Louisiana No Dedication of Transportation Trust Fund Revenue to State Police Amendment (2017)
| Louisiana No Dedication of Transportation Trust Fund Revenue to State Police Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date October 14, 2017 | |
| Topic State and local government budgets, spending and finance and Law enforcement | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Louisiana No Dedication of Transportation Trust Fund Revenue to State Police Amendment was not on the ballot in Louisiana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on October 14, 2017.
The measure would have ended the dedication of revenue from the Transportation Trust Fund to state police for traffic control.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title would have been as follows:[1]
| “ | Do you support an amendment to remove authority to appropriate or dedicate monies in the Transportation Trust Fund to state police for traffic control purposes?
(Amends Article VII, Section 27(B))[2] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article VII, Louisiana Constitution
The measure would have amended Section 27(B) of Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added, and struck-through text would have been deleted:[1]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
...
(B) The monies in the trust fund shall be appropriated or dedicated solely and exclusively for the costs for and associated with construction and maintenance of the roads and bridges of the state and federal highway systems, the Statewide Flood-Control Program or its successor, ports, airports, transit, state police for traffic control purposes, and the Parish Transportation Fund or its successor and for the payment of all principal, interest, premium, if any, and other obligations incident to the issuance, security, and payment in respect of bonds or other obligations payable from the trust fund as authorized in Paragraph (D) hereof. Unless pledged to the repayment of bonds authorized in Paragraphs (C) or (D) of this Section, the monies in the trust fund allocated to ports, airports, flood control, parish transportation, and state highway construction shall be appropriated annually by the legislature only pursuant to programs established by law which establish a system of priorities for the expenditure of such monies, except that the Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development, which shall include only those projects enumerated in House Bill 17 of the 1989 First Extraordinary Session of the Legislature and US Highway 61 from Thompson Creek to the Mississippi Line, in lieu of "US 61-Bains to Mississippi Line," and US Highway 165 from I-10 to Alexandria to Monroe to Bastrop and thence on US Highway 425 from Bastrop to the Arkansas Line, in lieu of "US 165-I-10 Alexandria-Monroe-Bastrop-Arkansas Line" and LA 15-Natchez, Mississippi to Chase in lieu of "LA 15-Natchez, Mississippi to Monroe," shall be funded as provided by law. The state generated state-generated tax monies appropriated for ports, Parish Transportation Fund, or its successor, and the Statewide Flood-Control Program, or its successor, and state police for traffic control purposes shall not exceed twenty percent annually of the state generated state-generated tax revenues in the trust fund; provided, however, that no less than the avails of one cent of the tax on gasoline and special fuels shall be appropriated each year to the Parish Transportation Fund, or its successor. The annual appropriation for airports shall be a sum equal to, but not greater than, the annual estimated revenue to be derived from the state taxes to be collected and received on aviation fuel. Unencumbered and unexpended balances at the end of each fiscal year shall remain in the trust fund. The earnings realized in each fiscal year on the investment of monies in the trust fund shall be deposited in and credited to the trust fund.[2]
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.
Amendment
Sen. Patrick Cortez (R-23) filed the amendment in the state legislature as Senate Bill 57 (SB 57) on March 28, 2017. The Louisiana Senate approved the amendment, 38 to 0, on May 8, 2017. One seat was vacant in the Senate at the time of the vote. On June 5, 2017, the Louisiana House of Representatives voted 67 to 33, with five members absent, to approve the amendment. As the measure needed a two-thirds vote of all House members to be certified, the measure failed to make the ballot. Had two more members voted yes on the bill, the measure would have made the ballot.[3]
House Bill 142
House Bill 142 (HB 142) was designed to call for a special election on October 14, 2017, for voters to address proposed constitutional amendments. Rep. Stephen Pugh (R-73) introduced HB 142. The Louisiana House of Representatives approved the bill, 102 to 0 with two members absent and one seat vacant, on April 26, 2017. The Louisiana Senate passed the bill 38 to 0 on May 31, 2017. Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) signed the bill on June 12, 2017.[4]
According to the Legislative Fiscal Office, HB 142 did not create additional government costs because a special election to elect the state treasurer was already scheduled for October 14, 2017.[5]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Louisiana Legislature, "Senate Bill 57," accessed May 9, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Louisiana Legislature, "SB 57 Overview," accessed May 9, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Legislature, "HB 142 Overview," accessed May 9, 2017
- ↑ Louisiana Legislature, "HB 142 Fiscal Note," accessed May 9, 2017
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