(B) The power to tax may not be exercised by any court in the state, either by ordering the levy of a tax, an increase in an existing tax, or the repeal of an existing tax exemption or by ordering the legislature or any municipal or parish governing authority or any other political subdivision or governmental entity to do so.
Louisiana CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE VII
REVENUE & FINANCE
Art. VII §1 | POWER TO TAX; PUBLIC PURPOSE
(B) The power to tax may not be exercised by any court in the state, either by ordering the levy of a tax, an increase in an existing tax, or the repeal of an existing tax exemption or by ordering the legislature or any municipal or parish governing authority or any other political subdivision or governmental entity to do so.
Art. VII §2 | POWER TO TAX; LIMITATION
Art. VII §2.1 | FEES AND CIVIL FINES; LIMITATION
(B) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to any department which is constitutionally created and headed by an officer who is elected by majority vote of the electorate of the state.
Art. VII §2.2 | POWER TO TAX; SALES AND USE TAX; LIMITATION
(2) Natural gas, electricity, and water sold directly to the consumer for residential use.
(3) Prescription drugs.
(2) Natural gas, electricity, and water sold directly to the consumer for residential use.
(3) Prescription drugs.
Art. VII §2.3 | POWER TO TAX; LIMITATION; SALE OR TRANSFER OF IMMOVABLE PROPERTY
Art. VII §3 | COLLECTION OF TAXES
(B)
(2) The legislature, by local law enacted by two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature, may establish an alternate method of providing for a single collector or a central collection commission in each parish.
(3) Except when authorized by the unanimous agreement of all political subdivisions levying a sales and use tax within a parish, only those political subdivisions levying a sales and use tax shall be authorized to act as the single collector or participate on any commission established for the collection of such taxes.
(4) The legislature shall provide for the prompt remittance to the political subdivisions identified on the taxpayers' returns of funds collected pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph by a single collector or under any other centralized collection arrangement.
(5) The provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply in those parishes which have a single collector or a centralized collection arrangement as of July 1, 1992.
Art. VII §4 | INCOME TAX; SEVERANCE TAX; POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS
(B) Severance Tax.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (1) of this Paragraph, the presence of oil or gas or the production thereof, may be included in the methodology to determine the fair market value of an oil or gas well for ad valorem taxes.
(D)
(2) Effective July 1, 1999, one-third of the sulphur severance tax, but not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars; one-third of the lignite severance tax, but not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars; one-fifth of the severance tax on all natural resources, other than sulphur, lignite, or timber, but not to exceed seven hundred fifty thousand dollars; and three-fourths of the timber severance tax shall be remitted to the governing authority of the parish in which severance or production occurs.
(3) Effective July 1, 2007, one-fifth of the severance tax on all natural resources other than sulphur, lignite, or timber shall be remitted to the governing authority of the parish in which severance or production occurs. The initial maximum amount remitted to the parish in which severance or production occurs shall not exceed eight hundred fifty thousand dollars. The maximum amount remitted shall be increased each July first, beginning in 2008, by an amount equal to the average annual increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers, as published by the United States Department of Labor, for the previous calendar year, as calculated and adopted by the Revenue Estimating Conference.
(4) Effective April 1, 2012, the provisions of this Subparagraph shall be implemented if and when the last official forecast of revenues adopted for a fiscal year before the start of that fiscal year contains an estimate of severance tax revenues derived from natural resources other than sulphur, lignite, or timber in an amount which exceeds the actual severance tax revenues from such natural resources collected in Fiscal Year 2008-2009. Upon the adoption of such official forecast, the Revenue Estimating Conference shall certify that the requirements for the implementation of the provisions contained in this Subparagraph have been met. In such event, the following distributions and allocations of severance tax revenues and other revenues provided in this Subparagraph shall be effective and implemented for the fiscal year for which the official forecast was adopted, and each year thereafter. The legislature shall provide by law for the administrative procedures necessary to change the severance tax allocation to parishes from a calendar year basis to a fiscal year basis.
(ii) On July first of each year the maximum amount remitted to the parish in which severance or production occurs, as provided in Item (i) of this Subsubparagraph, shall be increased by an amount equal to the average annual increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for the previous calendar year, as published by the United States Department of Labor, which amount shall be as calculated and adopted by the Revenue Estimating Conference.
(iii) Of the total amount of severance tax revenues remitted in a fiscal year to a parish governing authority pursuant to the provisions of this Subparagraph, any portion which is in excess of the amount of such tax revenues remitted to that parish in Fiscal Year 2011-2012 shall be known as "excess severance tax". At least fifty percent of the excess severance tax received by a parish governing authority in a fiscal year shall be expended within the parish in the same manner and for the same purposes as monies received by the parish from the Parish Transportation Fund.
Art. VII §4.1 | CIGARETTE TAX RATES
Art. VII §5 | MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE TAX
Art. VII §6 | STATE DEBT; FULL FAITH AND CREDIT OBLIGATIONS
(B) Capital Improvements.
(2) The estimated amount of debt service to be paid for capital improvements for the next fiscal year shall be stated as a separate item and by budget unit in the budget estimate required to be submitted by the governor in accordance with Section 11 of this Article.
(D) Referendum. The legislature, by law enacted by two-thirds of the elected members of each house, may propose a statewide public referendum to authorize incurrence of debt for any purpose for which the legislature is not herein authorized to incur debt.
(E) Exception. Nothing in this Section shall apply to any levee district, political subdivision, or local public agency unless the full faith and credit of the state is pledged to the payment of the bonds of the levee district, political subdivision, or local public agency.
(F) Limitation.
(2) The limitation established pursuant to this Paragraph may be changed by passage of a specific legislative instrument by a favorable vote of two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature. The limitation may be exceeded by passage of a specific legislative instrument for a project or related projects by a favorable vote of two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature, provided that any debt service payment required for such projects shall, once bonds have been issued in connection therewith, not be impaired in any future year by application of this limitation. The limitation established pursuant to this Subparagraph shall be deemed to be increased as necessary to accommodate any projects approved to exceed this limit if approved as provided in this Paragraph, but only as long as there are bonds outstanding for the projects.
(3) Except as provided in Subparagraph (2) of this Paragraph, the State Bond Commission shall not approve the issuance of any net state tax supported debt, the debt service requirement of which would cause the limit herein established to be exceeded.
Art. VII §7 | STATE DEBT; INTERIM EMERGENCY BOARD
(B) Powers. Between sessions of the legislature, when the board by majority vote determines that an emergency or impending flood emergency exists, it may appropriate from the state general fund or borrow on the full faith and credit of the state an amount to meet the emergency. The appropriation may be made or the indebtedness incurred only for a purpose for which the legislature may appropriate funds and then only after the board obtains, as provided by law, the written consent of two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature. For the purposes of this Paragraph, an emergency is an event or occurrence not reasonably anticipated by the legislature and an impending flood emergency shall be an anticipated situation which endangers an existing flood protection structure. The appropriation or indebtedness incurred for an impending flood emergency shall not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars for any one event or occurrence. For an impending emergency to qualify for funding it must be determined as such by the United States Army Corp of Engineers or the United States Coast Guard. Total funding for such impending emergencies shall not exceed twenty-five percent of the funds annually available to the Interim Emergency Board.
(C) Limits. The aggregate of indebtedness outstanding at any one time and the amount appropriated from the state general fund for the current fiscal year under the authority of this Section shall not exceed one-tenth of one percent of total state revenue receipts for the previous fiscal year.
(D) Allocation. An amount sufficient to pay indebtedness incurred during the preceding fiscal year under the authority of this Section is allocated, as a first priority, each year from the state general fund.
Art. VII §8 | STATE BOND COMMISSION
(B) Approval of Bonds. No bonds or other obligations shall be issued or sold by the state, directly or through any state board, agency, or commission, or by any political subdivision of the state, unless prior written approval of the bond commission is obtained.
(C) Contesting State Bonds. Bonds, notes, certificates, or other evidences of indebtedness of the state (hereafter referred to as "bonds") shall not be invalid because of any irregularity or defect in the proceedings or in the issuance and sale thereof and shall be incontestable in the hands of a bona fide purchaser or holder. The issuing agency, after authorizing the issuance of bonds by resolution, shall publish once in the official journal of the state, as provided by law, a notice of intention to issue the bonds. The notice shall include a description of the bonds and the security therefor. Within thirty days after the publication, any person in interest may contest the legality of the resolution, any provision of the bonds to be issued pursuant to it, the provisions securing the bonds, and the validity of all other provisions and proceedings relating to the authorization and issuance of the bonds. If no action or proceeding is instituted within the thirty days, no person may contest the validity of the bonds, the provisions of the resolution pursuant to which the bonds were issued, the security of the bonds, or the validity of any other provisions or proceedings relating to their authorization and issuance, and the bonds shall be presumed conclusively to be legal. Thereafter no court shall have authority to inquire into such matters.
Art. VII §9 | STATE FUNDS
(2) by trade or professional associations;
(3) by the employment security administration fund or its successor;
(4) by retirement system funds;
(5) by state agencies operating under authority of this constitution preponderantly from fees and charges for the shipment of goods in international maritime trade and commerce; and
(6) by a state board, agency, or commission, but pledged by it in connection with the issuance of revenue bonds as provided in Paragraph (C) of Section 6 of this Article, other than any surplus as may be defined in the law authorizing such revenue bonds.
