[StBernard] Levee board issue will be No. 3 on ballot

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Fri Aug 4 20:31:40 EDT 2006


Levee board issue will be No. 3 on ballot
Voters to decide on 13 constitutional changes
Friday, August 04, 2006
By Ed Anderson
Capital bureau

BATON ROUGE -- A controversial proposal changing the state Constitution to
merge levee boards in southeast Louisiana will be No. 3 in a 13-item list of
constitutional amendments voters will pass or kill in the Sept. 30 election,
officials said Thursday.

Secretary of State Al Ater said he and his staff grouped the four proposals
that deal with hurricane and coastal protection at the top of the
constitutional amendment portion of the ballot, including the levee board
merger promoted by Sen. Walter Boasso, R-Chalmette, during the February
special session and passed with the support of Gov. Kathleen Blanco.

Ater said he and his staff have not yet discussed the order of eight more
constitutional amendments on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Boasso said he is not concerned his proposal is not No. 1, a position that
went to a Blanco-backed measure sponsored by Sen. Reggie Dupre, D-Montegut,
to change the name of the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Fund to the
Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund, to make it apply to hurricane and
flood protection as well as coastal restoration. It also allows federal and
state money in the fund to be set aside for coastal restoration and
hurricane protection.

Ater said Dupre, the governor's office and others had a hand in recommending
or requesting the order of the constitutional changes but there was no
arm-twisting. He said his staff listened to those requests but aligned the
measures on the ballot based on their statewide impact and current
relevancy, such as hurricane recovery and protection.

The second proposal is one by Sen. Jay Dardenne, R-Baton Rouge, that would
dedicate 20 percent of the sale of future tobacco settlement money to
finance coastal wetlands and restoration activities. The Legislature Fiscal
Office said that dedication could range between $8 million and $48 million.

The fourth item in the package is another measure by Dupre to set a method
of determining values for property taken for hurricane protection projects.

Boasso said he is satisfied the levee board consolidation is "in the top
three." He said there will be a media campaign to promote it and he will
launch a statewide speaking tour to tout its passage.

Barry Erwin, president of the Council for Better Louisiana, a governmental
watchdog group, said the problem is not so much with the amendments'
position on the ballot but the fairly arcane way they will be explained to
voters. "It's not so much the order as it is the language," he said.

He said some groups "would like to have seen the levee board consolidation
at No. 1, but at No. 3 it is near the top. . . . It will do just fine."

A proposal by Sen. Joe McPherson, D-Woodworth, that would restrict
expropriation of property by the state and public bodies for nonpublic
purposes is listed fifth; and a procedure setting out the expropriation
process, sponsored by Rep. Rick Farrar, D-Pineville, is sixth.

The 13 proposed amendments are listed toward the end of the ballot before
local propositions, such as bond issues, but after statewide, regional and
local candidate elections.

A brief description of the other proposed constitutional changes include:

-- No. 7, authorizing the state to invest up to 35 percent of the Medicaid
Trust Fund for the Elderly in equities, or roughly $5 million to $7 million
a year.

-- No. 8, continuing the homestead exemption for property damaged or
destroyed by a natural disaster.

-- No. 9, preventing the Legislature from enacting mandates on school boards
without approving a revenue source unless approved by two-thirds of
lawmakers.

-- No. 10, allowing up to 35 percent of the state-financed portion of higher
education endowments to be invested in stock.

-- No. 11, extending the homestead exemption to property owned by a
revocable trust.

-- No. 12, allowing a first assistant to any statewide-elected official to
fill the vacancy in the office for up to a year, but requires the governor
to call an election to fill the vacancy if it is for more than a year. It
still allows the governor, with the Legislature's approval, to name a
lieutenant governor for up to a year if there is a vacancy but mandates an
election to fill the vacancy if it is for more than a year.

-- No. 13, increasing from five to eight the number of years lawyer must
have practiced law to run for a district, family, juvenile or parish court,
and at least 10 years' experience to run for a circuit court of appeal or
the state Supreme Court.

. . . . . . .

Ed Anderson can be reached at eanderson at timespicayune.com or (225) 342-5810.





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