.
According to Secretary of State Nancy Landry, constitutional revisions must reach her desk by Aug. 23 if lawmakers want the proposals to appear on the Nov. 5 presidential ballot.
As July’s end quickly approaches, the membership of the Senate sounds skeptical, at best, about returning to Baton Rouge for anything this summer. Support in the House appears stronger, but maybe not strong enough to pull off the most ambitious tax restructuring Louisiana has seen in modern history — in just 36 days.
The architects of the various efforts to redraw Article VII all see the fall ballot as a golden opportunity.
Former President Donald Trump is expected to generate what could be a record turnout of conservative voters — and those voters will probably be willing to support fiscal ideals from the Republican Legislature and GOP Gov. Jeff Landry.
“To me, if you’re going to have a transformative document that changes the way we govern ourselves, which is what we truly need, then I’d like for it to be in front of everybody,” said Lane Grigsby, a Baton Rouge businessman who turned a contracting business into an annual revenue stream worth hundreds of millions annually.
Now retired from the front office of Cajun Industries, Grigsby stays civically engaged by cutting checks to politicians and pushing policy ideas. That includes an appeal to the Legislature recently to hold a far-reaching constitutional convention that would peel back the layers of Article VII as part of a larger, sweeping rewrite of other articles.
Then there’s Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson, who wants a special session to scrutinize Article VII and nothing else. He envisions a two-week session in August, preceded by committee hearings.
Nelson said, “The aim would be to develop a pretty comprehensive package of bills, through a lens of political reality: ‘This is where we can get consensus.’”
Grigsby, for his part, isn’t impressed by Nelson’s proposition, arguing it offers too little in the way constitutional reform.
“I think looking at Article VII only is an inappropriate way to run a business.” Grigsby told the Baton Rouge Press Club.
Both approaches represent a big ask for lawmakers, who spent most of the first half of the year in one session or another.
Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Chair Franklin Foil said he has met with several colleagues who support the concept, generally, but he isn’t sure how many are interested in holding a special session this summer. 
That said, undoing the financial constraints of Article VII remains one of the primary motivators for lawmakers who are interested in one or both approaches from Grigsby and Nelson. 
“I see this as an alternative to reach some of the goals you would have for a constitutional convention,” Foil said. 
Waiting until next year is not ideal, the chairman added. Louisiana needs a statewide election cycle to host a proposed package of amendments or new constitution. There isn’t another statewide election planned until 2026. That won’t help the Landry administration and Legislature deal with next year’s anticipated fiscal cliff. (A special statewide election could be called just for the ballot language, but such an option would be costly.)
Even if lawmakers fail to gather in a special session or constitutional convention this fall, voters will still be faced with deciding a couple of tweaks to Article VII.
On the Nov. 5 ballot, HB 300 by House Natural Resources Vice Chair Joseph Orgeron will be on display. (All by itself, for now.) The proposed constitutional amendment would deposit federal revenues generated from alternative or renewable energy production in the Outer Continental Shelf into the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund. This is a common budgeting practice for revenue from oil and gas production. 
Slightly more complicated is the Article VII amendment on the Dec. 7 ballot. (Three other non-fiscal amendments are on that ballot, too.) The details can be found in SB 119 by Senate Judiciary A Chair Greg Miller. Backed by Nelson’s department, the amendment would alter how the state handles property tax sales. 
If you don’t pay your property taxes in Louisiana, you could lose your house and all your equity, even if the home’s value far exceeds the amount of the delinquent tax bill. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court essentially ruled the practice unconstitutional, Nelson said. 
The current system is “antiquated” and was set up to deal with farmland, he said. The language relied upon now also creates difficulties in establishing clear titles for adjudicated property, serving as an obstacle to getting the land back into commerce. 
Among other provisions, the amendment would direct the Legislature to establish “a procedure for claiming excess proceeds from the sale of property as a result of the enforcement of a lien” and authorize lawmakers “to give authority to tax collectors to waive penalties for good cause.”
For more Louisiana political news, visit www. LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on Twitter @ LaPoliticsNow.By JEREMY ALFORD and DAVID JACOBS
While a conservative mega-donor pleads with Louisiana legislators to hold an everything-goes constitutional convention later this summer, the state revenue secretary is pushing instead for a narrowly- ailored special session in the coming weeks.
Both men agree the Constitution’s tax and finance section, Article VII, deserves an overhaul, although they differ on the amount of attention lawmakers should give to this particular issue.