(C) Exception. Nothing in this Section shall apply to a levee district or political subdivision unless the full faith and credit of the state is pledged to the payment of the bonds of the levee district or political subdivision.
Art. VII §10 | EXPENDITURE OF STATE FUNDS
(B) Official Forecast. The conference shall prepare and publish initial and revised estimates of money to be received by the state general fund and dedicated funds for the current and next fiscal years which are available for appropriation. In each estimate, the conference shall designate the money in the estimate which is recurring and which is nonrecurring. All conference decisions to adopt these estimates shall be by unanimous vote of its members. Changes to the unanimous vote requirement shall be made by law enacted by a favorable vote of two-thirds of the elected members of each house. The most recently adopted estimate of money available for appropriation shall be the official forecast.
(C) Expenditure Limit.
(2) The expenditure limit may be changed in any fiscal year by a favorable vote of two-thirds of the elected members of each house. Any such change in the expenditure limit shall be approved by passage of a specific legislative instrument which clearly states the intent to change the limit.
(3) Beginning with the 1995-1996 Fiscal Year, the expenditure limit shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph (J) of this Section. The redetermination of the expenditure limit for each fiscal year from the 1991-1992 Fiscal Year through the 1994-1995 Fiscal Year shall only be used in computing the expenditure limit for the 1995-1996 Fiscal Year and shall not affect the expenditure limit already computed in accordance with this Paragraph for such fiscal years.
(4) The provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply to or affect funds allocated by Article VII, Section 4, Paragraphs (D) and (E).
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this constitution, the appropriation or allocation of any money designated in the official forecast as nonrecurring shall be made only for the following purposes:
(b)
(ii) For Fiscal Year 2015-2016 through Fiscal Year 2023-2024, the legislature shall appropriate no less than ten percent of any money designated in the official forecast as nonrecurring to the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System and the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana for application to the balance of the unfunded accrued liability of such systems existing as of June 30, 1988, in proportion to the balance of such unfunded accrued liability of each such system. Any such payments to the public retirement systems shall not be used, directly or indirectly, to fund cost-of-living increases for such systems.
(iii) For Fiscal Year 2024-2025 and each fiscal year thereafter, the legislature shall appropriate no less than twenty-five percent of any money designated in the official forecast as nonrecurring to the state retirement systems for application to their unfunded accrued liability. Money appropriated pursuant to this Item shall be applied by the receiving system to its outstanding positive amortization bases in the order in which they were created, from oldest to newest. The legislature may provide by law for a formula to distribute the nonrecurring money between those state retirement systems that have unfunded accrued liability. If the legislature has not provided by law for a distribution formula, nonrecurring money shall be appropriated pursuant to this Item to each system in the proportion that the system's total unfunded accrued liability bears to the total of all state system unfunded accrued liability, using the most recent system valuations adopted by the Public Retirement Systems' Actuarial Committee or its successor. Any payment to a state retirement system made pursuant to the provisions of this Item shall not be used, directly or indirectly, to fund cost-of-living increases for such system.
(d) Providing for allocation or appropriation for deposit into the Budget Stabilization Fund established in Article VII, Section 10.3 of this constitution.
(e) Providing for allocation or appropriation for deposit into the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund established in Article VII, Section 10.2 of this constitution.
(f) Providing for new highway construction for which federal matching funds are available, without excluding highway projects otherwise eligible as capital projects under other provisions of this constitution.
(b) For the purposes of this Subparagraph, local law enforcement and fire protection officers shall mean and include the same classes of officers which are eligible for such state salary supplements under the law as of July 1, 2003.
(c) Full funding as required in Subsubparagraph (a) of this Subparagraph shall be equal to the amount which is required to meet the requirements of law.
(d) Neither the governor nor the legislature may reduce an appropriation made pursuant to this Subparagraph except that the governor may reduce such appropriation using means provided in the Act containing the appropriation, provided that two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature consent to any such reduction in writing.
(F) Projected Deficit.
(2)
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this constitution to the contrary, for the purposes of the budget estimate and enactment of the budget for the next fiscal year, when the official forecast of recurring revenues for the next fiscal year is at least one percent less than the official forecast for the current fiscal year, the following procedure may be employed to avoid a budget deficit in the next fiscal year. An amount not to exceed five percent of the total appropriations or allocations for the current fiscal year from any fund established by law or this constitution shall be available for expenditure in the next fiscal year for a purpose other than as specifically provided by law or this constitution. For the purposes of this Subsubparagraph, an amount not to exceed one percent of the current fiscal year appropriation for expenditures required by Article VIII, Section 13(B) of this constitution shall be available for expenditures for other purposes in the next fiscal year. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this constitution to the contrary, monies made available as authorized under this Subsubparagraph may be transferred to a fund for which revenues have been forecast to be less than the revenues in the current fiscal year for such fund. Monies transferred as a result of the budget actions authorized by this Subsubparagraph are deemed available for appropriation and expenditure, but in no event shall the aggregate amount of any such transfers exceed the amount of the difference between the official forecast for the current fiscal year and the next fiscal year.
(c) The legislature may provide by law for the implementation of the provisions of this Subparagraph.
(4) The provisions of Subparagraphs (1) and (2) of this Paragraph shall not be applicable to, nor affect:
(b) The allocations provided for by Article VII, Section 4(D) and (E) of this constitution.
(c) The contributions made in accordance with Article X, Section 29(E) of this constitution.
(d) The Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund as defined in Article VII, Section 10.1(A)(1) of this constitution.
(e) The Millennium Trust as provided in Article VII, Section 10.8 of this constitution, except for appropriations from the trust.
(f) Any monies not required to be deposited in the state treasury as provided in Article VII, Section 9 of this constitution.
(g) The Medicaid Trust Fund for the Elderly created under the provisions of R.S. 46:2691 et seq.
(h) The Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund, as provided in Article VII, Section 10.15 of this constitution.
(i) The Louisiana Unclaimed Property Permanent Trust Fund, as provided in Article VII, Section 28 of this Constitution.
(H) Publication. The legislature shall have published a regular statement of receipts and expenditures of all state money at intervals of not more than one year.
(I) Public Purpose. No appropriation shall be made except for a public purpose.
(J) Definition of Funds. For the purposes of this Article, the state general fund and dedicated funds shall be all money required to be deposited in the state treasury, except that money the origin of which is:
(2) Self-generated collections by any entity subject to the policy and management authority established by Article VIII, Sections 5 through 7.
(3) A transfer from another state agency, board, or commission.
(4) The provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply to or affect funds allocated by Article VII, Section 4, Paragraphs (D) and (E).
Art. VII §10.1 | QUALITY TRUST FUND; EDUCATION
(2) After allocation of money to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of the constitution, and notwithstanding Article XIV, Section 10 of the constitution, seventy-five percent of the recurring revenues received under Section 1337(g) of Title 43 of the United States Code which are attributable to mineral production activity or leasing activity, and the percent remaining of the realized capital gains and interest income and dividend income earned on investment of the Permanent Trust Fund after the deposit required to the Permanent Trust Fund in Paragraph A(1) of this Section shall be deposited and credited to a special fund which is hereby created in the state treasury and which shall be known as the Louisiana Quality Education Support Fund, hereinafter referred to as the "Support Fund".
(3) All recurring revenues and interest earnings shall be credited to the respective funds as provided in Subparagraphs (1) and (2) above until the balance in the Permanent Trust Fund equals two billion dollars. After the Permanent Trust Fund reaches a balance of two billion dollars, all interest earnings on the Permanent Trust Fund shall be credited to the Support Fund and all recurring revenues shall be credited to the State General Fund.
(C) Reports; Allocation.
(2) Except for appropriations to pay expenses incurred in the investment and management of the Permanent Trust Fund, the legislature shall appropriate from the Support Fund only for educational purposes provided in Paragraph (D) of this Section and shall appropriate fifty percent of the available funds for higher educational purposes and fifty percent for elementary and secondary educational purposes. Those monies to be used for administrative costs shall be expended for such purposes only if so approved and appropriated by the legislature.
(3) The legislature shall appropriate the total amount intended for higher educational purposes to the Board of Regents and the total amount intended for elementary and secondary educational purposes to the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education which boards shall allocate the monies so appropriated to the programs as previously approved by the legislature.
(4) The monies appropriated by the legislature and disbursed from the Support Fund shall not displace, replace, or supplant appropriations from the general fund for elementary and secondary education, including implementing the Minimum Foundation Program, or displace, replace, or supplant funding for higher education. For elementary and secondary education and for higher education, this Paragraph shall mean that no appropriation for any fiscal year from the Support Fund shall be made for any purpose for which a general fund appropriation was made in the previous year unless the total appropriations for that fiscal year from the state general fund for such purpose exceed general fund appropriations for the previous year. This Paragraph shall in no way limit general fund appropriations in excess of the minimum amounts herein established.
(b) The endowment of chairs for eminent scholars.
(c) The enhancement of the quality of academic, research, or agricultural departments or units within a community college, college, or university. These funds shall not be used for athletic purposes or programs.
(d) The recruitment of superior graduate students.
(b) To insure an adequate supply of superior textbooks, library books, equipment, and other instructional materials.
(c) To fund exemplary programs in elementary and secondary schools designed to improve elementary or secondary student academic achievement or vocational-technical skill.
