The herald., 1912-09-26

| Al v IN Il. HEBERT,
Secretary of State.
ACT NO. IL.
House Bill No. 2. BY Mr.. Roberts
Joint resolution submitting to the
people OF Louisiana an amendment &c
the Constitution reorganizing and re-
modelling the States system of assess
ment and taxation.
Section l. Be it resolved by the
General Assembly of the State of Lou
elected to each House concurring,
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 Congressional election to be
| held on the nrst Tuesday after the first
Monday. IN the month of November, in
the year 1912. to-wit:
Article l.
1. 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 or
municipal taxes for a period not to
exceed ten years from date of compile
Industrial enterprises, or a similar ex-
emQtion to immigrants of the value
added 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 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
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
classifications 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
SemSiy ssa mot enceed 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.
i. 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
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 a |
bers elected to each House Of the Gen |
eral Assembly. the following shall be |
the sources of State revenue:
lst. The special taxes hereinafter
End. All corporations, private per- |
sons and unincorporated associations |
that operate any railroad falling under |
the Jurisdiction of the Railroad Com
combined street railroad and electric /
light and power business; heating or |
plant, mot inclusive OF 1
sSla storage n piSanpS telephone n
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-
lion or irrigation, and pipe line for Oil
power business conducted in conjunc-
lion with any street railroad can be
severed from the street rail-
nent then such severance shall be made
by the Tax Commission and such cleo
.ric light and power business shall
lot be a source of State revenue.
including savings banks, trust banks
Ind trust companies, and all private
,ankers. whether individuals or part
l s, save that the real estate is, Of
assessed and taxed. The assessments
II the real estate Of banks and bank
RS shall be equalized annually by the
Tax Commission to the basis estab-
ished and in vogue in each locality
where such real estate is located. Il
4th. All insurance companies includ-
ng bonding and surety companies, for
ign or domestic, and all persons and
engaged in insuring per-
ons or property. save that all the real
state and corporal property OF such
Smpa mi o, persons os.s or partnerships
5th. All sugar refneries, rice mills,
otton seed oil mills. cotton seed oil
efineries and refneries OF petroleum
ereby defined to be a concern that
uys and refines raw sugar exclusive
Y. or concern that buys and refines {
1ore raw sugar than the aggregate of |
ne sugar prouuceu Dy ~ from cane |
rown and purchased by 1t. IL
9Th. All mines Of sulphur, salt or I,
Their minerals, all oil or gas wells. all i
tone quarries, sand, gravel and shell
its.
3. Only the operative property of
tate sources of revenue shall be seq
egated to the State. The General AS Z
emily shall define, in a manner not
his amendment what the operative I
roperty of each such source is. Real 1
state and the improvements thereon
orming part of any railroad terminal,