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Louisiana Retirement Benefits, Amendment 5 (2012)
| Retirement Benefits Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Constitutional amendment |
| Origin | Louisiana State Legislature |
| Topic | Law |
| Status |  |
The Louisiana Retirement Benefits Amendment, also known as Constitutional Amendment 5, was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on the November 6, 2012 statewide ballot in Louisiana, where it was approved.
The measure allowed the legislature to deny retirement benefits to any public employee or official who commits a felony related to their office. The measure was sent to the ballot during the 2012 state legislative session as HB 9.
Election results
- See also: 2012 ballot measure election results
| Louisiana Amendment 5 (2012) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 1,228,122 | 70.28% | ||
| No | 519,373 | 29.72% | ||
Official results via the Louisiana Secretary of State's website.
Text of measure
The official ballot text read as follows:[1]
| “ | Do you support an amendment to provide for the forfeiture of public retirement benefits by any public servant who is convicted of a felony associated with and committed during his public service?[2] | ” |
Support
No formal support was identified.
Opposition
No formal opposition was identified.
Media editorial positions
Opposition
- The Advocate said, "There is a reasonable concern that, after a modest period of incarceration, high-profile public officials benefit from their pensions. As Ligi notes, that is offensive to the general public.
This amendment, though, gives an unreasonable impression that it is striking a significant blow to public corruption. It really does not. We urge voters to reject the amendment."[3]
Path to the ballot
The legislatively referred constitutional amendment required a two-thirds vote from members of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature to be placed on the statewide ballot.
See also
External links
Additional reading
Footnotes
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "2012 Proposed Constitutional Amendments," accessed August 17, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Advocate, "Our Views: Our position on amendments 3, 4 & 5," November 2, 2012
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State of Louisiana Baton Rouge (capital) |
|---|---|
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