Louisiana State Constitution (1974)/Part 7

by State of Louisiana

Preamble - Article III | Article IV - Article V | Article VI | Article VII | Article VIII - Article IX | Article X - Article XI | Article XII - Article XIV

ARTICLE XII. GENERAL PROVISIONS

§1. State Capital

Section 1. The capital of Louisiana is the city of Baton Rouge.

§2. Civilian-Military Relations

Section 2. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power.

§3. Right to Direct Participation

Section 3. No person shall be denied the right to observe the deliberations of public bodies and examine public documents, except in cases established by law.

§4. Preservation of Linguistic and Cultural Origins

Section 4. The right of the people to preserve, foster, and promote their respective historic linguistic and cultural origins is recognized.

§5. Successions; Forced Heirship and Trusts

Section 5.(A) The legislature shall provide by law for uniform procedures of successions and for the rights of heirs or legatees and for testate and intestate succession. Except as provided in Paragraph (B) of this Section, forced heirship is abolished in this state.
(B) The legislature shall provide for the classification of descendants, of the first degree, twentythree years of age or younger as forced heirs. The legislature may also classify as forced heirs descendants of any age who, because of mental incapacity or physical infirmity, are incapable of taking care of their persons or administering their estates. The amount of the forced portion reserved to heirs and the grounds for disinherison shall also be provided by law. Trusts may be authorized by law and the forced portion may be placed in trust.
Amended by Acts 1995, No. 1321, §1, approved Oct. 21, 1995, eff. Nov. 23, 1995.

§6. Lotteries; Gaming, Gambling, or Wagering

Section 6.(A) Lotteries

(1) The legislature may provide for the creation and operation of a state lottery and may create a special corporation for that purpose whose employees shall not be subject to state civil service. The net proceeds from the operation of the lottery shall be deposited in a special fund created in the state treasury entitled the Lottery Proceeds Fund. Amounts deposited in the fund shall not be appropriated for expenditure in the same calendar year in which they are received. The legislature shall annually appropriate from the fund only for the purposes of the minimum foundation program and no more than five hundred thousand dollars for services related to compulsive and problem gaming as may be provided by law.

(2) A law providing for the creation and operation of a state lottery, once enacted, may be modified only by a law enacted by two-thirds of the elected members of each house but may be repealed in its entirety by a law enacted by a majority thereof. If such a law has been repealed, the legislature thereafter may provide for the creation and operation of a state lottery only by law enacted by two-thirds of the elected members of each house.

(3) No state general funds may be expended for the primary purpose of inducing persons to participate in the lottery. However, state general funds may be expended for the purpose of reasonably informing the public solely about the following factors pertaining to the operation and administration of the lottery:

(a) The type or types of lottery to be conducted.

(b) The price or prices of tickets or shares in the lottery.

(c) The numbers and sizes of prizes.

(d) The approximate odds of winning.

(e) The manner of payment.

(f) Frequency and time of awarding of prizes.

(g) Location of sites for sale of tickets or shares and sites of determination of winners and awarding of prizes.

(4) No political subdivision of the state shall authorize or conduct a lottery.

(B) Gambling. Gambling shall be defined by and suppressed by the legislature.
(C) Gaming, Gambling, or Wagering Referendum Elections.

(1)(a) No law authorizing a new form of gaming, gambling, or wagering not specifically authorized by law prior to the effective date of this Paragraph shall be effective nor shall such gaming, gambling, or wagering be licensed or permitted to be conducted in a parish unless a referendum election on a proposition to allow such gaming, gambling, or wagering is held in the parish and the proposition is approved by a majority of those voting thereon.

(b) No form of gaming, gambling, or wagering authorized by law on the effective date hereof shall be licensed or permitted to be conducted in a parish in which it was not heretofore being conducted, except licensed charitable gaming which may be conducted in any parish provided it is conducted in compliance with the law, pursuant to a state license or permit unless a referendum election on a proposition to allow such gaming, gambling, or wagering is held in the parish and the proposition is approved by a majority of those voting thereon.