(d) To fund carefully defined research efforts, including pilot programs, designed to improve elementary and secondary student academic achievement.
(e) To fund school remediation programs and preschool programs.
(f) To fund the teaching of foreign languages in elementary and secondary schools.
(g) To fund an adequate supply of teachers by providing scholarships or stipends to prospective teachers in academic or vocational-technical areas where there is a critical teacher shortage.
Art. VII §10.2 | COASTAL PROTECTION AND RESTORATION FUND
Of revenues received in each fiscal year by the state as a result of the production of or exploration for minerals, hereinafter referred to as mineral revenues from severance taxes, royalty payments, bonus payments, or rentals, and excluding such revenues received by the state as a result of grants or donations when the terms or conditions thereof require otherwise, the treasurer shall make the following allocations:
(2) To the political subdivisions of the state as provided in Article VII, Sections 4(D) and (E) of this constitution.
(3) As provided by the requirements of Article VII, Sections 10-A and 10.1 of this constitution.
(2) After making the allocations and deposits provided for in Paragraphs (A) and (B)(1) of this Section, the treasurer shall deposit in and credit to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund as follows:
(b) Ten million dollars of the mineral revenues in excess of six hundred fifty million dollars which remain after the allocations provided in Paragraph (A) are made by the treasurer.
(D) The money in the fund may be appropriated for purposes consistent with the Coastal Protection Plan developed by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, or its successor.
No appropriation shall be made from the fund inconsistent with the purposes of the plan.
(E)
(2) Federal revenues credited to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund pursuant to this Paragraph shall be used only for the purposes of coastal protection, including conservation, coastal restoration, hurricane protection, and infrastructure directly impacted by coastal wetland losses.
(3) The fund balance limitations provided for in Paragraph (B) of this Section relative to the mineral revenues deposited to this fund shall not apply to revenues deposited pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph.
(2) The legislature may appropriate up to twenty percent of the funds deposited into the fund pursuant to Subparagraph (1) of this Paragraph to the Barrier Island Stabilization and Preservation Fund to be used for purposes of the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Program.
(3) The fund balance limitations provided for in Paragraph (B) of this Section relative to the mineral revenues deposited to this fund shall not apply to revenues deposited pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph.
Art. VII §10.3 | BUDGET STABILIZATION FUND
(2)
(ii) To the political subdivisions of the state as provided in Article VII, Sections 4 (D) and (E) of this constitution.
(iii) As provided by the requirements of Article VII, Section 10-A and 10.1 of this constitution.
(4) Any money appropriated to the fund by the legislature including any appropriation to the fund from money designated in the official forecast as provided in Article VII, Section 10(D)(2) of this constitution shall be deposited in the fund.
(5) An amount equivalent to the money received by the state from the federal government for the reimbursement of costs associated with a federally declared disaster, not to exceed the amount of costs appropriated out of the fund for the same disaster pursuant to Subparagraph (C)(3) of this Section.
(C) The money in the fund shall not be available for appropriation or use except under the following conditions:
(2) If a deficit for the current fiscal year is projected due to a decrease in the official forecast, an amount equal to one-third of the fund not to exceed the projected deficit may be appropriated after the consent of two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature. Between sessions of the legislature the appropriation may be made only after the written consent of two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature.
(3) If there is a federally declared disaster in the state, up to one-third of the fund, not to exceed the state costs associated with the disaster, may be appropriated after the consent of two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature. Between sessions of the legislature, the appropriation may be made only with written consent of two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature.
(4) In no event shall the amount included in the official forecast for the next fiscal year pursuant to Subparagraph (1) of this Paragraph, plus the amount appropriated in the current fiscal year pursuant to Subparagraph (2) of this Paragraph, plus the amount appropriated pursuant to Subparagraph (3) of this Paragraph exceed one-third of the fund balance at the beginning of the current fiscal year.
(5) No appropriation or deposit to the fund shall be made if such appropriation or deposit would cause the balance in the fund to exceed four percent of total state revenue receipts for the previous fiscal year.
Art. VII §10.4 | REPEALED BY ACTS 2023, NO. 199, §1, APPROVED NOV. 18, 2023, EFF. DEC. 21, 2023.
Art. VII §10.5 | MINERAL REVENUE AUDIT AND SETTLEMENT FUND
(2) To the political subdivisions of the state as provided in Article VII, Section 4(D) and (E) of this constitution.
(3) As provided by the requirements of Article VII, Sections 10-A, 10.1, 10.2, and 10.3 of this constitution.
(C) After making the allocations provided for in Paragraph (A), the treasurer shall credit thirty-five million dollars to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund, and thereafter any monies credited to the fund in any fiscal year may be annually appropriated by the legislature only for the purposes of retirement in advance of maturity through redemption, purchase, or repayment of debt of the state, pursuant to a plan proposed by the State Bond Commission to maximize the savings to the state; for payments against the unfunded accrued liability of the public retirement systems which are in addition to any payments required for the annual amortization of the unfunded accrued liability of the public retirement systems, required by Article X, Section 29 of this constitution; however, any such payment to the public retirement systems shall not be used, directly or indirectly, to fund cost-of-living increases for such systems; and for deposit in the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund.
Art. VII §10.6 | OILFIELD SITE RESTORATION FUND
Any increase in the amount charged for such fees, penalties, other revenues, or judgments associated with site cleanup activities enacted by the legislature after the effective date of this Section, for the purpose of orphaned oilfield site restoration shall be irrevocably dedicated and deposited in the restoration fund.
(2) The balance remaining on January 4, 1996 in the Oilfield Site Restoration Fund established by law.
(3) All funds or revenues which may be donated expressly to the restoration fund.
(4) All site-specific trust account funds established by law.
(C) All unexpended and unencumbered monies in the restoration fund at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund. The monies in the fund shall be invested by the treasurer in the manner provided by law. All interest earned on monies invested by the treasurer shall be deposited in the fund. The treasurer shall prepare and submit to the department on a quarterly basis a printed report showing the amount of money contained in the fund from all sources.
(D) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to or affect funds allocated by Article VII, Section 4, Paragraphs (D) and (E).
Art. VII §10.7 | OIL SPILL CONTINGENCY FUND
Any increase in the amount charged for such fees, taxes, penalties, judgments, reimbursements, charges, and federal funds collected or other revenue, or any new fees, taxes, penalties, judgments, reimbursements, charges, and federal funds collected or other revenue enacted by the legislature for the purposes of abatement and containment of actual or threatened unauthorized discharges of oil after the effective date of this Section, shall be irrevocably dedicated and deposited in the contingency fund.
(2) The balance remaining on January 4, 1996 in the Oil Spill Contingency Fund established by law.
(3) All funds or revenues which may be donated expressly to the contingency fund.
(C) All unexpended and unencumbered monies in the contingency fund at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund. The monies in the fund shall be invested by the treasurer in the manner provided by law. All interest earned on monies invested by the treasurer shall be deposited in the fund. The balance of the fund shall not exceed thirty million dollars or otherwise as provided by law.
(D) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to or affect funds allocated by Article VII, Section 4, Paragraphs (D) and (E).
Art. VII §10.8 | MILLENNIUM TRUST
(b) Fiscal Year 2001-2002, sixty percent of the total monies received that year.
(c) Fiscal Year 2002-2003 and each fiscal year thereafter, seventy-five percent of the total monies received that year. However, beginning in Fiscal Year 2011-2012 after the balance in the Millennium Trust reaches a total of one billion three hundred eighty million dollars, the monies deposited in and credited to the Millennium Trust, received as a result of the Settlement Agreement, shall be allocated to the various funds within the Millennium Trust as provided in Subsubparagraphs (2)(b), (3)(b), and (4)(b) and (c) of this Paragraph.
(d) For Fiscal Year 2000-2001, Fiscal Year 2001-2002, and Fiscal Year 2002-2003, ten percent of the total monies received in each of those years for credit to the Education Excellence Fund which, notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (C)(1) of this Section, shall be appropriated for the purposes provided in Subsubparagraph (d) of Subparagraph (3) of Paragraph (C) of this Section.
(b) Beginning Fiscal Year 2011-2012, and each fiscal year thereafter, the treasurer shall credit to the Health Excellence Fund one-third of all investment earnings on the investment of the Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall report annually to the legislature as to the amount of Millennium Trust investment earnings credited to the Health Excellence Fund.
(c) Beginning on July 1, 2012, after allocation of money to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of this constitution, the state treasurer shall deposit in and credit to the Health Excellence Fund an amount equal to the revenues derived from the tax levied pursuant to R.S. 47:841(B)(3).
(b) Beginning Fiscal Year 2011-2012, and each fiscal year thereafter, the treasurer shall credit to the Education Excellence Fund one-third of all investment earnings on the investment of the Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall report annually to the legislature and the state superintendent of education as to the amount of Millennium Trust investment earnings credited to the Education Excellence Fund.
(b) Beginning Fiscal Year 2011-2012, and each fiscal year thereafter, the treasurer shall credit to the TOPS Fund one hundred percent of the Settlement Agreement proceeds deposited into the Millennium Trust, and one-third of all investment earnings on the investment of the Millennium Trust. The treasurer shall report annually to the legislature as to the amount of Millennium Trust Settlement Agreement proceeds and investment earnings credited to the TOPS Fund.
