Louisiana Homeland Security, Amendment 2 (October 2010)
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The Louisiana Homeland Security, Amendment 2, also known as Act 538, was on the October 2, 2010 statewide ballot in Louisiana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment where it was approved.[1]
The measure proposed placing the director, deputy director and all employees of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness under the unclassified service of the state civil service department. The changes were effective 20 days following the governor's approval.[2]
Election results
| Louisiana Amendment 2 (October 2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 306,106 | 51.94% | ||
| No | 283,185 | 48.06% | ||
Results via the Louisiana Secretary of State.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title read as follows:
| “ | To provide that the director, deputy director and all employees of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness shall be in the unclassified service of the state civil service. (Becomes effective 20 days after the governor proclaims its adoption.) (Amends Article X, Sections 2(B)(11) and (12); adds Article X, Section 2 (B)(13))[3] | ” |
Constitutional changes
Amendment 2 amended Article X, Sections 2(B)(11) and (12) and added Article X, Section 2 (B)(13) in the Louisiana Constitution.[1]
The amended Article X, Sections 2(B)(11) and (12) read:
| (11) commissioners of elections, watchers, and custodians and deputy custodians of voting machines; and
(12) railroad employees whose working conditions and retirement benefits are regulated by federal agencies in accordance with federal law.; and |
The new Article X, Section 2(B)(13) reads:
| (13) the director, deputy director, and all employees of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. |
Support
Supporters of the measure argued that all employees should be free of the obligation to civil service during natural disasters and only those that are qualified to deal with disasters should be classified as such.[4]
Opposition
- The Times-Picayune wrote an editorial stating their opposition to this measure on the grounds that it was not fair to allow everyone to be exempt from these services.[5]
Those in opposition also noted that the Civil Service Commission already had the power to exempt positions from being classified as those which would need to serve.[4]
Media editorial positions
Support
- The Louisiana Weekly was in favor of this measure because the amendment they argued that the measure simply rectifies inconsistencies in the current charter; it would not change anything in practice.[6]
- The Shreve Port Times was also in favor of this measure because it would clear up the issue of who would be called to serve during natural disasters (i.e. those of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita were still fresh in citizen's minds).[4]
Opposition
- The Times-Picayune was against this measure because they argued that the blanket exemption would hinder the ability to appoint people to the job who were suitable to perform those duties. They argued that it could also have potentially taken away the jobs from more qualified people and potentially led to unqualified people being appointed. A case by case assessment of employees who could be exempted from services would be a better option, they said.[5]
- The Town Talk also came out against this measure. They noted that governmental workers could not work efficiently during an emergency while they had restrictions set out by civil service requirements. The newspaper also noted that if the measure was approved, they would just become political appointees without the need to actually have knowledge and qualification for their positions.[7]
Path to the ballot
In order to qualify for the ballot the proposed measure required the approval of 2/3rds of the members of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature.
See also
Articles
- Louisiana votes, both Amendments approved
- Louisiana early voting ends, state gears up for October 2 election
External links
- Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, Guide To The Constitutional Amendments (dead link)
- Louisiana Constitutional Amendments for consideration in 2010 (dead link)
- Senate Bill 209, full text
Additional reading
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Louisiana Legislature, "Senate Bill NO. 209," accessed August 20, 2010
- ↑ Louisiana Legislature, "Election 2010 constitutional amendments," accessed May 7, 2010 (dead link)
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Shreve Port Times, "Editorial: Vote for two state amendments Oct. 2," September 25, 2010
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Times-Picayune, "Times-Picayune recommendation on Constitutional amendments in Oct. 2 ballot: An editorial," September 20, 2010
- ↑ The Louisiana Weekly, "Saturday, October 2 Endorsements," September 27, 2010
- ↑ The Town Talk, "Our View: No need for 2 amendments to La. Constitution," September 29, 2010
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