(2) No new license or permit shall be issued for the conducting of riverboat gaming, gambling, or wagering operations or activities at a berth or docking facility in a parish in which such gaming, gambling, or wagering is then being conducted, unless a referendum election on a proposition to allow such additional gaming, gambling, or wagering operations or activities has been held in the parish and the proposition has been approved by a majority of those voting thereon. In addition, no license or permit regardless of when issued shall be reissued, amended, or replaced to authorize the holder to conduct riverboat gaming, gambling, or wagering operations or activities at a berth or docking facility different from that authorized in the license or permit, unless a referendum election on a proposition to allow such gaming, gambling, or wagering operations or activities has been held in the parish in which the proposed berth or docking facility is located and the proposition has been approved by a majority of those voting thereon.

(3) The legislature may at any time repeal statutes authorizing gaming, gambling, or wagering.

(4) Notwithstanding Article III, Section 12, or any other provision of this constitution, the legislature by local or special law may provide for elections on propositions relating to allowing or prohibiting one or more forms of gaming, gambling, or wagering authorized by legislative act.

Amended by Acts 1990, No. 1097, §1, approved Oct. 6, 1990, eff. Nov. 8, 1990; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 98, §1, approved Sept. 21, 1996, eff. Oct. 15, 1996; Acts 2003, No. 1305, §1, approved Oct. 4, 2003, eff. July 1, 2004.

§7. State Penal Institutions; Reimbursement of Parish Expense

Section 7. The state shall reimburse a parish in which a state penal institution is located for expenses the parish incurs arising from crime committed in the institution or by an inmate thereof.

§8. Welfare, Unemployment Compensation, and Health

Section 8. The legislature may establish a system of economic and social welfare, unemployment compensation, and public health.

§8.1. Worker's Compensation

Section 8.1. (A) Authorization.

(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this constitution to the contrary, and subject to the conditions contained in this Section, the legislature by law may create a private, nonprofit corporation to provide workers' compensation insurance and to deliver related services as provided by law.

(2) Once the full faith and credit of the state for the payment of the corporation's legal obligations is extinguished, and the corporation provides security, as required by law, to hold the state harmless from all claims arising from any legal obligation of the corporation to which the full faith and credit of the state is applicable, including all costs associated therewith:

(a) This private corporation may not be dissolved or otherwise terminated by the repeal of the statutes enabling its creation or by the passage of other legislation providing for its dissolution or termination.

(b) Exclusive power to dissolve or otherwise terminate the corporation shall rest solely with the commissioner of insurance or the corporation's policyholders. Such dissolution or termination shall be in accordance with law.

(c) The corporation shall not be sold or converted to a domestic stock insurer, nor shall ownership or control be transferred.

(d) The corporation shall not be subject to any legislation directed exclusively at the corporation which impairs the corporation's ability to provide a competitive market for workers' compensation insurance to Louisiana employers.

(e) Upon the failure of the corporation to maintain security as required herein and as certified by the commissioner of insurance, the provisions of Subsubparagraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) shall be null.

(B)(1) Loan, Pledge, or Donation by State. Notwithstanding any other provision of this constitution to the contrary, the funds, credit, property, or things of value of the state may be loaned, pledged, or donated to or for the corporation under terms, conditions, or procedures to be provided by law with specific applicability to the corporation. However, any cash or negotiable instrument advanced to the corporation by the state shall be a loan and may not be donated by the state.

(2) Full Faith and Credit. The corporation may rely on the full faith and credit of the state of Louisiana for the payment of legal obligations, for a period of five years or until such time as the United States Department of Labor approves United States Longshore and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act coverage by the corporation without such security, whichever occurs later.

(C) Board of Directors.

(1) The board of directors for a corporation established pursuant to the authorization contained in Paragraph A of this Section shall consist of twelve members as follows:

(a) One person from a list of three names submitted by the Louisiana American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, or by a successor organization representative of organized labor to be designated by the legislature in the event that the Louisiana American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations ceases to exist.

(b) One person from a list of three names submitted by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, or by a successor organization representative of organized business to be designated by the legislature in the event that the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry ceases to exist.