Voters, meanwhile, are already slated to weigh in on two proposed constitutional amendments this fall targeting Article VII. A two-month fiscal-focused regular session is also on the books for April 14 and could host any of these money matters.
So why the rush? In short, electoral politics are to blame.
If lawmakers produce a new constitution via a convention or if they decide to go in a different direction and adopt a package of proposed amendments this summer, the end-product will have to be sent to voters either way. Serious fiscal issues are on the horizon, as in next year, and the current statewide election cycle could yield a turnout that we may not see here again for quite a while.
According to Secretary of State Nancy Landry, constitutional revisions must reach her desk by Aug. 23 if lawmakers want the proposals to appear on the Nov. 5 presidential ballot.
As July’s end quickly approaches, the membership of the Senate sounds skeptical, at best, about returning to Baton Rouge for anything this summer. Support in the House appears stronger, but maybe not strong enough to pull off the most ambitious tax restructuring Louisiana has seen in modern history — in just 36 days.
The architects of the various efforts to redraw Article VII all see the fall ballot as a golden opportunity.
Former President Donald Trump is expected to generate what could be a record turnout of conservative voters — and those voters will probably be willing to support fiscal ideals from the Republican Legislature and GOP Gov. Jeff Landry.
“To me, if you’re going to have a transformative document that changes the way we govern ourselves, which is what we truly need, then I’d like for it to be in front of everybody,” said Lane Grigsby, a Baton Rouge businessman who turned a contracting business into an annual revenue stream worth hundreds of millions annually.
Now retired from the front office of Cajun Industries, Grigsby stays civically engaged by cutting checks to politicians and pushing policy ideas. That includes an appeal to the Legislature recently to hold a far-reaching constitutional convention that would peel back the layers of Article VII as part of a larger, sweeping rewrite of other articles.
Then there’s Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson, who wants a special session to scrutinize Article VII and nothing else. He envisions a two-week session in August, preceded by committee hearings.
Nelson said, “The aim would be to develop a pretty comprehensive package of bills, through a lens of political reality: ‘This is where we can get consensus.’”
Grigsby, for his part, isn’t impressed by Nelson’s proposition, arguing it offers too little in the way constitutional reform.
“I think looking at Article VII only is an inappropriate way to run a business.” Grigsby told the Baton Rouge Press Club.
Both approaches represent a big ask for lawmakers, who spent most of the first half of the year in one session or another.
Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Chair Franklin Foil said he has met with several colleagues who support the concept, generally, but he isn’t sure how many are interested in holding a special session this summer. 
That said, undoing the financial constraints of Article VII remains one of the primary motivators for lawmakers who are interested in one or both approaches from Grigsby and Nelson. 
“I see this as an alternative to reach some of the goals you would have for a constitutional convention,” Foil said. 
Waiting until next year is not ideal, the chairman added. Louisiana needs a statewide election cycle to host a proposed package of amendments or new constitution. There isn’t another statewide election planned until 2026. That won’t help the Landry administration and Legislature deal with next year’s anticipated fiscal cliff. (A special statewide election could be called just for the ballot language, but such an option would be costly.)
Even if lawmakers fail to gather in a special session or constitutional convention this fall, voters will still be faced with deciding a couple of tweaks to Article VII.
On the Nov. 5 ballot, HB 300 by House Natural Resources Vice Chair Joseph Orgeron will be on display. (All by itself, for now.) The proposed constitutional amendment would deposit federal revenues generated from alternative or renewable energy production in the Outer Continental Shelf into the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund. This is a common budgeting practice for revenue from oil and gas production. 
Slightly more complicated is the Article VII amendment on the Dec. 7 ballot. (Three other non-fiscal amendments are on that ballot, too.) The details can be found in SB 119 by Senate Judiciary A Chair Greg Miller. Backed by Nelson’s department, the amendment would alter how the state handles property tax sales. 
If you don’t pay your property taxes in Louisiana, you could lose your house and all your equity, even if the home’s value far exceeds the amount of the delinquent tax bill. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court essentially ruled the practice unconstitutional, Nelson said. 
The current system is “antiquated” and was set up to deal with farmland, he said. The language relied upon now also creates difficulties in establishing clear titles for adjudicated property, serving as an obstacle to getting the land back into commerce. 
Among other provisions, the amendment would direct the Legislature to establish “a procedure for claiming excess proceeds from the sale of property as a result of the enforcement of a lien” and authorize lawmakers “to give authority to tax collectors to waive penalties for good cause.”
For more Louisiana political news, visit www. LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on Twitter @ LaPoliticsNow.