Louisiana Amendment 3, Exchange of Public Equipment and Personnel Between Political Subdivisions Amendment (2018)

Elections in Louisiana, 2018

• Primary election: Nov. 6
• General election: Dec. 8
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9
• Early voting: Oct. 23 - Oct. 30
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 5

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Voter ID: Photo ID required
• Poll times: 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

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On the ballot: U.S. House • Secretary of State • State executive offices • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • Local judges • State ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • Primaries in Louisiana, 2018

Louisiana Amendment 3
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic County and municipal governance
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature
List of Louisiana measuresLouisiana Amendment 1Louisiana Amendment 2Louisiana Amendment 3Louisiana Amendment 4Louisiana Amendment 5Louisiana Amendment 6Submit

Louisiana Amendment 3, the Exchange of Public Equipment and Personnel Between Political Subdivisions Amendment, was on the ballot in Louisiana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018. The measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported this amendment to allow political subdivisions of the state, through a written agreement, to exchange public equipment and personnel for an action or function the receiving subdivision is authorized to exercise.

A "no" vote opposed this amendment to allow political subdivisions of the state, through a written agreement, to exchange public equipment and personnel for an action or function the receiving subdivision is authorized to exercise.

Election results

Louisiana Amendment 3
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		791,714	56.03%
No		621,198	43.97%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did this ballot measure change?

As of 2018, political subdivisions were prohibited from loaning or exchanging equipment and personnel. Amendment 3 allowed political subdivisions of the state, through a written agreement, to exchange public equipment and personnel for an action or function the receiving subdivision is authorized to exercise.

Why was this amendment on the ballot?

In 2016, the state legislative auditor reprimanded the municipal government of Denham Springs, Louisiana, for loaning a vacuum truck and operator to other government agencies. As the government of Denham Springs did not enter into an intergovernmental or cooperative endeavor agreement with the other jurisdictions, the state constitution prohibited the government from loaning equipment to other governments and agencies. The state legislative auditor said, "Department personnel may have violated the Louisiana Constitution, which prohibits the donation of public funds.” Sen. Dale Erdey (R-13), the measure’s legislative sponsor, said, “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with neighboring cities helping out one another, especially in times of need.” Both chambers of the Louisiana State Legislature passed the amendment by unanimous votes.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Do you support an amendment to permit, pursuant to written agreement, the donation of the use of public equipment and personnel by a political subdivision upon request to another political subdivision for an activity or function which the requesting political subdivision is authorized to exercise? (Amends Const. Art. VII, §14(B))

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article VII, Louisiana Constitution

Amendment 3 amended Section 14(B) of Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution. The following underlined text was added and struck-through text was deleted:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

(B) Authorized Uses. Nothing in this Section shall prevent (1) the use of public funds for programs of social welfare for the aid and support of the needy; (2) contributions of public funds to pension and insurance programs for the benefit of public employees; (3) the pledge of public funds, credit, property, or things of value for public purposes with respect to the issuance of bonds or other evidences of indebtedness to meet public obligations as provided by law; (4) the return of property, including mineral rights, to a former owner from whom the property had previously been expropriated, or purchased under threat of expropriation, when the legislature by law declares that the public and necessary purpose which originally supported the expropriation has ceased to exist and orders the return of the property to the former owner under such terms and conditions as specified by the legislature; (5) acquisition of stock by any institution of higher education in exchange for any intellectual property; (6) the donation of abandoned or blighted housing property by the governing authority of a municipality or a parish to a nonprofit organization which is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization and which agrees to renovate and maintain such property until conveyance of the property by such organization; (7) the deduction of any tax, interest, penalty, or other charges forming the basis of tax liens on blighted property so that they may be subordinated and waived in favor of any purchaser who is not a member of the immediate family of the blighted property owner or which is not any entity in which the owner has a substantial economic interest, but only in connection with a property renovation plan approved by an administrative hearing officer appointed by the parish or municipal government where the property is located; (8) the deduction of past due taxes, interest, and penalties in favor of an owner of a blighted property, but only when the owner sells the property at less than the appraised value to facilitate the blighted property renovation plan approved by the parish or municipal government and only after the renovation is completed such deduction being canceled, null and void, and to no effect in the event ownership of the property in the future reverts back to the owner or any member of his immediate family; (9) the donation by the state of asphalt which has been removed from state roads and highways to the governing authority of the parish or municipality where the asphalt was removed, or if not needed by such governing authority, then to any other parish or municipal governing authority, but only pursuant to a cooperative endeavor agreement between the state and the governing authority receiving the donated property; (10) the investment in stocks of a portion of the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust and Protection Fund, created under the provisions of R.S. 56:797, and the Russell Sage or Marsh Island Refuge Fund, created under the provisions of R.S. 56:798, such portion not to exceed thirty-five percent of each fund; (11) the investment in stocks of a portion of the state-funded permanently endowed funds of a public or private college or university, not to exceed thirty-five percent of the public funds endowed; or (12) the investment in equities of a portion of the Medicaid Trust Fund for the Elderly created under the provisions of R.S. 46:2691 et seq., such portion not to exceed thirty-five percent of the fund; or (13) the investment of public funds to capitalize a state infrastructure bank to be utilized solely for transportation projectss; or (14) pursuant to a written agreement, the donation of the use of public equipment and personnel by a political subdivision upon request to another political subdivision for an activity or function the requesting political subdivision is authorized to exercise.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2018

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 26, and the FRE is -14. The word count for the ballot title is 45, and the estimated reading time is 12 seconds. In 2018, for the 167 statewide measures on the ballot, the average ballot title or question was written at a level appropriate for those with between 19 and 20 years of U.S. formal education (graduate school-level of education), according to the FKGL formula. Read Ballotpedia's entire 2018 ballot language readability report here.

