The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1912-09-14

JOINT RESOLUTION
Submitting to the people of Lousi
ana an amendment to the Con
stitution recognizing and re
modelling the States system O
assessment and taxation.
Section l. Be it resolved by the
General Assembly of the State O
louisiana, tWo-thirds of all tie msm
bers elected to each House concur
ring, That the following amendment
to the Constitution of the State Of
Louisiana be and the same is hereby
submitted to the qualified electors
Of the State at the CongressGo1a
election to be held on the first Tues
day after the first Monday IN the
month Of November, IN the year 1912
to-Tit:
Article /.
/. The taxing power shall be exer
cised by the State and by its sub
divisions for public purposes only.
.. The taxing power shall never BE-
surrendered, suspended, given. com
muted OF contracted away; but whore
parishes OF municipal corporations
snail grant exemptions from parish
or municipal taxes for a period not
| TO exceed ten years from date OF
completion to encourage the estab-
lishment of industrial enterprises. OF
similar exemption to immigrants
of the value added by them to vacant
property owned and occupied as a
homestead, such exemptions shall not
be withdrawn either as to enter
| prlses established or substantially be-
gun in good faith, Or as to immigrants
who have actually acquired and i'm
proved or in good faith begun to i'm
prove their homesteads, since the
granting of the exemption. The Gen
eral Assembly on behalf of the State,
and the governing authorities of all
subdivisions of the State on behalf
OF such subdivision, may defer for
not more than three years the col
lection of taxes in localities subject
ed to overflow or other public ca
lamity. ..... =. ~.
3. The General Assembly shall have
power to classify all property for tax
alton, and to adopt different rules
and rates for different classes, but
such rules and rates shall be equal
and uniform on all subjects of the
same class throughout the territorial
limits of the authority levying the
tax. ALI such classificatons shall be
based on the characteristics Of the
property itself or its use, and new
er on persons or ownership.
T. Except in case of foreign inva-
sion or domestic revolution, the Gen
eral Assembly shall not have power
to levy any ad valorem property tax
IN excess of four per cent; but the
General Assembly shall not exceed
the rate Of two and one-half per cent.
except by vote of two thirds of all
the members elected to each house
thereof
Article II.
i. The sources of State and local
revenue shall be segregated and. ex-
cept as hereinafter specified, or as
may be hereafter permitted by a |
vote of two-thirds of all the members |
elected to each House of the Gener-
al Assembly, each taxing authority
shall be restricted in taxation to it's |
own sources of revenue as herein
assigned.
2. Until otherwise provided by
vote of two-thirds of all of the mem
,ers elected to each House of the
Ieneral Assembly, the following
mall be the sources Of State reve-
lue:
LIST. The special taxes hereinafter
provided for.
End. All corporations, private per-
ons and unincorporated associations
nat operate any railroad falling I'M
er the jurisdiction Of the Railroad
commission of Louisiana; street rail-
DAD; combined street railroad and ,
lectric light and power business; +:
eating or refrigeration plant, fnot
lcluslve of cold storage plant: tel
line; telegraph line, wheth-
ireless or otherwise; express s
e. dining car, sleeping car, Oil car, I
etrlgerat1ng car, or cars for any t
ther purpose operating upon rail- &
Dads in this state; steamboat, mot q
boat, steamship, ferry, barge and t
lg, or other water craft, where OPP
rated for hire, canal for transporta- t
on or irrigation, and pipe line for T
il or gas. When the electric light a
nd power business conducted in con-
motion with any street railroad can t
2 practically severed from the street S
abroad business for purposes Of as
then such severance shall +
? made by the Tax Commission and v
lch electric light and power business
lall not be a source of State reve- s
lie. C
Bird. All banks, State and Nation C.
I, including savings banks, trust D
anks and trust companies, and all Fl
'ivate bankers, whether individuals a
partnerships, save that the real n
tate of all banks and bankers shall al
!, locally assessed and taxed. The e,
Isessments of the real estate Of
Iecied to each House concurrnk,s
hat an amendment to the Constitu-l
on OF the State of Louisiana be
ubmitted to the qualified electors Of lie
he State for their approval or re3ec- IN