(c) Upon the effective date of this Subsubparagraph, the state treasurer shall deposit, transfer, or otherwise credit funds in an amount equal to such Settlement Agreement proceeds deposited in and credited to the Millennium Trust received by the state between April 1, 2011 and the effective date of this Subsubparagraph to the TOPS Fund.
(C) Appropriations.
(b)
(ii) For Fiscal Year 2012-2013, and each fiscal year thereafter, appropriations from the Health Excellence Fund shall be limited to an annual amount not to exceed the estimated aggregate annual earnings from interest, dividends, and realized capital gains on investment of the trust and credited to the Health Excellence Fund as provided by Subsubparagraph (A)(2)(b) of this Section and as recognized by the Revenue Estimating Conference and the amount of proceeds credited to and deposited into the Health Excellence Fund as provided by Subsubparagraph (A)(2)(c) of this Section.
(ii) For Fiscal Year 2012-2013, and each fiscal year thereafter, appropriations from the TOPS Fund shall be limited to the amount of annual Settlement Agreement proceeds credited to and deposited into the TOPS Fund as provided in Subsubparagraph (A)(4)(b) of this Section, and an annual amount not to exceed the estimated aggregate annual earnings from interest, dividends, and realized capital gains on investment of the trust and credited to the TOPS Fund as provided in Subsubparagraph (A)(4)(b) of this Section and as recognized by the Revenue Estimating Conference.
(iii) Further, for Fiscal Year 2011-2012, and each fiscal year thereafter, amounts determined to be available for appropriation from the TOPS Fund from interest earnings shall be those aggregate investment earnings which are in excess of an inflation factor as determined by the Revenue Estimating Conference. The amount of realized capital gains on investment which may be included in the aggregate earnings available for appropriation in any year shall not exceed the aggregate of earnings from interest and dividends for that year.
(b) Initiatives to benefit the citizens of Louisiana with respect to health care through pursuit of innovation in advanced health care sciences, and the provision of comprehensive chronic disease management services.
(c) Each appropriation from the Health Excellence Fund shall include performance expectations to ensure accountability in the expenditure of such monies.
(b) Appropriations shall be made each year to the Louisiana Educational Television Authority in the amount of seventy-five thousand dollars and to the Louisiana School for the Deaf, the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired, the Louisiana Special Education Center in Alexandria, the Jimmy D. Long, Sr. Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the Louis Armstrong High School for the Arts, and Thrive Academy, after such schools are operational, to provide for a payment to each school of seventy-five thousand dollars plus an allocation for each pupil equal to the average statewide per pupil amount provided each city, parish, and local school system pursuant to Subsubparagraph (e) of this Subparagraph.
(c) Appropriations may be made for independent public schools approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education or any city, parish, or other local school system, laboratory schools approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and operated by a public postsecondary education institution, and for alternative schools and programs which are authorized and approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education but are not subject to the jurisdiction and management of any city, parish, or local school system to provide for an allocation for each pupil, which shall be the average statewide per pupil amount provided in each city, parish, or local school system pursuant to Subsubparagraph (e) of this Subparagraph.
(d) Repealed by Acts 2019, No. 445, §2, approved Oct. 12, 2019, eff. Nov. 18, 2019.
(e) Beginning Fiscal Year 2007-2008 and for each fiscal year thereafter, of the monies available for appropriation after providing for the purposes enumerated in Subsubparagraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this Subparagraph, one hundred percent of the monies available for appropriation in any fiscal year shall be appropriated for each city, parish, and other local school system on a pro rata basis which is based on the ratio of the student population of that school or school system to that of the total state student population as contained in the most recent Minimum Foundation Program.
(f) Monies appropriated pursuant to this Subparagraph shall be restricted to expenditure for pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade instructional enhancement for students, including early childhood education programs focused on enhancing the preparation of at-risk children for school, remedial instruction, and assistance to children who fail to achieve the required scores on any tests passage of which are required pursuant to state law or rule for advancement to a succeeding grade or other educational programs approved by the legislature. Expenditures for maintenance or renovation of buildings, capital improvements, and increases in employee salaries are prohibited. The state superintendent of education shall be responsible for allocating all money due private schools.
(g) Each recipient entity shall annually prepare and submit to the state Department of Education, hereinafter the "department", a prioritized plan for expenditure of funds it expects to receive in the coming year from the Education Excellence Fund. The plan shall include performance expectations to ensure accountability in the expenditure of such monies. The department shall review such plans for compliance with the requirements of this Subparagraph and to assure that the expenditure plans will support excellence in educational practice. No funds may be distributed to a recipient entity until its plan has received both legislative and departmental approval as provided by law.
(h) No amount appropriated as required in this Paragraph shall displace, replace, or supplant appropriations from the general fund for elementary and secondary education, including implementing the Minimum Foundation Program. This Subsubparagraph shall mean that no appropriation for any fiscal year from the Education Excellence Fund shall be made for any purpose for which a general fund appropriation was made in the previous year unless the total appropriations for the fiscal year from the state general fund for such purpose exceed general fund appropriations of the previous year. Nor shall any money allocated to a city or parish school board pursuant to this Paragraph displace, replace, or supplant locally generated revenue, which means that no allocation to any city or parish school board from the investment earnings attributable to the Education Excellence Fund shall be expended for any purpose for which a local revenue source was expended for that purpose for the previous year unless the total of the local revenue amount expended that fiscal year exceeds the total of such local revenue amounts for the previous fiscal year.
(i) The treasurer shall maintain within the state treasury a record of the amounts appropriated and credited for each entity through appropriations authorized in this Subparagraph and which remain in the state treasury. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this constitution to the contrary, such amounts, and investment earnings attributable to such amounts, shall remain to the credit of each recipient entity at the close of each fiscal year.
Art. VII §10.9 | LOUISIANA FUND
(B) Appropriations from the Louisiana Fund shall be restricted to the following purposes:
(b) Support of state programs for children's health insurance.
(c) School-based health clinics, rural health clinics, and primary care clinics.
(3) Provision of direct health care services for tobacco-related illnesses.
(4) Initiatives to diminish tobacco-related injury and death to Louisiana's citizens through educational efforts, cessation assistance services, promotion of a tobacco-free lifestyle, and enforcement of the requirements of the Settlement Agreement by the attorney general.
Art. VII §10.10 | REPEALED BY ACTS 2023, NO. 199, §1, APPROVED NOV. 18, 2023, EFF. DEC. 21, 2023.
Art. VII §10.11 | ARTIFICIAL REEF DEVELOPMENT FUND
(B) The secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is authorized to accept and receive grants, donations of monies, and other forms of assistance from private and public sources that are provided to the state for the purpose of siting, designing, constructing, permitting, monitoring, and otherwise managing an artificial reef system.
(C) The monies in the Artificial Reef Development Fund shall be appropriated by the legislature to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, or its successor, and shall be allocated solely for the following:
(2) For the salaries of personnel assigned to the Artificial Reef Development Program and for related operating expenses.
(3) An amount not to exceed ten percent of the monies deposited to the fund each year and ten percent of the interest income credited to the fund each year may be used by the department to provide funding in association with the wild seafood certification program, particularly in support of wild-caught shrimp, established by the department. Such funding may be used for a subsidy granted to seafood harvesters or processors to assist in their efforts to comply with the certification program requirements and may be used for administration of the program.
(4) An amount not to exceed ten percent of the funds deposited to the fund each year and ten percent of the interest income credited to the fund each year may be used by the department to provide funding for inshore fisheries habitat enhancement projects, particularly in support of the Artificial Reef Development Program established by the department. Such funding may be used for grants to nonprofit conservation organizations working in cooperation with the department.
Art. VII §10.12 | FARMERS AND FISHERMEN ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS; AGRICULTURAL AND SEAFOOD PRODUCTS SUPPORT FUND
B, C. Repealed by Acts 2023, No. 199, §1, eff. Dec. 21, 2023.
Art. VII §10.13 | HOSPITAL STABILIZATION FORMULA AND ASSESSMENT; HOSPITAL STABILIZATION FUND
(2)
(b) Each formula shall also include and establish assessments to be paid by hospitals and the basis on which such assessments shall be calculated, provided the amount of the assessments does not exceed the nonfederal share of the reimbursement enhancements.
(c) Each formula shall also establish reimbursement enhancements under the Medicaid Program, or its successor, achieving the maximum reimbursement by federal law and resulting in distributing such reimbursement enhancements exclusively among hospitals for hospital services. Reimbursement enhancements may also be distributed for uninsured services delivered.
(d) Each formula shall also include any additional provisions necessary to the implementation of the formula. Neither the assessments nor the reimbursement enhancements established in the formula adopted by the legislature shall be implemented until each has been approved by the federal authority which administers the Medicaid Program.
(4) No additional assessment shall be collected and any assessment shall be terminated for the remainder of the fiscal year from the date on which any of the following occur:
(b) The Louisiana Department of Health, or its successor or contractors, reduces or does not pay reimbursement enhancements established in the current formula as adopted by the legislature.
(c) The appropriations provided for in Subparagraph (B)(2) of this Section are reduced.
(2) The legislature shall annually appropriate the balance of the Hospital Stabilization Fund solely to fund the reimbursement enhancements as provided in the most recent formula adopted by the legislature.