Sponsors

Sen. Dale Erdey (R-13) proposed the ballot measure. He cited the issue of the Denham Springs government being reprimanded for loaning a vacuum truck as a reason for proposing the measure. He said, "There’s absolutely nothing wrong with neighboring cities helping out one another, especially in times of need."

Campaign finance

Total campaign contributions:
Support:	$0.00
Opposition:	$0.00

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See also: Campaign finance requirements for Louisiana ballot measures

In 2018, there were no ballot measure committees registered in support of or in opposition to Amendment 3.

Reporting dates

In Louisiana, ballot measure committees filed a total of three campaign finance reports in 2018. The filing dates for reports were as follows:

2018 campaign finance reporting dates
Date	Report	Period
10/09/2018	Report #1	Through 9/27/2018
10/29/2018	Report #2	9/28/2018 - 10/17/2018
12/17/2018	Report #3	10/18/2018 - 12/06/2018
2/15/2019	Report #4	12/07/2018 - 2/15/2019

Background

Denham Springs' loaning of a truck

In 2016, the state legislative auditor reprimanded the municipal government of Denham Springs, Louisiana, for loaning a vacuum truck and operator to other government agencies, including Livingston Parish Sewer District No. 21, Livingston Parish Sewer District No. 2, the government of Livingston, and the government of Walker. James Clark, the superintendent of the Denham Springs Wastewater Department, said he loaned the truck and operator to other agencies once a month to help them save funds. The department did not keep records to document the use of the vacuum truck and did not receive reimbursements for the truck's use.

As the government of Denham Springs did not enter into an intergovernmental or cooperative endeavor agreement with the other jurisdictions, the state constitution prohibited the government from loaning equipment to other governments and agencies. The state legislative auditor said, "Department personnel may have violated the Louisiana Constitution, which prohibits the donation of public funds."

Referred amendments on the ballot

From 1995 through 2017, the Louisiana State Legislature referred 179 constitutional amendments to the ballot. Voters approved 133 and rejected 46 of the referred amendments. Most of the amendments (115 of 179) were referred to the ballot for elections during even-numbered election years. The average number of amendments appearing on an even-year ballot was between 10 and 11. The approval rate at the ballot box was 74.3 percent during the 22-year period from 1995 through 2017. The rejection rate was 25.7 percent. In 2017, there were three referred amendments on the ballot. In 2016, there were six amendments.

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1995-2017
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Even-year average	Even-year median	Even-year minimum	Even-year maximum
179	133	74.30%	46	25.70%	10.45	9.00	4	21

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Louisiana Constitution

In Louisiana, a two-thirds vote in both chambers of the Louisiana State Legislature during one legislative session is required to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. Louisiana is one of 16 states that require a two-thirds supermajority in each chamber of the legislature.

Sen. Dale Erdey (R-13) filed the amendment in the Louisiana State Legislature as Senate Bill 263 (SB 263) on March 1, 2018.

On April 2, 2018, the Louisiana State Senate approved the amendment in a vote of 36 to zero with three members absent.

The Louisiana House of Representatives approved an amended version of SB 293 on April 27, 2018. The vote was 86 to zero with 19 members absent. As the state House amended SB 293, the state Senate needed to approve the legislation again.

On May 1, 2018, the state Senate voted 37 to zero with two members absent to concur with the state House's changes.

As SB 263 was approved in both chambers of the state legislature, the measure was certified for the ballot for the election on November 6, 2018.

Vote in the Louisiana House of Representatives April 27, 2018
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 63  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	86	0	19
Total percent	81.90%	0.00%	18.10%
Democrat	35	0	6
Republican	48	0	13
Independent	3	0	0

Vote in the Louisiana State Senate May 1, 2018
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 26  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	37	0	2
Total percent	94.87%	0.00%	5.13%
Democrat	12	0	2
Republican	25	0	0

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Louisiana

Poll times

In Louisiana, polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central Time for Tuesday elections. For Saturday elections, polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central Time. Anyone in line when the polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration requirements

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Louisiana, one must provide documentary proof of United States citizenship and be a resident of the state and parish in which they register. A voter must be at least 18 years old by Election Day.

Registration completed via mail or in person must occur at least 30 days before Election Day. Registration completed online must occur at least 20 days before Election Day. Registrants must present a valid form of identification to register. Pre-registration is available beginning at age 16 for voters registering at a Registrar of Voters office or at the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles.

Voters may register in person at any Registrar of Voters office or any of the following places:

• Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles
• Louisiana Department of Social Services
• WIC offices
• Food stamp offices
• Medicaid offices
• Offices serving persons with disabilities such as the Deaf Action Centers and Independent Living Offices
• Armed Forces recruitment offices

Automatic registration

See also: Automatic voter registration

Louisiana does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Louisiana has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

See also: Same-day voter registration

Louisiana does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

Louisiana law requires 20 days of residency in the state before a person may vote.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Louisiana state law requires a voter registration applicant to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote. As of February 2026, the state had not implemented the requirement.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Eight states — Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming — have laws requiring individuals provide proof of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. Three states, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi, require a person provide proof of citizenship if their citizenship status cannot be verified by other means. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The site Geaux Vote, run by the Louisiana Secretary of State office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

See also

2018 measures

• 2018 ballot measures
• County and municipal governance on the ballot

Louisiana

• Louisiana ballot measures
• Louisiana ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Louisiana 2018 Proposed Constitutional Amendments
• Senate Bill 263