(c) Four persons, all residents of Louisiana, each of whom represents a for-profit business, provided that at least one of these persons represents a business with ten or fewer employees, one of these persons represents a business with at least eleven but not more than fifty employees, one of these persons represents a business with over fifty employees, and one of these persons represents a business with over one hundred employees.

(d) A member of the Senate who has management experience in a for-profit business, who shall be a nonvoting ex officio member.

(e) A member of the House of Representatives who has management experience in a for-profit business, who shall be a nonvoting ex officio member.

(f) One person, from a list of three submitted by the board of directors of the Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation, who is an agent licensed by the Department of Insurance to sell workers' compensation insurance in Louisiana and who possesses executive level experience in the field of workers' compensation insurance.

(g) Two persons, each from a list of three submitted by the board of directors of Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation, who are residents of the state of Louisiana and who shall represent the interest of the citizens of the state at large.

(h) Repealed by Acts 2003, No. 1294, §1, approved Oct. 4, 2003, eff. Nov. 6, 2003.

(i) The insurance commissioner or his designee, who shall be a nonvoting ex officio member.

(2) The governor shall appoint the charter members to the board, except that the president of the Senate shall appoint the Senate member and the speaker of the House shall appoint the House of Representatives member.

(3) The legislature shall provide by law for staggered terms of board members. Those who hold policies issued by the corporation will elect the successors to the four charter members representing for-profit businesses. The president of the Senate shall appoint the successors to the charter Senate member and the speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint the successors to the charter House of Representatives member. The governor shall continue to appoint all other members as initially provided.

(4) All gubernatorial appointees shall be confirmed by the Senate in conformity with the procedures of Article IV, Section 5(H) of this constitution.

(D) Corporation Property Separate. The corporation shall not be a state agency. The property and assets of the corporation shall not be state property, shall not be subject to appropriation by the legislature, shall not be deposited in the state treasury, and shall consist of all premiums collected from underwriting worker's compensation risks, all reserves to pay future claims and all interest earned upon any monies invested by the corporation, any properties or securities acquired through the use of monies belonging to the corporation, all earnings of such property or securities, and all other monies received by the corporation from any other source.
(E) Solvency. The corporation shall adopt actuarially sound rates and underwriting policies that insure the corporation's solvency.
(F) Guaranty Fund. The corporation shall be exempt from participation in and shall not join or contribute financially to or be entitled to the protection of any plan, pool, association, or guaranty fund or insolvency fund authorized or required pursuant to the Insurance Code. However, upon the extinguishment of the full faith and credit guarantee of the state, the corporation shall no longer be exempt from participation in, contribution to, and protection under the insurance guaranty association fund created and operating under R.S. 22:1375 et seq., of the Insurance Code. The corporation's participation in, contribution to, and protection under the insurance guaranty association fund shall be on a prospective basis only. This prospective participation, contribution, and protection shall only apply to claims arising from injuries occurring after the extinguishment of the full faith and credit guarantee.
Added by Acts 1991, No. 1073, §1, approved Oct. 19, 1991, eff. Nov. 21, 1991; Amended by Acts 1999, No. 1404, §1, approved Nov. 20, 1999, eff. Dec. 27, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 1405, §1, approved Nov. 20, 1999, eff. Dec. 27, 1999; Acts 2003, No. 1294, §1, approved Oct. 4, 2003, eff. Nov. 6, 2003.

§9. Exemptions From Seizure and Sale

Section 9. The legislature shall provide by law for exemptions from seizure and sale, as well as waivers of and exclusions from such exemptions. The exemption shall extend to at least fifteen thousand dollars in value of a homestead, as provided by law.

