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Louisiana Amendment 4, Property Tax Payments and Tax Sales Amendment (December 2024)
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| Louisiana Amendment 4 | |
|---|---|
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| Election date December 7, 2024 | |
| Topic Property and Taxes | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
Louisiana Amendment 4, the Property Tax Payments and Tax Sales Amendment, was on the ballot in Louisiana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on December 7, 2024. The ballot measure was approved.
A "yes" vote supported:
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A "no" vote opposed authorizing the state legislature to provide for administration of property tax sales and allowing the state legislature to postpone property tax payments when an emergency is declared by the governor or a parish president under the Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act. |
Election results
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Louisiana Amendment 4 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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180,856 | 54.59% | ||
| No | 150,423 | 45.41% | ||
Overview
What did the amendment do?
- See also: Text of measure
The amendment required the state legislature to provide for the administration of tax sales in state law, including at minimum:[1]
- imposing interest on the delinquent taxes up to 1% per month on a non-compounding basis;
- imposing a penalty up to 5% of the delinquent taxes;
- a specified period of time which a lien cannot be enforced; and
- a procedure for claiming excess proceeds from the sale of a property resulting from the enforcement of a lien.
Prior to the ballot measure passing, the state constitution allowed the state legislature to postpone tax payments in cases of overflow, general conflagration, general crop destruction, or other public calamity. The amendment changed this to allow the state legislature to postpone property tax payments when an emergency is declared by the governor or a parish president under the Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act.[1]
The amendment allowed the state legislature to provide by state law for the tax collector to waive penalties for a good cause.[1]
What is a property tax sale?
- See also: Property tax sales in Louisiana
As of 2024, if property taxes on a property were not paid at the end of the year that taxes are due, the local parish government could put a lien on the property and auction it at a tax sale where they are sold to the highest bidder and proceeds are applied to the amount of unpaid taxes on the property. Property owners could redeem the property within three years if they paid the purchaser the amount of the bid plus a penalty of up to 5% per year and interest. If the property was not redeemed by the owner within that time frame, the purchaser could apply for a tax deed or title to the property.
How did the amendment get on the ballot?
- See also: Path to the ballot
In Louisiana, a two-thirds vote is needed in each chamber of the Louisiana State Legislature to refer a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the ballot for voter consideration.
This amendment was introduced as Senate Bill 119. After being passed in the Senate and amended in the House, a conference committee was convened. The Senate passed the conference committee report on June 2 in a vote of 35-1 and the House passed the bill on June 3 in a vote of 94-0.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question for the amendment is as follows:[1]
| “ | Do you support an amendment to eliminate mandatory tax sales for nonpayment of property taxes and require the legislature to provide for such procedures by law; to limit the amount of penalty and interest on delinquent property taxes; and to provide for the postponement of property tax payments under certain circumstances? | ” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article VII, Louisiana Constitution
The ballot measure amended Section 25 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.
§25. Tax Sales Administration
(A) Tax Sales. Immovables.
(1) There shall be no forfeiture of property for nonpayment of taxes. However, at the expiration of the year in which the taxes are due, the collector, without suit, and after giving notice to the delinquent in the manner provided by law, shall advertise for sale the property on which the taxes are due. The advertisement shall be published in the official journal of the parish or municipality, or, if there is no official journal, as provided by law for sheriffs' sales, in the manner provided for judicial sales. On the day of sale, the collector shall sell the portion of the property which the debtor points out. If the debtor does not point out sufficient property, the collector shall sell immediately the least quantity of property which any bidder will buy for the amount of the taxes, interest, and costs. The sale shall be without appraisement. A tax deed by a tax collector shall be prima facie evidence that a valid sale was made. the assessment of ad valorem taxes and other impositions on immovable property shall constitute a lien and privilege on the property assessed in favor of the political subdivision to which taxes and other impositions are owed. The legislature shall provide, by law, for the efficient administration of tax sales, which shall include at a minimum:
(a) Imposition of interest on the delinquent taxes and other impositions not to exceed one percent per month on a noncompounding basis.
(b) Imposition of penalty not to exceed five percent of the delinquent taxes and other impositions.
(c) A period of time during which the lien cannot be enforced.
(d) A procedure for claiming the excess proceeds from the sale of the property, as a result of the enforcement of the lien.
(2) The legislature may, by law, provide authority to the tax collector to waive penalties for good cause.
(2) If property located in a municipality with a population of more than four hundred fifty thousand persons as of the most recent federal decennial census fails to sell for the minimum required bid in the tax sale, the collector may offer the property for sale at a subsequent sale with no minimum required bid. The proceeds of the sale shall be applied to the taxes, interest, and costs due on the property, and any remaining deficiency shall be eliminated from the tax rolls.
(B) Redemption. (1) The property sold shall be redeemable for three years after the date of recordation of the tax sale, by paying the price given, including costs, five percent penalty thereon, and interest at the rate of one percent per month until redemption.
(2) When such property sold is residential or commercial property which has been declared blighted, abandoned, uninhabitable, or hazardous pursuant to applicable law, it shall be redeemable for twelve months after the date of recordation of the tax sale by payment in accordance with Subparagraph (1) of this Paragraph.
