Latest news with #LouisianaConstitution
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
State employees' civil service protections in doubt as constitutional amendment advances
Louisiana lawmakers may life restrictions on gifts for elected officials and government employees. (Photo by Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator) A proposed constitutional amendment to dismantle a 73-year-old civil service system created to stop politically-influenced job placements in Louisiana government was narrowly approved Monday in the state House of Representatives. Senate Bill 8, sponsored by Sen. Jay Morris. R-West Monroe, cleared the chamber in a 70-28 vote, reaching the very minimum two-thirds support required to put constitutional amendments on the statewide ballot. The measure will return to the Senate for a final vote on some House amendments and. If approved, it will go before voters in the Nov. 3, 2026, election. Confusion over the bill that many hoped would be cleared up only deepened Monday, specifically on whether the proposal would apply only to future state employee hires or if it could be used to remove existing state employees. Morris' bill would change the Louisiana Constitution to give state lawmakers power that currently rests with the Civil Service Commission, a seven-member independent review panel that oversees the hiring, promotion and firing of 28,000 'classified' state workers. The commission, working with state agencies on staffing goals, has the power to create and eliminate job positions and decide which jobs should have a protected classified status and which should not. Classified employees enjoy some degree of protection against politically-motivated or otherwise unfair terminations and disciplinary practices because they have the right to appeal such decisions to the Civil Service Commission, which has the final say on staffing matters for most state agencies. In a previous interview and during committee hearings on the bill, Morris said his bill would allow the legislature to designate classified state employees as unclassified, meaning they could be fired at will. But several changes to the legislation's text and its proposed ballot language have raised questions about whether current state employees will be at risk of losing their jobs. Presenting the bill on the House floor Monday, Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, repeatedly assured his colleagues the proposal would apply only to future hires. He based his assurances on the argument that the amendment allows only for job positions to become unclassified, not employees. If the Legislature were to unclassify a job position, any state employees currently holding those positions would not be affected, he said. Beaullieu's argument didn't land with several lawmakers opposed to the measure. Rep. Matt Willard, D-New Orleans, reading from the text of the proposal, asked why the ballot language specifically indicates the amendment applies to 'officers, positions and employees' – a phrase that appears twice in the bill. Caught off-guard by Willard's question, Beaullieu couldn't explain the discrepancy, referring questions to Morris, the bill's author. In a later interview, Morris would not offer any assurances as to whether existing classified employees would get to keep their protections. 'Obviously, only employees can be unclassified,' Morris said. 'Positions are employees. You can't unclassify them if somebody's not working.' Morris also refused to say if his intention is for the amendment to apply only to future hires. 'It's not gonna apply to anybody unless we pass a law,' he said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Louisiana DA seeks death penalty for Breaux in mid-2026 trial
ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) — St. Landry Parish District Attorney seeks death penalty after Davieontray Breaux was indicted again for first degree murder and other charges earlier today. Davieontray Breaux indicted again for two counts of first degree murder and also charged with three counts of attempted first degree murder, Chad Pitre, St. Landry District Attorney, said. In June 2022, a St. Landry Grand Jury indicted Breaux along with Felton Martin James and Holly Roberts with two counts of first-degree murder for the shooting of a four year old girl and Alton Thomas of Opelousas. In additional, these three individuals are charged with three counts of attempted first degree murder of three other juveniles involved in the shooting, Pitre said. Earlier in May, attorneys appealed to the Louisiana supreme court and argued that it would be improper for Mr. Breaux to have to defend against the death penalty charges and the attempted first-degree murders in the same trial. On May 9, the Louisiana Supreme Court agreed with the capital defense attorneys and revoked the state's indictment against due to the Louisiana Constitution does not allow a district attorney to join capital offenses with noncapital offenses in a single indictment and be trialed together, Pitre said. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'The case is now in the posture required by the (Louisiana) Supreme Court. With the new indictment, we intend to proceed as planned and seek the death penalty for with trial beginning in this matter mid-2026.' Pitre said. Republicans express concern over debt ceiling increase 5 easy ways to avoid consuming microplastics Russia launches air strikes against Ukraine Crowley man killed in Thursday truck crash in Acadia Parish Lawmakers push forward with budget bill Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Why did Louisiana voters reject all four constitutional amendments? Pollster shares observations
Voters in Louisiana rejected all four proposed amendments to the Louisiana Constitution in Saturday's elections. The four amendments dealing with specialty courts, tax rates and juvenile prosecution were defeated by a significant margin, with nearly identical percentage votes. Louisiana pollster John Couvillon identified three main reasons for the amendments' defeat on Saturday. More: Louisiana election results: Four proposed constitutional amendments rejected Couvillon noted a significant increase in Democratic turnout during this election cycle, particularly among Black voters, who outnumbered white voters. In Orleans Parish, the amendment election attracted 10,000 more voters than the 2023 gubernatorial election. "From a percentage standpoint, Election Day turnout from Black voters was 17 percent, while it was 14 percent amongst white voters," Couvillon said. "As an example of Democratic turnout being elevated, Orleans Parish's turnout was 10 percent higher than the rest of the state, in other words, 31 versus 21 percent. I calculate that Black voters, or shall I say voters in overwhelmingly Black precincts, voted 92-to-8 against Amendment 2, while white voters voted 53-to-47 against Amendment 2." Couvillon pointed out that Republicans were divided over the taxation of churches. Couvillon said several Evangelical types opposed Amendment 2 based on this issue, with Republican Representative Danny McCormick of Oil City also opposing the amendment. Couvillon noted that he does not recall seeing any advertisements for the amendment until the week of early voting, which he believes is short notice. He likened an amendment campaign to a political campaign. "With it being defeated by such a wide margin ‒ and with nearly identical percentage votes all four amendments − you kind of have to conclude that given the confusion that voters had about Amendment 2, they then took that confusion out on the other three amendments," he said. This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Why did all four Louisiana constitutional amendments fail to pass?