§10. Suits Against the State

Section 10.(A) No Immunity in Contract and Tort. Neither the state, a state agency, nor a political subdivision shall be immune from suit and liability in contract or for injury to person or property.
(B) Waiver in Other Suits. The legislature may authorize other suits against the state, a state agency, or a political subdivision. A measure authorizing suit shall waive immunity from suit and liability.
(C) Limitations; Procedure; Judgments. Notwithstanding Paragraph (A) or (B) or any other provision of this constitution, the legislature by law may limit or provide for the extent of liability of the state, a state agency, or a political subdivision in all cases, including the circumstances giving rise to liability and the kinds and amounts of recoverable damages. It shall provide a procedure for suits against the state, a state agency, or a political subdivision and provide for the effect of a judgment, but no public property or public funds shall be subject to seizure. The legislature may provide that such limitations, procedures, and effects of judgments shall be applicable to existing as well as future claims. No judgment against the state, a state agency, or a political subdivision shall be exigible, payable, or paid except from funds appropriated therefor by the legislature or by the political subdivision against which the judgment is rendered. Amended by Acts 1995, No. 1328, §1, approved Oct. 21, 1995, eff. Nov. 23, 1995.

§11. Continuity of Government

Section 11. The legislature shall provide for orderly and temporary continuity of state government, in periods of emergency, until normal processes of government can be reestablished in accordance with the constitution and laws of the state; and, except as otherwise provided by this constitution, for the prompt and temporary succession to the powers and duties of public offices when incumbents become unavailable to perform their functions.

§12. Corporations; Perpetual or Indefinite Duration; Dissolution; Perpetual Franchises or Privileges

Section 12. Neither the state nor any political subdivision shall grant a perpetual franchise or privilege; however, the legislature may authorize the organization of corporations for perpetual or indefinite duration. Every corporation shall be subject to dissolution or forfeiture of its charter or franchise, as provided by general law.

§13. Prescription Against State

Section 13. Prescription shall not run against the state in any civil matter, unless otherwise provided in this constitution or expressly by law.

§14. Administrative Agency Codes

Section 14. Rules, regulations, and procedures adopted by all state administrative and quasi-judicial agencies, boards, and commissions shall be published in one or more codes and made available to the public.

§15. Defense of Marriage

Section 15. Marriage in the state of Louisiana shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman. No official or court of the state of Louisiana shall construe this constitution or any state law to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any member of a union other than the union of one man and one woman. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized. No official or court of the state of Louisiana shall recognize any marriage contracted in any other jurisdiction which is not the union of one man and one woman. Institutionalized discrimination against a whole segment of the population.
Added by Acts 2004, No. 926, §1, approved Sept. 18, 2004, eff. Oct. 19, 2004.

ARTICLE XIII. CONSTITUTIONAL REVISION

§1. Amendments

Section 1.(A) Procedure. An amendment to this constitution may be proposed by joint resolution at any regular session of the legislature, but the resolution shall be prefiled, at least ten days before the beginning of the session, in accordance with the rules of the house in which introduced. An amendment to this constitution may be proposed at any extraordinary session of the legislature if it is within the objects of the call of the session and is introduced in the first five calendar days thereof. If two-thirds of the elected members of each house concur in the resolution, pursuant to all of the procedures and formalities required for passage of a bill except submission to the governor, the secretary of state shall have the proposed amendment published once in the official journal of each parish within not less than thirty nor more than sixty days preceding the election at which the proposed amendment is to be submitted to the electors. Each joint resolution shall specify the statewide election at which the proposed amendment shall be submitted. Special elections for submitting proposed amendments may be authorized by law.
(B) Form of Proposal. A proposed amendment shall have a title containing a brief summary of the changes proposed; shall be confined to one object; and shall set forth the entire article, or the sections or other subdivisions thereof, as proposed to be revised or only the article, sections, or other subdivisions proposed to be added. However, the legislature may propose, as one amendment, a revision of an entire article of this constitution which may contain multiple objects or changes. A section or other subdivision may be repealed by reference. When more than one amendment is submitted at the same election, each shall be submitted so as to enable the electors to vote on them separately.
(C) Ratification. If a majority of the electors voting on the proposed amendment approve it, the governor shall proclaim its adoption, and it shall become part of this constitution, effective twenty days after the proclamation, unless the amendment provides otherwise. A proposed amendment directly affecting not more than five parishes or areas within not more than five parishes shall become part of this constitution only when approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon in the state and also a majority of the electors voting thereon in each affected parish. However, a proposed amendment directly affecting not more than five municipalities, and only such municipalities, shall become part of this constitution only when approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon in the state and also a majority of the electors voting thereon in each such municipality.

