Call a convention
State’s heavily amended constitution needs rewriting
Jason Doré, Columnist
Louisiana’s government is known for doing things differently. For example, we are the only state that operates under the Napoleonic code of law. The latest election cycle brought our unique election system into the national light. We also have had a well-known history with our constitutions. We have adopted more than any other state and probably amend the document at a higher rate also. Some of our differences give Louisiana a unique flavor and add to our way of life, but others detract from and undermine efforts to better our citizens.
Louisiana’s Constitution was written nearly 30 years ago during the 1973 Constitutional Convention. It improved significantly on the constitution from 1921. It contained 536 amendments and was 255,000 words long, making it the second longest in the world. At its inception, our current constitution contained only 35,000 words, but since 1978 the state has added 111 amendments to it with no foreseeable end to the additions.
Louisiana must streamline the constitutional amendment process. Voters are asked to consider all sorts of complicated, lengthy propositions on the ballot almost every election. The legislature has sent 157 proposed amendments to the ballot box since 1978. These proposed amendments do little to encourage voter participation but often discourage and confuse voters. The Legislature often has used this process to push detailed, specific amendments tailored to a special interest. Why should the whole state vote on the qualifications for the Livingston Parish coroner? Legislators also cast their votes in favor of amendments saying they want to let the voters decide. Isn’t their job as lawmakers meant to be one where they represent us and vote on our behalf?
A government’s constitution is meant to be the supreme, basic law that is not tampered with, except in extraordinary circumstances. Legislators have viewed our constitution as little more than statutes that can be changed on a whim but with a longer process. For instance, the state constitution forbids legalized gambling, but the Legislature just renamed it “gaming” to allow it. The courts refuse to enforce the meaning of the constitution and instead read it as a statute that can have loopholes by changing a word here and placing another word there.
The Constitution is effective at one thing. It ties the hands of the lawmakers during the budget process by protecting many departments from cuts, leaving higher education and health care to face the budget ax rather than taking a serious look at wasteful spending in all departments. An amendment which opened 5 percent of these protected areas up for cuts passed in the Nov. 5 election, but 5 percent is just a starting point. True reform needs to occur, and it won’t as long as huge portions of the budget are dedicated. It also mandates a tax structure that discourages economic growth.
It is time to hold a new constitutional convention and take a serious look at the current document. Although Louisiana already leads the nation in the number of constitutions, adopting 11 during its lifetime, we must write a new one.
A new constitutional convention should produce Louisiana’s last one. It must be a constitution that allows the state to grow and function, but it also must be seen as the supreme law. Eliminating state-elected offices that breed corruption should be a priority. It should also contain a more complicated, difficult process for adding amendments. Let’s have a true constitution governing our state that may remain essentially untouched throughout time, rather than a copulation of glorified statutes that we change every time the winds of politics blow.