Laws governing local ballot measures in Louisiana

Laws Governing Local Ballot Measures

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Terms

Initiative • Home rule • General law city • Charter city • Petition • Initiative petition circulation periods • Circulator • Paid circulator • Volunteer circulator • Circulator affidavit • Signer • Valid signature • Forged signature • Fraudulent signature • Invalid signature • Electronic petition signature • Legislative alteration • Registered voter

Louisiana Constitution
Preamble
Articles
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Some Louisiana local governments have an initiative process for local ballot measures. This article sets out the laws governing local ballot measures in Louisiana. It explains:

• Which local units of government make the initiative process available to residents.
• How and whether local units of government, including school districts, can refer local ballot measures (such as school bond propositions) to the ballot.
• An overview of laws governing local recall elections.

Types of local government

According to a 2022 study from the U.S. Census Bureau, this state's local governments consist of 60 counties, 304 cities, towns, and villages, and 101 special districts.

Four parishes—Orleans, Terrebonne, East Baton Rouge, and Lafayette—operate as a consolidated government with municipalities.

School districts

See also: School bond and tax elections in Louisiana

Louisiana requires ballot propositions for elections that involve bond issues, special school taxes, and retailing consumption taxes to fund education. All of Louisiana's requirements for ballot propositions involving bond issues, special school, and retailing consumption taxes are protected in the Louisiana Constitution. Louisiana is very restrictive on when school districts can place ballot propositions and the allowable dates depend on the year of the election.

Local recall

The citizens of Louisiana are granted the authority to perform a recall election by the Section 26 of Article 10 of the Louisiana Constitution.

Louisiana is one of nine states with provisions that say that the right of recall extends to recalling members of its federal congressional delegation, but it hasn't been clear whether federal courts would allow states to actually recall their federal politicians.

For additional detail see: Laws governing recall in Louisiana

Initiative process availability

• The power and process of petitioning for the amendment of charters is mandated by state law for all 23 home-rule counties and all 31 home-rule cities, towns, and villages.
• Approximately 15 of the chartered counties had explicit provisions for initiative and referendum for ordinances in their charters.
• Approximately 15 of the chartered cities, towns, and villages had explicit provisions for initiative and referendum for ordinances in their charters.

Ballot Law Portal

Laws Governing Ballot Measures

Authority

Constitution

Charter Amendment Authority   Article VI, Part I, section 5 of the Louisiana Constitution: “ §5. Home Rule Charter Section 5.(A) Authority to Adopt; Commission. Subject to and not inconsistent with this constitution, any local governmental subdivision may draft, adopt, or amend a home rule charter in accordance with this Section. The governing authority of a local governmental subdivision may appoint a commission to prepare and propose a charter or an alternate charter, or it may call an election to elect such a commission. (B) Petition to Elect Commission. The governing authority shall call an election to elect such a commission when presented with a petition signed by not less than ten percent of the electors or ten thousand electors, whichever is fewer, who live within the boundaries of the affected subdivision, as certified by the registrar of voters. (C) Adoption; Amendment; Repeal. A home rule charter shall be adopted, amended, or repealed when approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon at an election held for that purpose. ”

There is no mention of Initiative and Referendum powers for ordinances in the State Constitution, but some local governments reserve that power in their charters.

Statutes

Charter Amendment Authority   RS 33:102 of State Statutes: “ Every parish and every municipality may make, adopt, amend, extend, add to, or carry out official plans as provided in this Subpart, and may create by ordinance a planning commission with the powers and duties as provided by this Subpart, and may appropriate funds for the commission. ”

There is no mention of Initiative and Referendum powers for ordinances in the State Statutes, but home rule charters of some local governments do reserve that power.

Initiative process features

A guide to local ballot initiatives

Counties: There are 64 parishes in Louisiana. 41 of them are general law parishes and 23 have home rule charters.

Municipalities. There are 303 municipalities in Louisiana. 272 of them are general law cities, towns or villages. 31 have home rule charters.

Charter Amendment Process   The process for amendment of charters is mandated by Article VI, Part 1, section 5 of the Louisiana Constitution for all home rule charter counties, cities, towns, and villages. This process is put together with the process of drafting and adopting a home rule charter. All local governments can draft, adopt, or amend a home rule charter by the governing body appointing, or by the electors petitioning, for a commission to prepare such a draft or amendment. The charter or charter amendment are adopted upon the majority approval at an election held for that purpose. Signature requirements The minimum signature requirement for a binding petition of a charter commission is the fewer of 10% or 10,000 of the electors. Louisiana Constitution, Article VI, Part 1, section 5 Process for submission and approval The rules for the "Petition Sheets and Signatures" are found in Louisiana State Statutes. These rules include the following: The Petition is submitted to the Registrar of Voters. The Petition must include the date of the signature, the signer's ward/district/precinct and date of birth, the address of the signer, the name of the signer, and the name of the witness of the signing.

Initiative and Referendum for Ordinance

• Counties: Of the 23 counties that have home rule charters 6 counties were sampled and 4 of the 6 had initiative and referendum for ordinances explicitly in their charters. All of those had restrictions about taxes, appropriation of money and salaries of officials. The number of signatures required for a petition was generally 10%.

• Municipalities: Of the 31 charter municipalities, 10 were sampled and 5 out of the 10 had initiative and referendum powers for ordinances explicitly in their charters. 4 of these 5 had restrictions on the use of initiative and referendum for taxes, appropriating money, and salaries of elected officials. The number of signatures required for the petition was generally 10%.

Local I&R Laws in the 50 States

Source: Local Ballot Initiatives: How citizens change laws with clipboards, conversations, and campaigns

Initiative process in the top 10 most populated cities

Below are the individual city processes for initiative and referendum.