§2. Constitutional Convention

Section 2. Whenever the legislature considers it desirable to revise this constitution or propose a new constitution, it may provide for the calling of a constitutional convention by law enacted by two-thirds of the elected members of each house. The revision or the proposed constitution and any alternative propositions agreed upon by the convention shall be submitted to the people for their ratification or rejection. If the proposal is approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon, the governor shall proclaim it to be the Constitution of Louisiana.

§3. Laws Effectuating Amendments

Section 3. Whenever the legislature shall submit amendments to this constitution, it may at the same session enact laws to carry them into effect, to become operative when the proposed amendments have been ratified.

ARTICLE XIV. TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

PART I

§1. Board of Regents

Section 1. On the effective date of this constitution, each member of the Louisiana Coordinating Council for Higher Education appointed by the governor whose term has not expired shall become a member of the Board of Regents until his respective term expires. The governor shall appoint additional members required to complete the membership of the board in accordance with and to effectuate Article VIII, Section 5.

§2. Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College

Section 2. On the effective date of this constitution, each member of the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College whose term has not expired shall become a member of the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College until his term expires. The governor shall appoint additional members required in accordance with and to effectuate Article VIII, Section 7.

§3. Board of Supervisors of Southern University

Section 3. At the next session of the legislature following the effective date of this constitution, the governor shall submit to the Senate for its consent the names of his appointees to the Board of Supervisors of Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in accordance with and to effectuate Article VIII, Section 7.

§4. State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education; Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities

Section 4. On the effective date of this constitution, each member of the State Board of Education whose term has not expired may elect to become a member of either the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education or the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities. He shall serve until the expiration of the term for which he was elected. The legislature shall provide by law the procedures by which this right shall be exercised, the secretary of state notified of those elections which must be held, and the governor notified of the appointments which must be made to complete the membership of the boards. The elections and appointments shall be made in accordance with and to effectuate Article VIII, Sections 3 and 6.

§5. Boards; New Appointments

Section 5. In making new appointments to a board created by Sections 5, 6, or 7 of Article VIII, the governor shall consider appropriate representation on the board by alumni of the institutions under the control of the board.

§6. Mandatory Reorganization of State Government

Section 6. The legislature shall allocate, within not more than twenty departments, the functions, powers, duties, and responsibilities of all departments, offices, agencies, and other instrumentalities within the executive branch, except those allocated by this constitution. The allocation, which shall not be subject to veto by the governor, shall become operative not later than December 31, 1977.

§7. Legislative Sessions

Section 7. The legislature shall provide, by rule or otherwise, for a recess, during the 1975 and 1976 regular annual sessions, which shall be for at least eight calendar days immediately after the first fifteen calendar days of the session.

§8. Civil Service Commission; State; Cities

Section 8.(A) State Commission. Each person who, on the effective date of this constitution, is a member of the State Civil Service Commission shall continue in such position for the remainder of the term to which he was appointed. Within thirty days after the effective date of this constitution, the president of Xavier University of Louisiana shall submit three names to the governor for appointment to the commission as provided in Article X, Section 3. Within ninety days after the effective date of this constitution, one member of the commission shall be elected by the classified employees of the state from their number as provided by law. The term of these appointees shall be six years. Within thirty days after the expiration of the term of the present member nominated by the president of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, the president of Dillard University shall submit three names to the governor for appointment to the commission as provided in Article X, Section 3. The term of this appointee shall be six years.: (B) City Commission. Each person who, on the effective date of this constitution, is a member of the New Orleans City Civil Service Commission shall continue in such position for the remainder of the term to which he was appointed. Within thirty days after the effective date of this constitution, the presidents of St. Mary's Dominican College and Xavier University of Louisiana each shall submit three names to the governing body of the city for appointment to the commission as provided in Article X, Section 4. Within thirty days after the expiration of the term of the present member nominated by the governing body of the city, the president of Dillard University shall submit three names to the governing body of the city for appointment to the New Orleans City Civil Service Commission as provided in Article X, Section 4. The term of these appointees shall be six years.

