The herald., 1912-10-17
ACT NO. IL.

ACT NO. IL.
House Bill No. 2. BY Mr.. Roberts.
JOINT resolution submitting to the
people of Louisiana an amendment to
| the Constitution reorganizing and re-
modelling the States system of assess
ment ana taxation.
Section /. Be it resolved by the
General Assembly of the State of Lou
isiana. two-thirds Of all the members
elected to each House concurring,
Constitution of the State of Louisiana
be and the same is hereby submitted
to the qualified electors or the State
at the Congressional election to be
Monday, in the month Of November in
the year 1912. to-wit:
Article I.
/. The taxing power shall be exer-
cised by the state and by its sub
divisions for public purposes only.
2. The taxing power shall never be
muted or contracted away; but where
surrendered, suspended, given, COM
parishes or municipal corporations
shall grant exemptions from parish OF
municipal taxes for a period not to
exceed ten years from date of compile
ton to encourage the establishment OF
industrial enterprises, or a similar ex-
emption to immigrants of the value
adued by them to vacant property
owned and occupied as homestead,
such exemptions shall not be with
drawn either as to enterprises estab-
lished or substantially begun in good
faith, or as to immigrants who have
actually acquired and improved or in
good faith begun to improve their
homesteads, since the granting of the
exemption. The General Assembly on
behalf of the State. and the governing
authorities of all subdivisions of the
n Ia hah
may defer for not more than three
years the collection of taxes in locali-
ties subjected to overflow or other
8. The General Assembly shall have
power to classify all property for tax
alton. and to adopt different rules and
rules and rates shall be equal and uni
form on all subjects of the same class
throughout the territorial limits Of the
authority levying the tax. All such
characteristics of the property itself
or its use, and never on persons OF
ownership.
4. Except in case Of foreign invasion
or domestic revolution, the General AS
sembly shall not have power to levy
any ad valorem property tax in excess
of four per cent; but the General As
sembly shall not exceed the rate of
two and one-half per cent except by
vote Of two-thirds of all the men,
bers elected to each house thereof.
Article II.
l. The sources Of State and local
revenue shall be segregated and, ex-
cept as hereinafter specified, or as may
be hereafter permitted by vote OF
o-thirds of all the members elected
to each House Of the General Assem-
bly,. each taxing authority shall be re-
stricted in taxation to its own sources
of revenue as herein assigned.
2. Until otherwise provided by a
vote of two-thirds of all of the mem
bers elected to each House of the Gen
eral Assembly, the following shall be
the sources of State revenue:
1st. The special taxes hereinafter
provided for.
End. All corporations, private per-
sons and unincorporated associations
that operate any railroad falling under
the jurisdiction of the Railroad Com
mission of Louisiana; street railroad;
combined street railroad and electric
light and power business; heating OF
refrigeration plant, mot inclusive OF
cold storage planp; telephone line
erwise; express line, dining car, sleep
ing car, oil car, refrigerating car, or
cars for any other purpose operating
upon railroads in this State; steamboat,
motor boat, steamship, ferry, barge,
and tug, or other water craft, where
operated for hire, canal for transporta-
ton or irrigation, and pipe line for OIL
or gas. When the electric light and
power business conducted in conjunc-
ton with any street railroad can be
practically severed from the street rail-
ment then such severance shall be made
by the Tax Commission and such cleo
trio light and power business shall
not be a source of State revenue.
Bird. All banks, State and National,
including savings banks, trust banks
and trust companies, and all private
bankers. whether individuals or part
nerships. save that the real estate OF
hon lie nd N
assessed and taxed. The assessments
of the real estate of banks and bank
ers shall be equalized annually by the
Tax Commission to the basis estab-
lished and in vogue in each locality
where such real estate is located.
4th. All insurance companies includ-
ing bonding and surety companies, for
eign or domestic, and all persons and
sons or. property, save that all the real
estate and corporal property Of such
companies, persons or partnerships
shall be locally assessed and taxed. -,
5th. All sugar refineries, rice mills,
cotton seed oil mills, cotton seed oil
refineries and refineries OF petroleum
and its products. sugar refinery is
hereby defined to be a concern that
buys and refines raw sugar exclusive
w. or a concern that buys and refines
more raw sugar than the aggregate of
the sugar produced by it from cane
grown and purchased by IL.
9Th. All mines of sulphur, salt or
other minerals. all oil or gas wells. all
stone Quarries, sand, gravel and shell
pits.
8. Only the operative property of
state sources of revenue shall be seq
regated to the State. The General AS
sembly shall define, in manner not
Inconsistent with any provisions OF
property of each such source is. Real
estate and the improvements thereon
forming part of any railroad terminal,