(3) Notwithstanding Article VII, Section 10(F) of this constitution, neither the governor nor the legislature may reduce the appropriation funding the base reimbursement level or the reimbursement enhancements to satisfy a budget deficit, except the governor may reduce the appropriation to the base reimbursement level if the following occur:
(b)
(ii) If the legislature is not in session, the reduction is approved by two-thirds of the members of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, or its successor.
Art. VII §10.14 | LOUISIANA MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TRUST FUND
(B) The treasurer is hereby authorized to establish a separate account within the fund for each health care provider group in which fees are collected according to law. Monies collected from each provider group, and the interest earned on those monies, shall be deposited into the account created for that provider group. Any monies deposited into the fund from sources not required by law, and the interest earned on those monies, shall be deposited into a separate account within the fund, hereafter referred to as "the general account".
(C) The legislature is authorized to appropriate monies from the fund only if the appropriation is eligible for federal financial participation under Title XIX of the Social Security Act, or its successor. The balance of each account shall be appropriated for reimbursement of services to the provider group which paid the fee into the account in any fiscal year, except monies deposited into the general account may be appropriated for any Medicaid Program expenditure.
(D) The monies appropriated from the provider accounts in the fund shall not be used to displace, replace, or supplant appropriations from the state general fund for the Medicaid Program below the amount of state general fund appropriations to the Medicaid Program for Fiscal Year 2013-2014.
(E)
(2) Notwithstanding Article VII, Section 10(F) of this constitution, neither the governor nor the legislature may reduce the base rate as provided for in this Paragraph to satisfy a budget deficit, except the governor may reduce the appropriation for the base rate if the following occur:
(b)
(ii) If the legislature is not in session, the reduction is approved by two-thirds of the members of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, or its successor.
Art. VII §10.15 | REVENUE STABILIZATION TRUST FUND
(B) After allocation of money to the Bond Redemption and Security Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, the treasurer shall deposit in and credit to the fund the revenues as provided for in Paragraphs (C) and (D) of this Section.
(C) The treasurer shall deposit into the fund the amount of mineral revenues as provided in Section 10.16 of this constitution.
(D) The treasurer shall deposit into the fund the amount of revenues in excess of six hundred million dollars received each fiscal year from corporate franchise and income taxes as recognized by the Revenue Estimating Conference.
(E)
(2) The treasurer shall deposit all interest or other income from investment generated from the fund into the state general fund.
(2)
(ii) Transportation infrastructure.
Art. VII §10.16 | DEDICATIONS OF MINERAL REVENUES
(2) To the political subdivisions of the state as provided in Article VII, Sections 4 (D) and (E) of this constitution.
(3) To the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Fund as provided by the requirements of Article VII, Section 10-A of this constitution and as provided by law.
(4) To the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Fund and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Fund as provided by law.
(5) To the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve Fund as provided by law.
(6) To the Marsh Island Operating Fund and the Russell Sage or Marsh Island Refuge Fund as provided by law.
(7) To the MC Davis Conservation Fund as provided by law.
(8) To the White Lake Property Fund as provided by law.
(9) To the Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund and Louisiana Quality Education Support Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 10.1 of this constitution.
(10) To the Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 10.2 of this constitution and as provided by law.
(11) To the Mineral Revenue and Audit Settlement Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 10.5 of this constitution and as provided by law.
(12) To the Budget Stabilization Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 10.3 of this constitution and as provided by law.
(13) An amount equal to the state general fund deposited into the Transportation Trust Fund and the Louisiana State Transportation Infrastructure Fund as provided by law.
(2) The remainder shall be deposited into the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund.
(2) The remainder shall be deposited into the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund.
(2) Revenues received by the state as a result of grants or donations when the terms or conditions thereof require otherwise.
(3) Revenues derived from any tax on the transportation of minerals.
Notes
Art. VII §10-A | WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES; CONSERVATION FUND
Any increase in the amount charged for such fees, licenses, permits, royalties, and other revenue, or any new fee, license, permit, royalty, or other revenue, enacted by the legislature after the effective date of this Section, shall be irrevocably dedicated and deposited in the Conservation Fund unless the legislature enacts a law specifically appropriating or dedicating such revenue to another fund or purpose.
(2) The balance remaining on June 30, 1988 in the Conservation Fund established pursuant to R.S. 56:10.
(3) All funds or revenues which may be donated expressly to the Conservation Fund.
(C) All unexpended and unencumbered monies in the Conservation Fund at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund. The monies in the fund shall be invested by the treasurer in the manner provided by law. All interest earned on monies invested by the treasurer shall be deposited in the fund. The treasurer shall prepare and submit to the department on a quarterly basis a printed report showing the amount of money contained in the fund from all sources.
Art. VII §11 | BUDGETS
(B) Operating Budget. The governor shall cause to be submitted a general appropriation bill for proposed ordinary operating expenditures which shall be in conformity with the recommendations for appropriations contained in the budget estimate. The governor may cause to be submitted a bill or bills to raise additional revenues with proposals for the use of these revenues.
(C) Capital Budget. The governor shall submit to the legislature, at each regular session, a proposed five-year capital outlay program and request implementation of the first year of the program. Prior to inclusion in the comprehensive capital budget which the legislature adopts, each capital improvement project shall be evaluated through a feasibility study, as defined by the legislature, which shall include an analysis of need and estimates of construction and operating costs. The legislature shall provide by law for procedures, standards, and criteria for the evaluation of such feasibility studies and shall set the schedule of submission of such feasibility studies which shall take effect not later than December thirty-first following the first regular session convening after this Paragraph takes effect. These procedures, standards, and criteria for evaluation of such feasibility studies cannot be changed or altered except by a separate legislative instrument approved by a favorable vote of two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature. For those projects not eligible for funding under the provisions of Article VII, Section 27 of this constitution, the request for implementation of the first year of the program shall include a list of the proposed projects in priority order based on the evaluation of the feasibility studies submitted. Capital outlay projects approved by the legislature shall be made a part of the comprehensive state capital budget, which shall be adopted by the legislature.
Art. VII §12 | REPORTS AND RECORDS
Art. VII §13 | INVESTMENT OF STATE FUNDS
Art. VII §14 | DONATION, LOAN, OR PLEDGE OF PUBLIC CREDIT
(B) Authorized Uses. Nothing in this Section shall prevent
(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;
(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;
(13) the investment of public funds to capitalize a state infrastructure bank and the loan, pledge, or guarantee of public funds by a state infrastructure bank solely for transportation projects;
(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; or
(15) a political subdivision from waiving charges for water if the charges are the result of water lost due to damage to the water delivery infrastructure and that damage is not the result of any act or failure to act by the customer being charged for the water.
(D) Prior Obligations. Funds, credit, property, or things of value of the state or of a political subdivision heretofore loaned, pledged, dedicated, or granted by prior state law or authorized to be loaned, pledged, dedicated, or granted by the prior laws and constitution of this state shall so remain for the full term as provided by the prior laws and constitution and for the full term as provided by any contract, unless the authorization is revoked by law enacted by two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature prior to the vesting of any contractual rights pursuant to this Section.
(E) Surplus Property. Nothing in this Section shall prevent the donation or exchange of movable surplus property between or among political subdivisions whose functions include public safety.
Art. VII §15 | RELEASE OF OBLIGATIONS TO STATE, PARISH, OR MUNICIPALITY
Art. VII §16 | TAXES; PRESCRIPTION
Art. VII §17 | LEGISLATION TO OBTAIN FEDERAL AID
Art. VII §18 | AD VALOREM TAXES
(A) Assessments.
Property subject to ad valorem taxation shall be listed on the assessment rolls at its assessed valuation, which, except as provided in Paragraphs (C), (F), and (G), shall be a percentage of its fair market value. The percentage of fair market value shall be uniform throughout the state upon the same class of property.(B) Classification.
The classifications of property subject to ad valorem taxation and the percentage of fair market value applicable to each classification for the purpose of determining assessed valuation are as follows:| Classifications | Percentages |
|---|---|
| 1. Land | 10% |
| 2. Improvements for residential purposes | 10% |
| 3. Electric cooperative properties, excluding land | 15% |
| 4. Public service properties, excluding land | 25% |
| 5. Other property | 15% |
(C) Use Value.
Bona fide agricultural, horticultural, marsh, and timber lands, as defined by general law, shall be assessed for tax purposes at ten percent of use value rather than fair market value. The legislature may provide by law similarly for buildings of historic architectural importance.(D) Valuation.
Each assessor shall determine the fair market value of all property subject to taxation within his respective parish or district except public service properties, which shall be valued at fair market value by the Louisiana Tax Commission or its successor. Each assessor shall determine the use value of property which is to be so assessed under the provisions of Paragraph (C). Fair market value and use value of property shall be determined in accordance with criteria which shall be established by law and which shall apply uniformly throughout the state.(E) Review.
The correctness of assessments by the assessor shall be subject to review first by the parish governing authority, then by the Louisiana Tax Commission or its successor, and finally by the courts, all in accordance with procedures established by law.(F) Reappraisal.
(2)
(ii) For purposes of calculating the ad valorem taxes on the property in the second levy following reappraisal, the collector shall increase the portion of the assessed value of the property used to calculate ad valorem taxes by adding an amount which is equal to one-half of the amount of the increase in the property's assessed value as a result of the reappraisal to the base amount. This resulting amount shall constitute the property's taxable value and shall be used solely for purposes of calculating ad valorem taxes for that taxable year.