§9. Civil Service Officers; Employees; State; Cities

Section 9. Upon the effective date of this constitution, all officers and employees of the state and of the cities covered hereunder who have status in the classified service shall retain said status in the position, class, and rank that they have on such date and shall thereafter be subject to and governed by the provisions of this constitution and the rules and regulations adopted under the authority hereof.

§10. Offshore Mineral Revenues; Use of Funds

Section 10. Funds derived from offshore mineral leases and held in escrow under agreement between the state and the United States pending settlement of the dispute between the parties shall be deposited in the state treasury when received. Upon such settlement, these funds and the interest from their investment, except the portion otherwise allocated or dedicated by this constitution, shall be used by the state treasurer to purchase, retire, or pay in advance of maturity the existing bonded indebtedness of the state or shall be invested for that purpose. If any of these funds cannot be so expended within one year, the legislature may appropriate annually, for capital improvements or for the purchase of land, ten percent of the remaining funds, not to exceed ten million dollars in one year.

§11. Prescription; Tidelands Taxes

Section 11. No state, district, parish, or other tax, license, fee, or assessment of any kind, and interest charges and penalties attaching thereto, which are imposed, due, or collectible on any property, minerals or the severance thereof, or due or payable by any person, firm, or corporation on any business operation or activity within the tidelands area in dispute between the state and the United States and within the state's historic gulfward boundary three leagues from coast, as established and defined by the Act of Congress of April 8, 1812, which admitted this state into the Union, and as redefined in Louisiana Act No. 33 of 1954, shall prescribe until three years after the thirty-first day of 1 December in the year in which the controversy existing between the United States and this state over the state gulfward boundary is finally resolved and settled in accordance with law. However, no interest charge or penalty shall be assessed or collected on any such tax, license, fee, or assessment if it is paid within one year after the thirty-first day of December in the year in which the controversy is finally resolved and settled. LSA-R.S. 49:1. 1

§12. Forfeitures Prior to 1880

Section 12. Whenever any immovable property has been forfeited or adjudicated to the state for nonpayment of taxes due prior to January 1, 1880, and the state did not sell or dispose of it or dispossess the tax debtor or his heirs, successors, or assigns prior to the adoption of the Constitution of 1921, it shall be presumed conclusively that the forfeiture or adjudication was irregular and null or that the property has been redeemed. The state and its assigns shall be estopped forever from claiming any title to the property because of such forfeiture or adjudication.

§13. Effective Date of Property Tax Provisions

Section 13. Section 18 and Section 20 of Article VII shall become effective January 1 of the year following the end of three years after the effective date of this constitution. Until that date, the provisions of the Constitution of 1921 governing matters covered by those Sections shall continue to apply, notwithstanding any contrary expiration date stated in any provision thereof concerning the veterans' homestead exemption.

PART II

§14. Limitation on Transitional Provisions

Section 14. Nothing in this Part shall be construed or applied in such a manner as to supersede or invalidate, or limit or change the meaning of any provision of the foregoing Articles of this constitution, but only to provide for an orderly transition from the Constitution of 1921.

§15. Existing Officials

Section 15. A person holding an office by election shall continue to exercise his powers and duties until his office is abolished, his successor takes office or the office is vacated, as provided by law. A person holding an office by appointment shall continue to exercise his powers and duties until his office is abolished, his term ends, or he is removed or replaced under the provisions of this constitution or by law. Each public body shall continue to exercise its powers and duties until changed as provided by this constitution or by law.

