A hasty Constitutional Convention presents problems

By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Writer

A political cartoon once displayed a man walking into a library and asking, “Do you have a copy of the Louisiana Constitution?” The librarian replied, “I’m sorry, sir; we don’t carry periodicals.”

From its enactment in 1974 to the present, the Louisiana State Constitution has grown to over 72,000 words, with voters approving 203 amendments to the original document. By contrast, the U.S. Constitution, which was ratified in 1789, contains 7,500 words and has only been amended twenty-seven times in 235 years.

Perhaps a better parochial example comes from the Massachusetts Constitution, which has been in force since 1780 – yet only been amended 121 times. In contrast, Louisiana has written 10 constitutions since statehood in 1812, and if Jeff Landry gets his way, this year will mark the 11th.

At least, that’s what his critics say. Defenders of the governor’s proposal to gavel in a constitutional convention argue that Landry simply wishes to remove unnecessary amendments and provisions, enshrining them in statute – as opposed to constitutional articles. Or at least, that is the stated objective of New Iberia GOP Rep. Beau Beaullieu’s House Bill 800. His plan, written at the governor’s behest, calls for 171 delegates, comprising all 144 state legislators as well as 27 other people Landry would select, to run the constitution writing process. The convention would convene in the House of Representatives’ chamber, with satellite locations possible as well. Lawmakers and Landry’s handpicked delegates would meet between May 20 and July 15 to rewrite Louisiana’s Constitution, under the proposal.

Still, Beaullieu’s bill must receive the backing of two-thirds of each legislative chamber before the convention can convene. The governor currently lacks the votes, particularly in the Louisiana Senate, partially due to Senate President Cameron Henry’s skepticism that the convention could occur concurrently with the current Regular Session (due to adjourn on June 3), and an absolute certainty, as Henry has expressed, that no senator wants to stay in Baton Rouge throughout the summer. The proposed convention would begin two weeks before the end of the current session and run until July 15.

However, some legislative critics also worry that the rushed process would eviscerate some politically popular spending and taxation limitations, while others worry that nothing would change from a fiscal flexibility standpoint. Gov. Landry has said that he would only seek to put current constitution provisions into statute form, changing nothing in reality save the length of the Pelican State’s unwieldy Basic Law. Nevertheless, once a constitutional convention gets underway, everything in the fundamental document would be on the proverbial table to be reviewed.

History suggests that legislators would do little to improve Louisiana’s anti-competitive and still relatively regressive system of tax and spending.

Articles VI (local government) and VII (revenue and finance) set forth the basic structure and operation of Louisiana’s fiscal systems. Broadly speaking, the Louisiana Constitution authorizes both state and local governments to impose and collect certain categories of taxes, including income taxes, sales taxes and property taxes. Yet, the La. Constitution also imposes important limitations on the government’s ability to adjust revenue, primarily through mechanisms like numerical caps on the level of taxation and mandatory exemptions, credits and deductions that are available to many categories of individual and corporate taxpayers.

Putting these provisions into statute could allow the Legislature greater fiscal flexibility for changing revenue circumstances. Still, of the 99 amendments to Article VII over the last 50 years, not a single one removed an existing fiscal provision from the Louisiana Constitution. Instead, each amendment has added new fiscal constraints, in the form of new budget rules or dedicated funds. The result is an article which now runs in length nearly as long as the entirety of the original 1974 Louisiana Constitution.

Voters would still have to approve any new constitution the convention delegates write. Should they finish their proposal this summer, the new draft constitutional changes would go before the electorate on the November ballot – taking effect in 2025. Yet, the rushed atmosphere raises the simple question, why hurray? The governor could just as easily call for a special session in the fall or spring, or the Legislature could follow the example of 1974 and call a true Constitutional Convention.

In such a call, district elections would be held for delegates, who need not be sitting elected officials. Therefore, legislators would not automatically be named the authors of the Basic Law governing their governance. Just as importantly, the general public would receive two opportunities to go to the polls – the first to elect delegates who presumably would have to explain precisely how they wished to rewrite the constitution as well as a second vote to enact, or reject, the draft document.

Such a twofold election cycle, featuring popular democratic accountability and potential voices outside of the legislative echo-chamber, might create a more reform-minded constitution upon which the electorate could vote. However, that lack of haste and legislative control would remove much of Gov. Landry’s power over the process.

This article originally published in the April 8, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.