While voters in LaSalle Parish may be focused on local elections for October 14, there are four Louisiana Constitutional Amendments on the ballot where voters will vote “yes” or “no” to determine whether or not they will be included in our state constitution.

For many years, former publisher/editor Sammy Franklin provided his guidance to LaSalle Parish voters to provide recommendations regarding any constitutional amendments that have appeared on the ballot. It is in this same spirit sincerity that we continue this tradition and offer our opinion and recommendations for these important issues.

Please remember that we encourage everyone to perform due diligence in researching the amendments individually and please perform your civic duty in exercising your right to vote.

After researching the amendments, the Times-Signal offers this guide and explanation to help voters make their decision.

Proposed Amendment No. 1

The proposition reads: “Do you support an amendment to prohibit the use of funds, goods, or services from a foreign government or a nongovernmental source to conduct elections and election functions and duties unless the use is authorized by the secretary of state through policies established in accordance with law?”

Our View: With so much attention on election interference and possible fraud during the last few national election cycles, this proposed constitutional amendment seems to reinforce the state’s efforts to ensure Louisiana elections remain fair and free from any outside influence, specifically any foreign influencer.

It should be noted that Louisiana does not have a history of election fraud in recent years and our system of balloting appears to function flawlessly with complete, non-official results known within a couple of hours after polls are closed.

This proposed amendment makes it clear that the state will not engage with any foreign entity to keep our elections free from outside interference.

We endorse this amendment and will vote “yes” on Oct. 14.

Proposed Amendment No. 2

The proposition reads: “Do you support an amendment to provide that the freedom of worship in a church or other place of worship is a fundamental right that is worthy of the highest order of protection?”

Our View: There is little doubt that this proposed amendment is a result of the extreme Covid-19 executive mandates and restrictions enacted by Gov. John Bel Edwards during the 2020-2021 coronavirus years. Although the Courts ruled in favor of a Baton Rouge pastor who chose not to abide by the Gov.’s mandate which forbade any assembling of people including churches, our legislature wanted to make it clear and make it part of our Louisiana Constitution so that this type of government overreach would never happen again.

It’s a real shame that we are at the point in our state where we have to adopt a constitutional amendment to affirm our right to worship freely, but given the power our constitution allows for governors, especially during “emergencies,” this amendment is necessary.

We endorse this amendment and will vote “yes” on Oct. 14.

Proposed Amendment No. 3

The proposition reads: “Do you support an amendment to require that a minimum of twenty-five percent of any money designated as nonrecurring state revenue be applied toward the balance of the unfunded accrued liability of the state retirement system?”

Our View: The proposed amendment is aimed at trying to get a handle on the state retirement system. Currently, our local school board pays 28.7% to the retirement system and should this amendment pass, it would decrease the amount local school districts pay into the system.

Basically, this amendment will free up more money for local districts and some other government bodies that use the state retirement system. This should translate to additional money that can be used for other needed areas in those systems.

Any effort to give our local school system more money without taxation is always a win for residents.

We endorse this amendment and will vote “yes” on Oct. 14.

Proposed Amendment No. 4. The proposition reads: “Do you support an amendment to deny a property tax exemption to a nonprofit corporation or association that owns residential property in such a state of disrepair that it endangers public health or safety?”

Our View: From our research, we believe this amendment affects New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas more than smaller parishes in the state. Basically, in those larger cities, you have non-profit organizations owning residential property that don’t necessarily use the property and eventually allow that property to become rundown and useless, often, at worse, becoming a safety issue and at best, an eye-soar for the neighborhood.

According to LaSalle Assessor Tom Kendrick, LaSalle Parish does not have any large non-profits that own residential property and thus the amendment does not really affect us. This really should have been a local issue voted upon by the parishes/cities where it is a problem.

As a stanch believer in non-profits and their ability to remain tax exempt it may seem ironic that we will suggest voting “yes” to this amendment.

We feel as though should we ever have any non-profits that purchase residential property in LaSalle Parish, we want them to be good neighbors or face the consequences of having their state tax exemption status removed.

We endorse this amendment and will vote “yes” on Oct. 14.

All four constitutional amendments will be on the October 14 ballot and a month later, on the November 18 ballot, four more amendments will be voted upon as well.

We’ll preview those four when that election draws nearer.