(iii) For purposes of calculating the ad valorem taxes on the property in the third levy following reappraisal, the collector shall increase the portion of the assessed value of the property used to calculate ad valorem taxes by adding an amount which is equal to three-quarters of the amount of the increase in the property's assessed value as a result of the reappraisal to the base amount. This resulting amount shall constitute the property's taxable value and shall be used solely for purposes of calculating ad valorem taxes for that taxable year.
(iv) In the fourth levy following reappraisal, the collector shall calculate ad valorem taxes based on the property's full assessed value.
(c) Property subject to the provisions of this Subparagraph shall not be subject to reappraisal by an assessor until after the four-year phase-in of the amount of the increase in the property's assessed value is complete.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this constitution to the contrary, the increase in assessed valuation of property phased-in under this Subparagraph shall be included as taxable property for purposes of any subsequent reappraisals and valuation for millage adjustment purposes under Article VII, Section 23(B) of this constitution. The decrease in the total amount of ad valorem tax collected by a taxing authority as a result of this phase-in of assessed valuation shall be absorbed by the taxing authority and shall not create any additional tax liability for other taxpayers in the taxing district as a result of any subsequent reappraisal and valuation or millage adjustment. Implementation of this phase-in of increase in assessed valuation authorized in this Subparagraph shall neither trigger nor be cause for a reappraisal of property or an adjustment of millages pursuant to the provisions of Article VII, Section 23(B) of this constitution.
(e) The provisions of this Subparagraph shall not apply to the extent the increase was attributable to construction on or improvements to the property.
(G) Special Assessment Level.
(bb) People who have a service-connected disability rating of fifty percent or more by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
(cc) Members of the armed forces of the United States or the Louisiana National Guard who owned and last occupied such property who are killed in action, or who are missing in action or are a prisoner of war for a period exceeding ninety days.
(dd) Any person or persons permanently totally disabled as determined by a final non-appealable judgment of a court or as certified by a state or federal administrative agency charged with the responsibility for making determinations regarding disability.
(iii) An eligible owner or the owner's spouse or other legally qualified representative shall apply for the special assessment level by filing a signed application establishing that the owner qualifies for the special assessment level with the assessor of the parish or, in the parish of Orleans, the assessor of the district where the property is located.
(iv) An owner who is below the age of sixty-five and who has applied for and received the special assessment level may qualify for and receive the special assessment level in the subsequent year by certifying to the assessor of the parish that such person or persons' adjusted gross income in the prior tax year satisfied the income requirement of this Section. The provisions of this Item shall not apply to an owner who has qualified for and received the special assessment level for persons sixty-five years of age or older or to such owner's surviving spouse as described in Item (2)(a)(i) of this Paragraph or for an owner who is permanently totally disabled as provided for in Subitem (i)(dd) of this Subsubparagraph.
(ii) The owner who has a service-connected disability of fifty percent or more, or that owner's surviving spouse who is forty-five years of age or older or who has minor children, remains the owner of the property.
(iii) The spouse of the owner who is killed in action remains the owner of the property.
(iv) The first day of the tax year following the tax year in which an owner who was missing in action or was a prisoner of war for a period exceeding ninety days is no longer missing in action or a prisoner of war.
(v) Even if the ownership interest of any surviving spouse or spouse of an owner who is missing in action as provided for in this Subparagraph is an interest in usufruct.
(4)
(b) This new assessment level shall remain in effect until changed as provided by this Section or this Constitution.
(b) Any owner entitled to the special assessment level set forth in Subsubparagraph (a) of this Subparagraph who is unable to reoccupy his homestead within five years from December thirty-first of the year following the disaster shall be eligible for an extension of the special assessment level on the homestead for a period not to exceed two years. A homeowner shall be eligible for this extension only if the homeowner's damage claim is filed and pending in a formal appeal process with any federal, state, or local government agency or program offering grants or assistance for repairing or rebuilding damaged or destroyed homes as a result of the disaster, or if a homeowner has a damage claim filed and pending against the insurer of the property. The homeowner shall apply for this extension of the special assessment level with the assessor of the parish in which the homestead is located. The assessor shall require the homeowner to provide official documentation from the government agency or program evidencing the homeowner's participation in the formal appeal process or official documentation evidencing the homeowner has a damage claim filed and pending against the insurer of the damaged property, as provided by law.
(c) After expiration of the extension authorized in Subsubparagraph (b) of this Subparagraph, an assessor shall have the authority to grant on a case-by-case basis up to three additional one-year extensions of the special assessment level as prescribed by law.
(b) If a trust would have been eligible for the special assessment level pursuant to this Subparagraph prior to the most recent reappraisal, the total assessment of the property held in trust shall be the assessed value on the last appraisal before the reappraisal.
Art. VII §19 | STATE PROPERTY TAXATION; RATE LIMITATION
Art. VII §20 | HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION
(2) The homestead exemption shall extend and apply fully to the surviving spouse or a former spouse when the homestead is occupied by the surviving spouse or a former spouse and title to it is in the name of (a) the surviving spouse as owner of any interest or either or both of the former spouses, (b) the surviving spouse as usufructuary, or (c) a testamentary trust established for the benefit of the surviving spouse and the descendants of the deceased spouse or surviving spouse, but not to more than one homestead owned by either the husband or wife, or both.
(3) The homestead exemption shall extend to property owned by a trust when the principal beneficiary or beneficiaries of the trust are the settlor or settlors of the trust and were the immediate prior owners of the homestead, and the homestead is occupied as such by a principal beneficiary. The provisions of this Subparagraph shall apply only to property which qualified for the homestead exemption immediately prior to transfer, conveyance, or donation in trust or which would have qualified for the homestead exemption if such property were not owned in trust.
(4) The homestead exemption shall extend to property where the usufruct of the property has been granted to no more than two usufructuaries who were the immediate prior owners of the homestead and the homestead is occupied as such by a usufructuary. The provisions of this Subparagraph shall apply only to property which qualified for the homestead exemption immediately prior to the granting of such usufruct, or which would have qualified for the homestead exemption if such usufruct had not been granted.
(5) The homestead exemption shall extend only to a natural person or persons and to a trust created by a natural person or persons, in which the beneficiaries of the trust are a natural person or persons provided that the provisions of this Paragraph are otherwise satisfied.
(6) Except as otherwise provided for in this Paragraph, the homestead exemption shall apply to property owned in indivision, but shall be limited to the pro rata ownership interest of that person or persons occupying the homestead.
(7) No homestead exemption shall be granted on bond for deed property. However, any homestead exemption granted prior to June 20, 2003 on any property occupied upon the effective date of this Paragraph* by a buyer under a bond for deed contract shall remain valid as long as the circumstances giving rise to the exemption at the time the exemption was granted remain applicable.
(8) Notwithstanding any provision of this Paragraph to the contrary, in no event shall more than one homestead exemption extend or apply to any person in this state.
(9) This exemption shall not extend to municipal taxes. However, the exemptions shall apply (a) in Orleans Parish, to state, general city, school, levee, and levee district taxes and (b) to any municipal taxes levied for school purposes.
(10)
(b) For homesteads qualifying for the homestead exemption under the provisions of Subsubparagraph (a) of this Subparagraph, after expiration of the five-year period, the owner of a homestead shall be entitled to claim and keep the exemption for a period not to exceed two additional years by filing an annual affidavit of intent to return and reoccupy the homestead with the assessor within the parish where the homestead is located prior to December thirty-first of the year in which the exemption is claimed. A homeowner shall be eligible for this extension only if the homeowner's damage claim to repair or rebuild the damaged or destroyed homestead is filed and pending in a formal appeal process with any federal, state, or local government agency or program offering grants or assistance for repairing or rebuilding damaged or destroyed homes as a result of the disaster, or if a homeowner has a damage claim filed and pending against the insurer of the property. The assessor shall require the homeowner to provide official documentation from the government agency or program evidencing the homeowner's participation in the formal appeal process or official documentation evidencing the homeowners has a damage claim filed and pending against the insurer of the property as provided by law.
(c) After expiration of the extension authorized in Subsubparagraph (b) of this Subparagraph, an assessor shall have the authority to grant on a case-by-case basis up to three additional one-year extensions of the homestead exemption as prescribed by law.
Art. VII §21 | OTHER PROPERTY EXEMPTIONS
(B)
(ii) Medical equipment leased for a term exceeding five years to such a nonprofit corporation or association that owns or operates a small, rural hospital and that uses the equipment solely for health care purposes at the hospital, provided that the property shall be exempt only during the term of the lease to such corporation or association, and further provided that "small, rural hospital" shall mean a hospital that meets all of the following criteria:
(bb) It is located in a municipality with a population of less than ten thousand that has been classified as an area with a shortage of health manpower by the United States Health Service; and
(3) Property of an organization such as a lodge or club organized for charitable and fraternal purposes and practicing the same, and property of a nonprofit corporation devoted to promoting trade, travel, and commerce, and also property of a trade, business, industry or professional society or association, if that property is owned by a nonprofit corporation or association organized under the laws of this state for such purposes.
