The herald., 1912-10-31
ACT NO. IL.


ACT NO. IL.
House Bill No. 2. BY Mr.. Roberts
Joint resolution submitting to the
people OF Louisiana an amendment tC
the Constitution reorganizing and re.
modelling the States system of assess
ment and taxation.
Section 1. Be it resolved by the
General Assembly of the State of Lou
isiana. two-thirds of all the members
elected to each House concurring
rnat 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 Congressional election to be
held on the first Tuesday after the first
Monday. in the month Of November, in
the year 1912, to-wit:
Article 1.
l. 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 similar eX-
emQtion to immigrants Of the value
adued by them to vacant property
owned and occupied as a homestead,
such exemptions shall not be with
drawn either as to enterprises estab-
lished or substantially begun in good
faith. or as to inning rants 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
State on behalf of such subdivision,
may defer for not more than three
years the collection of taxes in locali-
ties subjected to overflow or other
public calamity
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 uni
form on all subjects of the same class
throughout the territorial limits of the
authority levying the tax. All such
shall be based on the
characteristics of the property itself
or its use. and never on persons or
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
a vote of two-thirds of all the mem
bers elected to each house thereof.
Article II.
/. 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 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
vote of two-thirds of all Of the men,
bers elected to each House of the Cen
eral Assembly: the. following shall be
the sources of State revenues:
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;
mbined street railroad and electric
light and power business; heating or
plant, (not inclusive OF
cold storage planD; telephone line,
line, whether wireless or 9TH
erwise: express line, dining car, Sleep
Ing car, oil car, refrigerating car, or
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
DR. gas. When the electric light and
power business conducted in conjunc-
ton with any street railroad can be
severed from the street rail-
road business for purposes of assess
nent 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 hanks tr1IQf HANKS
and trust companies, and all private
whether individuals or part
1erships. save that the real estate of
all banks and bankers shall be locally
Of the real estate of banks and bank
ers shall be equalized annually by the
FAX Commission to the basis estab-
ished and in vogue in each locality
where such real estate is located.
4th. All insurance companies includ-
ng bonding and surety companies. for
,ign or domestic, and all persons and
engaged in insuring per-
estate and corporal property of such
persons or partnerships
hall be locally assessed and taxed.
5th. All sugar refineries, rice mills,
cotton seed oil mills, cotton seed oil
and refneries of petroleum
Ind its products. A sugar refinery is
hereby defined to be a concern that
Buys and refines raw sugar exclusive
y. or concern that buys and refines
more raw sugar than the aggregate of
he sugar produced by 1t from cane
grown and purchased by ii.
9Th. All mines of sulphur, salt or
'ther minerals. all oil or gas wells, all
,its.
8. Only the operative property of
tate sources of revenue shall be seq
'egated to the State. The General AS
embly shall define, in a manner not
with any provisions of
his amendment what the operative
property of each such source Is. Real
state and the improvements thereon
orming part of any railroad terminal,
[An0f yard arohanaa ah0r,