Individual city provisions   New Orleans Population as of the July, 2011 census update: 360,740 Consolidated City-Parish with Charter No ordinance initiative or referendum process was found in the New Orleans City charter or code. Charter amendments may be initiated by petition signed by 10% of registered voters or 10,000, whichever is fewer (New Orleans Charter, Sec. 9-201 to 203). New Orleans Charter Baton Rouge Population as of the July, 2011 census update: 230,139 Consolidated City-Parish with Charter No ordinance initiative or referendum process was found in the Baton Rouge City charter or code. Charter amendments may be initiated by petition signed by 10% of the number of votes cast for Sheriff at the last preceding election of Parish officers (Baton Rouge Charter, Sec. 11.09). Baton Rouge Charter Shreveport Population as of the July, 2011 census update: 200,975 Charter city Petitions for ordinance initiative and referendum require signatures from 10% of the qualified electors and the circulator has the time restraint of 180 days to gather signatures. Notice of intent must be given to the clerk of the council before circulation can commence. Once a petition is successful, the council has 30 days to pass the ordinance. If they do not, they have between 30 and 40 days after that to schedule a special election. Once adopted, the ordinance can never be repealed or amended without a vote of the people. (Section 6.01 of City Charter) Shreveport Charter Lafayette Population as of the July, 2011 census update: 122,130 Consolidated City-Parish with Charter Lafayette has an initiative and referendum process, but initiative and referendum for ordinance cannot be used for appropriations, changing of public employee salaries, or to repeal or reduce any taxes levied for retirement of bonds or any other outstanding indebtedness. A successful petition requires the signatures of 15% of the registered voters of the City-Parish Government. The full text of the proposed ordinance must be submitted to the council before circulation. The council will issue the appropriate petition form. Completed petitions must be filed with the council within 60 days of issuance. The council has 30 days to determine the sufficiency of the signatures. If the petition is returned because it is insufficient, 30 days is allowed for the supplementation of the petition. If the petition is sufficient and valid the council has 30 days to hold a public hearing, after which it may pass the ordinance on its own or submit to a regular or special election within 90 days. An ordinance that is the product of a petition cannot be changed or revoked or in other ways tampered with by the council for at least one year. (Section 6.01 of City Charter) Lafayette Charter Lake Charles Population as of the July, 2011 census update: 72,475 Charter city No initiative or referendum process was found in the Lake Charles City charter or code. Kenner Population as of the July, 2011 census update: 66,715 Charter city No ordinance initiative or referendum process was found in the Kenner City charter or code. Initiative is available for charter amendments under state law as detailed above. Bossier Population as of the July, 2011 census update: 62,745 Charter city In Bossier City, a successful petition for ordinance initiative and referendum requires signatures equaling 33% of the voters in the last contested mayoral election. Once a petition is certified, the Council has 30 days to pass the ordinance or 90 days to schedule a special election. Once adopted, an ordinance resulting from a petition can never be repealed or amended without a vote of the people. (Section 5.01 of City Charter) Bossier Charter Monroe Population as of the July, 2011 census update: 49,183 Charter city Monroe has initiative and referendum powers to enact ordinances in its charter. The petition cannot concern appropriations, salaries or the reduction or repeal of taxes. Signatures from 25% of the registered voters are required for a valid petition. The full text of the proposed ordinance must be submitted to the council before circulation. The council will issue the appropriate petition form. Completed petitions must be filed with the council within 60 days of issuance. The council has 30 days to determine the sufficiency of the signatures. If the petition is returned because it is insufficient, 30 days is allowed for the supplementation of the petition. If the petition is valid and sufficient, the Council has 30 days to hold a public hearing, after which it may pass the ordinance on its own or put the ordinance on the ballot at the next regular or previously scheduled election. (Section 6.01 of City Charter) Monroe Charter Alexandria Population as of the July, 2011 census update: 48,164 Charter city Alexandria has initiative and referendum powers to enact ordinances in its charter. The petition cannot concern appropriations, salary-fixing, or reducing or repealing taxes. The signature requirement for a valid petition is 10% of the registered voters. The full text of the proposed ordinance must be submitted to the council before circulation. The council will issue the appropriate petition form. Completed petitions must be filed with the council within 60 days of issuance. The council has 30 days to determine the sufficiency of the signatures. If the petition is returned because it is insufficient, 30 days is allowed for the supplementation of the petition. If the petition is sufficient and valid the council has 30 days to hold a public hearing, after which it may pass the ordinance on its own or submit to a regular or special election within 90 days. The council cannot tamper with an ordinance resulting from a petition for at least one year. (Section 6.01 of City Charter) Alexandria Charter Houma Population as of the July, 2011 census update: 33,745 Consolidated City-Parish with Charter Houma's city government powers have been absorbed by Terrebonne Parish. It operates under the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government charter, which authorizes initiative for ordinances. The petition cannot concern appropriations, salary-fixing, or reducing or repealing taxes. The signature requirement for a valid petition is 15% of the total registered voters of the parish. The full text of the proposed ordinance must be submitted to the council before circulation. The council will issue the appropriate petition form. Completed petitions must be filed with the council within 90 days of issuance. The council has 30 days to determine the sufficiency of the signatures. If the petition is returned because it is insufficient, 30 days is allowed for the supplementation of the petition. If the petition is sufficient and valid the council has 30 days to hold a public hearing, after which it may pass the ordinance on its own or submit to an election within 90 days (Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Govt. Charter, Sec. 6.01) Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Govt. Charter

External links

• Louisiana Initiative and Referendum Laws Research Document
• Louisiana State Statutes
• Local Government Types and Numbers Research Spreadsheet