§16. Provisions of 1921 Constitution Made Statutory

Section 16. (A) Provisions Continued as Statutes. Subject to change by law or as otherwise provided in this constitution, and except as any of them conflicts with this constitution, the following provisions of the Constitution of 1921 are continued as statutes, but restricted to the same effect as on the effective date of this constitution:

1. Article IV, Sections 2(c), 12-b, and 12-c.

2. Article V, Sections 2, 7, 18, 20, and 21.

3. Article VI, Sections 1, 1(A-1), 11.1, 19, 19.2, 19.3, 19.4, 22(l), 23 except any dedications contained therein, 23.1, 26, 28, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36.1, and 39.

4. Article VI-A, Sections 1 through 14, except any dedications therein contained.

5. Article VII, Sections 7, 8, 9, 12.1, 13, 20, 21, 28, 31, 31.1, 31.2, 33, 46 through 51, 51(a), 52, 53, 55, 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 89 through 92, and 94 through 97.

6. Article IX, Section 4.

7. Article X, Sections 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10A, 15, 16, and 23; except any dedications contained therein.

8. Article X-A, Sections 3 and 4.

9. Article XII, Sections 18, 19 through 22, 25, and 26.

10. Article XIV, Sections 3(b), 3(d) (first), 6, 10, 12, 14, 19, 21, 23, 23.1 through 23.43, 24, 24.2 through 24.23, 25, 25.1, 26 through 28, 30, 30.1, 30.3, 30.4, 30.5, 31, 31.3, 31.6, 31.7, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37.1, 38, 38, 38.1, 39, 39.1, 43, 44, 44.1, 45, 47, and 48.

11. Article XV, Sections 1, 3, and 4.

12. Article XVI, Sections 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 8(a).

13. Article XVII, Sections 3 and 4.

14. Article XVIII, Sections 4, 8, and 13.

15. Article XIX, Sections 6, 19, 19(a), 20, and 27.

(B) Arrangement. The provisions made statutory in this Article shall be arranged in proper statutory form and recommendations made for additional laws and modifications as provided in R.S. 24:201 through 256, or as otherwise provided by law.

§17. Provisions of Constitution of 1921 Repealed

Section 17. Except to the extent provided in this Article and except as retained in Articles I through XIII of this constitution, the provisions of the Constitution of 1921 are repealed.

§18. Existing Laws

Section 18. (A) Retention. Laws in force on the effective date of this constitution, which were constitutional when enacted and are not in conflict with this constitution, shall remain in effect until altered or repealed or until they expire by their own limitation.
(B) Expiration of Conflicting Law. Laws which are in conflict with this constitution shall cease upon its effective date.

§19. Ports; Transition to Statutes

Section 19. All provisions of Article VI, Sections 16, 16.1, 16.2, 16.3, 16.4, 16.5, 16.6, 17, 29, 29.1, 29.2, 29.3, 29.4, 33.1, 34 and Article XIV, Section 30.2 of the Constitution of 1921 shall become statutes subject to amendment or repeal only as provided in Article VI, Section 43 of this constitution.

§20. Public Service Commission

Section 20. At its next extraordinary or regular session, the legislature shall divide the state into five single-member districts as required by Article IV, Section 21(A) and shall provide for a special election at which the two additional members of the commission shall be elected, the initial term to be served by each, and other matters necessary to effectuate said Section 21(A).

PART III

§21. References to 1921 Constitution

Section 21. Whenever reference is made in this constitution to the Constitution of 1921, it shall mean the Louisiana Constitution of 1921, as amended.

§22. Effect of Titles

Section 22. No title or sub-title, heading or sub-heading, marginal note, index, or table printed in or with this constitution shall be considered or construed to be a part of this constitution, but to be inserted only for convenience in reference.

§23. Continuation of Actions and Rights

Section 23. All writs, actions, suits, proceedings, civil or criminal liabilities, prosecutions, judgments, sentences, orders, decrees, appeals, rights or causes of action, contracts, obligations, claims, demands, titles, and rights existing on the effective date of this constitution shall continue unaffected. All sentences as punishment for crime shall be executed according to their terms.

§24. Protection of Existing Taxes

Section 24. All taxes, penalties, fines, and forfeitures owing to the state or any political subdivision levied and collectible under the Constitution of 1921 and valid laws enacted thereunder shall inure to the entity entitled thereto.