(4)
(b)
(bb) The owner of the property habitually neglects maintenance of the property as evidenced by three or more sustained code enforcement violations issued for the property in the prior twelve months for matters that endanger the health or safety of residents of the property or of persons in the area surrounding the property. For purposes of this Item, matters deemed to endanger health or safety include structural instability due to deterioration; injurious or toxic ventilation; contaminated or inoperable water supply; holes, breaks, rotting materials, or mold in walls; roof defects that admit rain; unsecured overhang extensions in danger of collapse; a hazardous electrical system; improper connection of fuel-burning appliances or equipment; an inactive or inoperable fire detection system; an unsecured or contaminated swimming pool; or any combination of these.
(2) stocks and bonds, except bank stocks, the tax on which shall be paid by the banking institution;
(3) obligations secured by mortgage on property located in Louisiana and the notes or other evidence thereof;
(4) loans by life insurance companies to policyholders, if secured solely by their policies;
(5) the legal reserve of domestic life insurance companies;
(6) loans by a homestead or building and loan association to its members, if secured solely by stock of the association;
(7) debts due for merchandise or other articles of commerce or for services rendered;
(8) obligations of the state or its political subdivisions;
(9) personal property used in the home or on loan in a public place;
(10) irrevocably dedicated places of burial held by individuals for purposes of burial of themselves or members of their families;
(11) agricultural products while owned by the producer, agricultural machinery and other implements used exclusively for agricultural purposes, animals on the farm, and property belonging to an agricultural fair association;
(12) property used for cultural, Mardi Gras carnival, or civic activities and not operated for profit to the owners;
(13) rights-of-way granted to the State Department of Highways;
(14) boats using gasoline as motor fuel;
(15) commercial vessels used for gathering seafood for human consumption; and
(16) ships and oceangoing tugs, towboats, and barges engaged in international trade and domiciled in Louisiana ports. However, this exemption shall not apply to harbor, wharf, shed, and other port dues or to any vessel operated in the coastal trade of the states of the United States.
(17) Materials, boiler fuels, and energy sources used by public utilities to fuel the generation of electricity.
(18) All incorporeal movables of any kind or nature whatsoever, except public service properties, bank stocks, and credit assessments on premiums written in Louisiana by insurance companies and loan and finance companies. For purposes of this Section, incorporeal movables shall have the meaning set forth in the Louisiana Civil Code of 1870, as amended.
(19) All artwork including sculptures, glass works, paintings, drawings, signed and numbered posters, photographs, mixed media, collages, or any other item which would be considered as the material result of a creative endeavor which is listed as a consignment article by an art dealer.
(b) so long as the imports (other than minerals and ores of the same kind as any mined or produced in this state and manufactured articles) are held in this state in the original form in bales, sacks, barrels, boxes, cartons, containers, or other original packages, and raw materials held in bulk as all or a part of the new material inventory of manufacturers or processors, solely for manufacturing or processing; or
(c) so long as the imports are held by an importer in any public or private storage in the original form in bales, sacks, barrels, boxes, cartons, containers, or other original packages and agricultural products in bulk. This exemption shall not apply to these imports when held by a retail merchant as part of his stock-in-trade for sale at retail.
(3) Goods, commodities, and personal property in public or private storage while in transit through this state which are moving in interstate commerce through or over the territory of the state or which are in public or private storage within Louisiana, having been shipped from outside Louisiana for storage in transit to a final destination outside Louisiana, whether such destination was specified when transportation began or afterward.
Property described in Paragraph (D), whether or not entitled to exemption, shall be reported to the proper taxing authority on the forms required by law.
(F) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this Section, the State Board of Commerce and Industry or its successor, with the approval of the governor, may enter into contracts for the exemption from ad valorem taxes of a new manufacturing establishment or an addition to an existing manufacturing establishment, on such terms and conditions as the board, with the approval of the governor, deems in the best interest of the state.
The exemption shall be for an initial term of no more than five calendar years, and may be renewed for an additional five years. All property exempted shall be listed on the assessment rolls and submitted to the Louisiana Tax Commission or its successor, but no taxes shall be collected thereon during the period of exemption.
The terms "manufacturing establishment" and "addition" as used herein mean a new plant or establishment or an addition or additions to any existing plant or establishment which engages in the business of working raw materials into wares suitable for use or which gives new shapes, qualities or combinations to matter which already has gone through some artificial process.
(G) Coal or lignite stockpiled in Louisiana for use in Louisiana for industrial or manufacturing purposes or for boiler fuel, gasification, feedstock, or process purposes.
(H) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this constitution, the State Board of Commerce and Industry or its successor, with the approval of the governor and the local governing authority and in accordance with procedures and conditions provided by law, may enter into contracts granting to a property owner, who proposes the expansion, restoration, improvement, or development of an existing structure or structures in a downtown, historic, or economic development district established by a local governing authority or in accordance with law, the right for an initial term of five years after completion of the work to pay ad valorem taxes based upon the assessed valuation of the property for the year prior to the commencement of the expansion, restoration, improvement, or development. Contracts may be renewed, subject to the same conditions, for an additional five years extending such right for a total of ten years from completion of the work.
(I)
(2) The contract for exemption shall be on such terms and to the extent, up to and including the full assessed valuation of the goods held in inventory, as the economic development authority or district deems in the best interest of the parish. However, prior to entering into each individual contract, the economic development authority or district must request and receive written approval of the contract, including its terms and an estimated fiscal impact, from each affected tax recipient body in the parish, as evidenced by a favorable vote of a majority of the members of the governing authority of the tax recipient body. Failure to receive all required approvals from the tax recipient bodies before entering into a contract shall render the contract null and void and of no effect.
(3) The term "distribution center" as used herein means an establishment engaged in the sale of products for resale or further processing for resale. The term "goods held in inventory" as used herein means goods or products which have been given new shapes, qualities, or combinations through some artificial process and does not include raw materials such as natural gas, crude oil, sulphur, or timber or goods or products held for sale to consumers.
(2) The exemption provided in this Paragraph shall be applicable in any parish in which the exemption has been approved by a majority of the electors of the parish voting thereon at an election called for that purpose.
(b) In addition to the homestead exemption authorized pursuant to the provisions of Section 20 of this Article, which applies to the first seven thousand five hundred dollars of the assessed valuation of property, the next four thousand five hundred dollars of the assessed valuation of property owned and occupied by a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of seventy percent or more but less than one hundred percent by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation. The surviving spouse of a deceased veteran with a service-connected disability rating of seventy percent or more but less than one hundred percent by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs shall be eligible for this exemption if the surviving spouse occupies and remains the owner of the property, whether or not the exemption was in effect on the property prior to the death of the veteran. If property eligible for the exemption provided for in this Subsubparagraph has an assessed value in excess of twelve thousand dollars, ad valorem property taxes shall apply to the assessment in excess of twelve thousand dollars.
(c) In addition to the homestead exemption authorized pursuant to the provisions of Section 20 of this Article, which applies to the first seven thousand five hundred dollars of the assessed valuation of property, the remaining assessed valuation of property receiving the homestead exemption that is owned and occupied by a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of one hundred percent unemployability or totally disabled by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation. The surviving spouse of a deceased veteran with a service-connected disability rating of one hundred percent unemployability or totally disabled by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs shall be eligible for this exemption if the surviving spouse occupies and remains the owner of the property, whether or not the exemption was in effect on the property prior to the death of the veteran.
(3) A trust shall be eligible for the exemption provided for in this Paragraph as provided by law.
(2) Ad valorem taxes shall apply to the assessed valuation of the first ten million dollars or ten percent of fair market value, whichever is greater, and this amount of property shall not be exempt under this Paragraph.
(3) A targeted non-manufacturing business means at least fifty percent of such business' total annual sales from a site or sites in the state is to out-of-state customers or buyers, or to in-state customers or buyers but the product or service is resold by the purchaser to an out-of-state customer or buyer for ultimate use, or to the federal government, or any combination thereof. The legislature may provide by law for the inclusion of sales by affiliates when appropriate in making this fifty percent determination.
(4) A contract for the exemption shall be available only in parishes which have agreed to participate, in the manner provided by the legislature by law.
(ii) A state police officer who died while on duty.
(iii) A law enforcement or fire protection officer who qualified for the salary supplement authorized in Section 10(D)(3) of this Article who died while on duty.
(ii) A volunteer firefighter, verified by the Office of the State Fire Marshal to have died while performing firefighting duties.
(iii) A law enforcement or fire protection officer who died while on duty and who would have qualified for the salary supplement authorized in Section 10(D)(3) of this Article if he had completed the first year of his employment before his death.
(ii) The surviving spouse has not remarried.
(iii) The surviving spouse annually provides evidence of their eligibility for the exemption in accordance with the requirements of Subparagraph (2) of this Paragraph.
(b) For purposes of the continuation of an existing exemption, the surviving spouse shall annually provide a sworn statement to the assessor attesting to the fact that the surviving spouse has not remarried.
(4) A trust shall be eligible for the exemption provided for in this Paragraph as provided by law.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (1) of this Paragraph, this exemption shall not apply to any of the following:
(b) For projects constructed in two or more distinct phases, any phase of the construction project that is complete, available for its intended use, or operational on the date the property is assessed.
(c) Any public service property, unless the public service property is otherwise eligible for an exemption provided by any other provision of this constitution.