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Landry blames Soros, 'far-left liberals' for voters rejecting March 29 ballot amendments
On March 29, four proposed constitutional amendments were on Louisiana ballots for residents to vote upon. These amendments, relating to crime, courts and finances, were highly supported by Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry. However, by a 60% margin, Louisiana voters rejected each amendment, according to preliminary results released by the Louisiana Secretary of State after voting ended. After the four amendments that Governor Landry advocated for failed to pass, he released a statement via the newsroom from the Office of the Governor expressing his contempt for the March 29 election results. "Unfortunately, Soros and far left liberals poured millions into Louisiana with propaganda and outright lies about Amendment 2,' said Landry in the statement released after the March 29 election results. In his statement, Landry goes on to say that positive change within the state is still the end-goal, despite the fact that such changes may be difficult. 'Although we are disappointed in tonight's results, we do not see this as a failure. We realize how hard positive change can be to implement in a State that is conditioned for failure," reads Landry's statement. To finish his statement, Landry says he will continue to work towards a better future for Louisiana. We will continue working to give our citizens more opportunities to keep more of their hard-earned money and provide a better future for Louisianians. This is not the end for us, and we will continue to fight to make the generational changes for Louisiana to succeed," concludes Landry's statement. Constitutional amendment 1 outlines disciplinary actions for out-of-state attorneys, and creation of courts of specialized jurisdiction. If this amendment had passed, the Louisiana Supreme Court would be allowed to discipline out-of-state attorneys, as well as authorize the legislature to create specialty courts at a regional or state level, according to Council for a Better Louisiana. Constitutional amendment 2 proposes an entire rewrite of Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution, which lays forth state and local tax, as well as fiscal, policy. This amendment, if it had passed, would have primarily focused on five changes to Article VII of the state constitution. Such changes include creating new constitutional protections, limitations or requirements regarding taxes, expenditures and revenues. As well as removing certain items from the constitution and placing them instead in statute, according to Council for a Better Louisiana. Additionally, significant changes would have been made to existing trust finds or "savings accounts" in the constitution. Also, a one-time cash incentive would have been created for local governments to eliminate, or phase out, the local business inventory tax. Lastly, the amendment would have required a substantial payment to the Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL) in the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana in an effort to make a year-to-year stipend permanent, says Council for a Better Louisiana. Constitutional amendment 3 is regarding the legislative authority to determine the crimes for which juveniles can be tried as adults. If the amendment had passed, legislature would be allowed to decide by statute the crimes for which a juvenile can be tried as an adult on behalf of the limited list of crimes that are enumerated within the state constitution, says Council for a Better Louisiana. Constitutional amendment 4 is a proposal for election dates for filling judicial vacancies. This amendment would have required that, when there is a judicial vacancy or a new judgeship is created, the position be filled by calling a special election at the earliest election date available, according to Council for a Better Louisiana. Presley Bo Tyler is a reporter for the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team for Gannett/USA Today. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at PTyler@ This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: What was Gov. Jeff Landry's response to amendment rejection? What he said
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Louisiana election results: Four proposed constitutional amendments rejected
This story has been updated. Statewide voters rejected four proposed amendments to the Louisiana Constitution following Saturday's elections. Here are the election results. Yes: 220,262 votes, 36% No: 399,694 votes, 64% Yes: 222,882 votes, 36% No: 397,818 votes, 64% Yes: 211,155 votes, 35% No: 407,067 votes, 66% Yes: 228,361 votes, 37% No: 389,301 votes, 63% This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Four proposed amendments in Louisiana fail to pass.