(C) Annulment. No sale of property for taxes shall be set aside for any cause, except on proof of payment of the taxes prior to the date of the sale, unless the proceeding to annul is instituted within six months after service of notice of sale. A notice of sale shall not be served until the final day for redemption has ended. It must be served within five years after the date of the recordation of the tax deed if no notice is given. The fact that taxes were paid on a part of the property sold prior to the sale thereof, or that a part of the property was not subject to taxation, shall not be cause for annulling the sale of any part thereof on which the taxes for which it was sold were due and unpaid. No judgment annulling a tax sale shall have effect until the price and all taxes and costs are paid, and until ten percent per annum interest on the amount of the price and taxes paid from date of respective payments are paid to the purchaser; however, this shall not apply to sales annulled because the taxes were paid prior to the date of sale.
(D) Quieting Tax Title. The manner of notice and form of proceeding to quiet tax titles shall be provided by law.
(E) (B) Movables; Tax Sales. When taxes on movables are delinquent, the tax collector shall seize and sell sufficient movable property of the delinquent taxpayer to pay the tax, whether or not the property seized is the property which was assessed. Sale of the property shall be at public auction, without appraisement, after ten days advertisement, published within ten days after date of seizure. It shall be absolute and without redemption.
If the tax collector can find no corporeal movables of the delinquent to seize, he may levy on incorporeal rights, by notifying the debtor thereof, or he may proceed by summary rule in the courts to compel the delinquent to deliver for sale property in his possession or under his control.
(F) (C) Postponement of Taxes. The legislature may postpone the payment of taxes, but only in cases of an emergency declared by the governor or a parish president pursuant to the Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act, overflow, general conflagration, general crop destruction, or other public calamity, and may provide for the levying, assessing, and collecting of such postponed taxes. In such case, the legislature may authorize the borrowing of money by the state on its faith and credit, by bond issue or otherwise, and may levy taxes, or apply taxes already levied and not appropriated, to secure payment thereof, in order to create a fund from which loans may be made through the Interim Emergency Board to the governing authority of the parish where the calamity occurs taxes are postponed. The money loaned shall be applied to and shall not exceed the deficiency in revenue of the parish or a political subdivision therein or of which the parish is a part, caused by postponement of taxes. No loan shall be made to a parish governing authority without the approval of the Interim Emergency Board.[2]
Readability score
- See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024
Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title 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 16, and the FRE is 23. The word count for the ballot title is 51.
Support
Supporters
Officials
- State Sen. Gregory Miller (R)
- State Rep. Marcus Bryant (D)
- State Rep. R. Dewith Carrier (R)
- State Rep. Peter Egan (R)
- State Rep. Foy Gadberry (R)
- State Rep. Brian Glorioso (R)
- State Rep. Dixon McMakin (R)
- State Rep. John Wyble (R)
Organizations
Arguments
Opposition
Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.
Arguments
Campaign finance
If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.
| Cash Contributions | In-Kind Contributions | Total Contributions | Cash Expenditures | Total Expenditures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Oppose | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Background
Property tax sales in Louisiana
Currently, if property taxes on a property are not paid at the end of the year that taxes are due, the local parish government may put a lien on the property and auction it at a tax sale where they are sold to the highest bidder. The price of the bid typically starts at the amount of taxes owed plus any penalties, interest, and costs associated with the sale. Proceeds are applied to the amount of unpaid taxes on the property. Property owners can redeem the property within three years if they pay the purchaser the amount of the bid plus a penalty of up to 5% per year and interest. If the property is redeemed by the owner, the tax sale is canceled and the property is returned to the owner. If the property is not redeemed by the owner within that time frame, the purchaser can apply for a tax deed or title to the property.[3]
Property that is sold in a tax sale does not give the purchaser the right to possess, use, or occupy the property if the original owners are still living there. The purchaser also cannot make improvements to the property or charge rent or lease payments to the occupants. The property remains under control of the owner until the purchaser receives the title in the case that the owner does not redeem the property. If a property is not sold at a tax sale, the local government assumes ownership of the property.[3]
Property tax ballot measures, 2024
Ten ballot measures concerning property taxes were certified to appear on the 2024 ballot in eight states.
Constitutional amendments in Louisiana
A total of 112 constitutional amendments appeared on the statewide ballot in Louisiana during even-numbered years from 2000 through 2022. Of the 112 amendments, 77 (68.75%) were approved and 35 (31.25%) were defeated.
| Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 2000-2022 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number | Approved | Percent approved | Defeated | Percent defeated | Even-year average | Even-year median | Even-year minimum | Even-year maximum | |
| 112 | 77 | 68.75% | 35 | 31.25% | 9 | 8 | 4 | 21 | |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Louisiana Constitution
In Louisiana, a two-thirds vote is needed in each chamber of the Louisiana State Legislature to refer a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the ballot for voter consideration.
This amendment was introduced as Senate Bill 119. After being passed in the Senate and amended in the House, a conference committee was convened. The Senate passed the conference committee report on June 2 in a vote of 35-1 and the House passed the bill on June 3 in a vote of 94-0.[1]
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How to cast a vote
- See also: Voting in Louisiana
See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Louisiana.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Louisiana State Legislature, "Louisiana Senate Bill 119," accessed April 16, 2024
- ↑ 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 - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Louisiana Law Help, "Tax Sales," accessed June 19, 2024
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "FAQ: Voting on Election Day," accessed August 15, 2024
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Vote on Election Day," accessed August 15, 2024
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Louisiana Secretary of State, "Register to Vote," accessed August 15, 2024
- ↑ WWNO, "Louisiana now requires proof of citizenship to vote, but hasn’t issued any guidance," January 15, 2025
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Louisiana Voter Registration Application," accessed June 30, 2025
- ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Louisiana Secretary of State, "Vote on Election Day," accessed August 15, 2024
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Louisiana voters' bill of rights and voting information," accessed August 15, 2024
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