The Natchitoches enterprise. (Natchitoches, La.) 1888-1965, 1912-10-31
ACT MO. 2O3.
House Bill No. 433. BY Mr. Fontenot
A JOINT RESOI LTTION

proposing an amendment to the Con-
stitution of the State of Louisiana
amending Article as of the Constitu,
ton of 1898, as amended by Act No
303 of the Acts of 1910. ratified by
the people at the November election
| of 1910, so as to authorize the Board
of Liquidation of the State / 1T to
issue new bonds to retire or refund
the State Bonded Indebtedness due
January 1st, 1914; to provide for a
tax for the payment of the interest
| on said bonds and a sinking fund to
retire the same; to provide for the
payment out OF the said sinking fun
of an Indebtedness due by the State to
the United States, and of certain other
claims against the State.
| Section l. Be it resolved by the Cen
/ eral Assembly of the State of Louisiana.
two-thirds of all the members elected to
each house cencurring, That an amend
| ment to Article 46 of the Constitution
| of the State of Louisiana of 1898. as
amended by Act No. 300 of the Acts of
| the General Assembly of the State of
| Louisiana at its session held in the year
1910. ratified by the people at the No
| vember election of 1910, be submitted
to the qualified electors of the State for
| their approval or rejection at the con-
| gressional election to be held on the
| first Tuesday next following the first
Monday in November of 1912. said pro-
posed amendment to read as follows:
Article 46. The General Assembly
| shall have no power to contract or to
authorize the contracting of any debt
or liability. on behalf of the State, or
to issue bonds or other evidences Of
| Indebtedness thereof, except for the
purpose of repelling invasion or for the
| suppression Of instruction. Provided.
| that for the purpose of retiring. liq-
| uidating or refunding the present State
| Bonded Indebtedness of Eleven Mil
| lion, One Hundred and Eight Thousand.
| Three Hundred Dollars, maturing jan
uary LIST, 1914, and bearing four per
centum per annum interest, the Board
~ {rrYsI 10 80 nh
| Louisiana is given authority to issue
| Eleven Thousand, One Hundred and
Eight new coupon bonds of the State
Of Louisiana of One Thousand Dollars
11,108. bearing a rate of interest not
| exceeding four per centum per an
mum, payable semi-annually and to be
due and paid PAID, in r fifty years from Jan
shall be prescribed by the Board Of
Liquidation of the State Debt and they
shall be signed by the Governor, the
Auditor and the Treasurer of the State.
Said bonds shall be sold to the highest
bidder at not less than par after three
months of advertisement by the Board
Of Liquidation Of the State Debt in
New Orleans, Chicago and New York;
and In case said bonds cannot be sole
they may be exchanged at par by the
Board of Liquidation of the State DeDt
for the bonds d due January lst. 1914
of the bonds due January LIST, 1914.
over the bonds authorized by this ar
ticle. shall be paid in cash out of the
current interest funds of the State.
The cost of engraving and advertising
said bonds shall also be paid out Of
the said fund.
I'm all other respects not herein spec
tied, the Board of Liquidation of the
State Debt is hereby given full power
and authority to carry out the provi.
sions Of this amendment.
beginning with January 1st, 1914,
there shall be and there is hereby lev
led on all property on which general
of one and two-tenths mills the net
proceeds of which shall be devoted to
the payment of the interest due on
said bonds, to the payment of the in
terest due on the Indebtedness of the
State to the Free School Fund, to Sem
mary Fund and the Agricultural and
Mechanical College Fund to the pay
ment of the proper expenses of the
and the residue to the constitution Of
a sinking fund to be applied annually
except as hereinafter provided, to the
purchase of said bonds by said Board
at a price not to exceed One Hundred
and Three and accrued interest. If
bonds cannot be purchased as afore-
said, the sinking fund shall be invest
ed by the Board of Liquidation of the
State Debt in sound. interest bearing
securities, producing not less than four
per centum per annum interest on the
amount so invested or deposited in
solvent banks furnishing adequate Sc
curity to the State. to be approved by
the said Board, at a rate of interest
not less than four per centum per an
all-of he5Eds TsIflfiE sn---zas-
tired but after the assessments Of the
and Fifty Million Dollars. said tax shall
be reduced to one mill and shall there
after be reduced two-tenths of one mill
for each One Hundred Million Dollars
increase in assessments until the said
tax shall be reduced to six-tenths Of
one mill. The said tax shall constitute
part of the six mills of taxation per-
mitted to be levied by the Constitution.
In case the present system of taxa
ton shall be changed before the said
bonds shall have been paid, there shall
be levied annually a tax sufficient. to
produce gross sum of not less than
Six Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dol
lars to take the place of said tax Of
one and two-tenths mills and it's re.
auctions.
1.-The Board of Liquidation of the
State Debt shall have power to settle
under the conditions and limitations
hereinafter provided, the following
claims of Indebtedness made by vari-
Gus persons against the State, to-wit:
% The outstanding bonds known az
Baby Bonds excluding all Baby Bonds
fraudulently issued by any official of
the State"
(2) AUDITORS warrapts issued foE
school, certificates of Indebtedness I'M
der Act 126 of 1880.
CD Certificates issued under Act 80
of 1880 for costs and fees due to the
officers of the State.
"a Warrants drawn prior to 1880
and fundable but not funded into Baby
(5) Warrants drawn after January
of 1880 against 1878 and previous years
Provided, however, that the owners
or the duly authorized trustees of the
owners of said claims may prior to
January 1st 1915, but not thereafter.
proceed against the Board of Liquida-
ton of the State Debt by rule, so1eiy
and exclusively in the district court of
the Parish of East Baton Rouge. to
have the said claims examined and
their validity and the indebtedness due
hereby given jurisdiction for that pur-
pose.
This jurisdiction shall extend not
only to the determination of the mere
said claims. but also to the determine
ton of any equitable liability of the
State thereon and the extent of such
equitable liability. Appeal shall lie in
involved, on the original record, to the
Supreme Court Of the State of Louisi-
ana. The definitive DEGREES of said
courts shall not have the effect Of tudg::
Of Liquidation of the State Debt. The |
Board of Liquidation of the State Debt |
shall have the exclusive power to set |
tie the claims, thus approved by the |
courts Of the State, out of the sinking |
fund above provided for as funds are |
available, but they shall not be paid |
otherwise or out of any other fund.
Nothing in this amendment shall be |
construed as a recognition BY the State |
of any liability, whether legal or equi-
table, to the owners or the holders OF |
any of the said above designated bonds.
warrants or claims and the burden of |
proof shall rest throughout on each OF |
such claimants to show such liability.
Out of the first surplus accruing in |
the sinking fund, there shall be paid in
full the amount of principal and inter-
est due on the bonds of the State the
face values of which aggregate Thirty