(2) For the purposes of this Paragraph, "first responder" shall mean a volunteer firefighter who has completed within the tax year no fewer than twenty-four hours of firefighter continuing education and is an active member of the Louisiana State Firemen's Association or is on the departmental personnel roster of the Volunteer Firefighter Insurance Program of the office of state fire marshal. For the purposes of this Paragraph, "first responder" shall also mean a full-time public employee whose duties include responding rapidly to an emergency and who resides in the same parish in which their employer is located. The term includes the following:
(b) Fire protection personnel.
(c) An individual certified as emergency medical services personnel.
(d) An emergency response operator or emergency services dispatcher who provides communication support services for an agency by responding to requests for assistance in emergencies.
(4) Each tax assessor shall establish a procedure whereby a person may annually apply for the exemption which shall include the production of documents by the first responder. In the application for the exemption, the first responder shall produce documentation issued by his employer evidencing employment for the taxable period for which the exemption is being requested.
(5) Notwithstanding any provision of this Constitution to the contrary, any decrease in the total amount of ad valorem tax collected by the taxing authority as a result of an ad valorem tax exemption granted pursuant to this Paragraph shall be absorbed by the taxing authority and shall not create any additional tax liability for other taxpayers in the taxing district as a result of any subsequent reappraisal and valuation or millage adjustment. Implementation of the exemption authorized in this Paragraph shall neither trigger nor be cause for a reappraisal of property or an adjustment of millages.
Art. VII §22 | NO IMPAIRMENT OF EXISTING TAXES OR OBLIGATIONS
Art. VII §23 | ADJUSTMENT OF AD VALOREM TAX MILLAGES
(B) Subsequent Adjustments. Except as otherwise permitted in this Section, the total amount of ad valorem taxes collected by any taxing authority in the year in which the reappraisal and valuation provisions of Section 18, Paragraph (F) of this Article are implemented shall not be increased or decreased because of a reappraisal or valuation or increases or decreases in the homestead exemption above or below the total amount of ad valorem taxes collected by that taxing authority in the year preceding implementation of the reappraisal and valuation. To accomplish this result, the provisions of millage adjustments relative to implementation of Section 18 and Section 20 of this Article, as set forth in Paragraph (A) of this Section shall be mandatory. Thereafter, following implementation of each subsequent reappraisal and valuation required by Paragraph (F) of Section 18 of this Article, the millages as fixed in each such implementation shall remain in effect unless changed as permitted by Paragraph (C) of this Section.
(C) Increases Permitted. Nothing herein shall prohibit a taxing authority from collecting, in the year in which Sections 18 and 20 of this Article are implemented or in any subsequent year, a larger dollar amount of ad valorem taxes by (1) levying additional or increased millages as provided by law or (2) placing additional property on the tax rolls. Increases in the millage rate in excess of the rates established as provided by Paragraph (B) above but not in excess of the prior year's maximum authorized millage rate may be levied by two-thirds vote of the total membership of a taxing authority without further voter approval but only after a public hearing held in accordance with the open meetings law; however, in addition to any other requirements of the open meetings law, public notice of the time, place, and subject matter of such hearing shall be published on two separate days no less than thirty days before the public hearing. Such public notice shall be published in the official journal of the taxing authority, and another newspaper with a larger circulation within the taxing authority than the official journal of the taxing authority, if there is one.
(D) Application. This Section shall not apply to millages required to be levied for the payment of general obligation bonds.
Art. VII §24 | TAX ASSESSORS
(B) Orleans Parish. The assessor shall be elected at the same time as the municipal officers of New Orleans.
(C) Vacancy. When a vacancy occurs in the office of tax assessor, the duties of the office, until filled by election as provided by law, shall be assumed by the chief deputy assessor.
Art. VII §25 | TAX ADMINISTRATION
(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.
(2) In the city of New Orleans, when such property sold is residential or commercial property which is abandoned property as defined by R.S. 33:4720.12(1) or blighted property as defined by Act 155 of the 1984 Regular Session, it shall be redeemable for eighteen months after the date of recordation of the tax sale by payment in accordance with Subparagraph (1) of this Paragraph.
(3) In any parish other than Orleans, when such property sold is vacant residential or commercial property which has been declared blighted, as defined by R.S. 33:1374(B)(1) on January 1, 2013, or abandoned, as defined by R.S. 33:4720.59(D)(2) on January 1, 2013, it shall be redeemable for eighteen months after the date of recordation of the tax sale by payment in accordance with Subparagraph (1) of this Paragraph.
(D) Quieting Tax Title. The manner of notice and form of proceeding to quiet tax titles shall be provided by law.
(E) 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, the tax collector may levy on incorporeal rights, by notifying the debtor thereof, or the tax collector 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) Postponement of Taxes. The legislature may postpone the payment of taxes, but only in cases of 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. 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.
Notes
§25. Tax Administration
Section 25.
(A) Immovables.(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) If the tax collector can find no corporeal movables of the delinquent to seize, the tax collector may levy on incorporeal rights, by notifying the debtor thereof, or the tax collector may proceed by summary rule in the courts to compel the delinquent to deliver for sale property in his possession or under his control.
Art. VII §26 | REVENUE SHARING FUND
(B) Annual Allocation. The sum of ninety million dollars is allocated annually from the state general fund to the revenue sharing fund. The legislature may appropriate additional sums to the fund.
(C) Distribution Formula. The revenue sharing fund shall be distributed annually as provided by law solely on the basis of population and number of homesteads in each parish in proportion to population and the number of homesteads throughout the state. Unless otherwise provided by law, population statistics of the last federal decennial census shall be utilized for this purpose. After deductions in each parish for retirement systems and commissions as authorized by law, the remaining funds, to the extent available, shall be distributed by first priority to the tax recipient bodies within the parish, as defined by law, to offset current losses because of homestead exemptions granted in this Article. Any balance remaining in a parish distribution shall be allocated to the municipalities and tax recipient bodies within each parish as provided by law.
(D) Distributing Officer. The funds distributed to each parish as provided in Paragraph (C) shall be distributed in Orleans Parish by the city treasurer of New Orleans and in all other parishes by the parish tax collector. The funds allocated to the Monroe City School Board or its successor shall be distributed to and by the city treasurer of Monroe.
(E) Bonded Debt. A political subdivision, as defined by Article VI of this constitution, may incur debt by issuing negotiable bonds and may pledge for the payment of all or part of the principal and interest of such bonds the proceeds derived or to be derived from that portion of the funds received by it from the revenue sharing fund, to offset current losses caused by homestead exemptions granted by this Article. Unless otherwise provided by law, no moneys allocated within any parish from the balance remaining in its distribution may be pledged to the payment of the principal or interest of any bonds. Bonds issued under this Paragraph shall be issued and sold as provided by law, and shall require approval of the State Bond Commission or its successor prior to issuance and sale.
Art. VII §27 | TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND
(B)
(2) There is hereby established in the Transportation Trust Fund a special subfund to be known as the "Construction Subfund", hereinafter referred to as "the subfund", in which shall be deposited the avails of any new taxes that become effective and are levied on gasoline, motor fuels, or special fuels on or after July 1, 2017. The monies in the subfund shall be appropriated and dedicated solely for the direct costs associated with actual project delivery, construction, and maintenance of transportation and capital transit infrastructure projects of the state and local government. The monies in the subfund that are appropriated by the legislature to the Department of Transportation and Development, or its successor, shall not be utilized by the department for the payment of employee wages and related benefits or employee retirement benefits.
(D) The State Bond Commission or its successor may also issue and sell bonds, notes, or other obligations secured by a pledge of the excess revenues deposited in the trust fund, which shall otherwise be issued in the manner and for the purposes provided for in this Section, and if so pledged any portion thereof needed to pay principal, interest, or premium, if any, and other obligations incident to the issuance, security, and payment in respect thereof may be expended by the treasurer without the need for legislative appropriation.
(E) Bonds, notes, or other obligations issued pursuant to the provisions of Paragraphs (C) or (D) above may be issued in the manner provided by resolution of the State Bond Commission or its successor under the authority of said Paragraphs without compliance with any other requirement of this constitution or law. To that end, said Paragraphs (C) and (D) hereof shall be deemed self-operative.
Art. VII §28 | LOUISIANA UNCLAIMED PROPERTY PERMANENT TRUST FUND
(2) The purpose of the UCP Permanent Trust Fund is to ensure a source of payment for claims made by owners of unclaimed property. After allocation of money to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of this Constitution, after the payment of all administrative fees, costs, and expenses as provided by law, and after the deposit of monies into the Unclaimed Property Leverage Fund, the treasurer shall annually deposit in and credit to the UCP Permanent Trust Fund the net amount of all monies received as a result of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act of 1997 or its successor.
(3) Realized capital gains, dividend income, and interest income, earned on the investments in the UCP Permanent Trust Fund, net of trust fund investment and administrative expenses, shall be deposited into the state general fund.
(4) All monies shall be credited to the fund as provided in Subparagraph (2) of this Paragraph until the balance in the UCP Permanent Trust Fund equals the amount of the state's potential liability to unclaimed property claimants as reported in the previous fiscal year pursuant to Paragraph (C) of this Section. All money received above the state's potential liability to unclaimed property claimants as reported by the state treasurer shall be deposited into the state general fund.
(C) Reports; Allocation.
(b) The state's potential liability to unclaimed property claimants as of the close of the prior fiscal year.
(b) The state's potential liability to unclaimed property claimants as of the close of the prior fiscal year.
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