§25. Impairment of Debt Obligations Prohibited

Section 25. Nothing in this constitution shall be construed or applied in such a manner as to impair the obligation, validity, or security of any bonds or other debt obligations authorized under the Constitution of 1921.

§26. Constitution Not Retroactive

Section 26. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this constitution, this constitution shall not be retroactive and shall not create any right or liability which did not exist under the Constitution of 1921 based upon actions or matters occurring prior to the effective date of this constitution.

§27. Legislative Provisions

Section 27. (A) President of Senate. The lieutenant governor in office on the effective date of this constitution shall continue to serve as president of the Senate until his term expires in 1976.
(B) First Session. The provisions of Article III of this constitution shall become effective for the first session of the legislature to be held in 1975 and each session thereafter. However, in 1976, the legislature shall convene in regular session at twelve o'clock noon on the second Monday in May, at which time the members elected at the statewide election in 1976 shall take office; otherwise, the legislature shall conduct that session as provided in Article III of this constitution.
(C) Legislative Auditor. The legislative auditor shall continue to exercise the powers and perform the functions set forth in Article VI, Section 26(2)* of the Constitution of 1921 until otherwise provided by law.
(D) Legislative Reapportionment. The requirement for legislative reapportionment in Section 6 of Article III of this constitution shall apply to the reapportionment of the legislature following the decennial census of 1980, and thereafter.

See, now, LSA-R.S. 24:511 et seq.

§28. Judiciary Commission

Section 28. The members of the judiciary commission in office on the effective date of this constitution shall serve until the expiration of their terms. Within thirty days after the effective date of this constitution, the additional two citizen members shall be selected as required by Article V, Section 25. A lawyer member, as thereby required, shall be selected to succeed the judge of a court of record other than a court of appeal whose term as a member of the commission first expires. Thereafter, when a vacancy occurs, the successor to the position shall be selected in accordance with Article V, Section 25.

§30. Commissioner of Elections

Section 30. The commissioner of elections, as provided by Article IV, first elected under this constitution shall be elected to take office in 1976. The custodian of voting machines in office on the effective date of this constitution shall continue to exercise the functions of that office, without change, until the expiration of his term.

§31. Pardon Board

Section 31. Until a pardon board is appointed under the terms of this constitution, the lieutenant governor, attorney general, and presiding judge of the sentencing court shall continue to serve as a board of pardons.

§32. Levee Districts; Compensation for Property

Section 32. The provisions of Article XVI, Section 6 of the Constitution of 1921 shall be continued as a statute, subject to change by the legislature, and the amount of compensation therein required to be paid for property used or destroyed for levee or levee drainage purposes shall be paid as provided in Section 6 of Article XVI of the Constitution of 1921 until the legislature enacts a law to effectuate Article VI, Section 42 of this constitution.

§33. Suits Against the State; Effective Date

Section 33. The provisions of Article XII, Section 10 waiving the immunity of the state, its agencies, or political subdivisions from suit and liability in contract or for injury to person or property only shall apply to a cause of action arising after the effective date of this constitution.

§34. Exemption from Seizure and Sale

Section 34. The provisions of Article XI of the Constitution of 1921 shall be continued as a statute until the legislature enacts the law required by Article XII, Section 9 of this constitution, but the amount of the exemption shall be fifteen thousand dollars in value until otherwise fixed by law.

§35. Effective Date

Section 35. This constitution shall become effective at twelve o'clock midnight on December 31, 1974. The secretary of state shall promulgate the results of the election by publication in the official state journal on the thirtieth day prior thereto; however, he shall announce the results of the election within thirty days after the date of the election at which the constitution is submitted to the people.

§36. Effect of Adoption

Section 36. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of any law or the prior constitution, this constitution when approved by the electors of this state shall be the Constitution of the State of Louisiana upon the effective date as provided in Section 35 of this Article.

§37. Severability Clause

Section 37. If any provision of this constitution is declared invalid for any reason, that provision shall not affect the validity of the entire constitution or any other provision thereof.