Libertarian Guide to the 2012 LA Constitutional Amendments
The following is a look at the proposed Constitutional Amendments to the Louisiana Constitution on the ballot Tuesday, November 6th, 2012.
It is written through the lens of the LPL Platform first, and if there is no applicable provision that covers the subject of the amendment, then the amendment is looked at in light of the Platform of the National Libertarian Party.
The amendment text is not repeated here. If you would like to see the full text of the proposed amendments, you can do so on the State Legislature's website. (This is the only place to view the actual text of the bills passed by the Legislature, all other sources are merely summaries)
This guide is not offered to sway or electioneer for anyone to vote for or against any amendment, but merely to illustrate how Libertarian principles, as espoused in the two platforms, would apply to the various amendments.
Medicaid Trust Fund for the Elderly
State Platform Position
- Constitutions — They should not be amended for light or transient causes, nor should their basic provisions be constructed so as to require amendment to assent to laws which would otherwise be in the purview of the Legislature or the People themselves.
- Budgets — Government has the duty and obligation to spend within the means of the Treasury. Debt should not be incurred unless in dire emergency as invasion or rebellion or natural disaster as shall not admit of any other remedy.
- Contracts — We uphold the right to freely contract with others outside of inter- ference or coercion. Government has the obligation to enforce performance of private contracts, when requested by a counter- party, without regard to public policy.
- Individual Rights — We affirm the principles espoused in the Declaration of Independ- ence - that all Men are created equal, with inalienable rights; that the sole purpose of government is to protect these rights.
National Platform Position
- Economic Liberty — A free and competitive market allocates resources in the most efficient manner. Each person has the right to offer goods and services to others on the free market. The only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society.
- Health Care — We favor restoring and reviving a free market health care system. We recognize the freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they want (if any), the level of health care they want, the care providers they want, the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of their medical care, including end-of-life decisions. People should be free to purchase health insurance across state lines.
- Retirement and Income Security — Retirement planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the government. Libertarians would phase out the current government-sponsored Social Security system and transition to a private voluntary system. The proper and most effective source of help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals. We believe members of society will become more charitable and civil society will be strengthened as government reduces its activity in this realm.
What this means for this amendment
- Locking away funds that are not entirely used each year requires either cuts in other areas, or the assumption of debt. If governments are obligated to spend within the means of the Treasury, then first and foremost, no funds should be dedicated to anything specific. The Legislature needs maximum flexibility to fund the essential functions of government. The problem arises with non-essential and in many cases, unlawful functions which go far beyond government's solitary purpose of securing the inalienable rights of the People.
- As Libertarians, we do not support government managed health care, or government price controls on any industry, particularly health providers. We believe that only a free market can deliver the best goods and services at the most competitive prices, and that government interference into any market, serves only to play favoritism, stifle competition, drive down choice and quality, and eventually result in lack of accessibility and/or affordability of vital services. Individuals should be free to make their own health decisions, contract for health services as they see fit, and are responsible for their own welfare in their later years.
- The State's Trust Fund in question is used only for subsidizing nursinghome care, particularly to offset rate increases that result from government interference into the health provider market. Not only is protecting the State's Medicaid trust fund a violation of all of the above economic principles, writing such special protection into our State Constituion simply makes our Constitution more of a mess than it already is.
- The proper course here is for the State to get out of the Health Care business entirely, and to leave all public funds at the discretion of the Legislature, who is accountable to the People, and who have the obligation to spend only that money that is in the Treasury, and no more. The sooner State government stops trying to interfere in various businesses and restricts itself to securing the Liberty of the People, the sooner individuals will be able to afford quality private care at competitive prices.
Strict Scrutiny Review for Gun Laws
State Platform Position
- Militias — Louisiana is responsible for maintaining the general militia for the protection of itself, the Union, and to execute the laws. Each able individual has the responsibility to be knowledgeable and safe in the proper use of force so that he may provide for the defense of himself, his family, and the People. To these ends, the individual right of each to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
- Individual Rights — We affirm the principles espoused in the Declaration of Independence — that all Men are created equal, with inalienable rights; that the sole purpose of government is to protect these rights; that it is the responsibility of the People to alter or abolish their form of government whenever it becomes destructive of this purpose, instituting new government more conducive to their liberty.
National Platform Position
- Self-Defense — The only legitimate use of force is in defense of individual rights — life, liberty, and justly acquired property — against aggression. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to be aided by any other individual or group. We affirm the individual right recognized by the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms, and oppose the prosecution of individuals for exercising their rights of self- defense. We oppose all laws at any level of government requiring registration of, or restricting, the ownership, manufacture, or transfer or sale of firearms or ammunition.
- Self-Determination — Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of individual liberty, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to agree to such new governance as to them shall seem most likely to protect their liberty.
What this means for this amendment
- Some common misconceptions about the Bill of Rights, and about the Second Amendment in particular need to be cleared up. First, the Bill of Rights does not grant rights to anyone. It recognizes and seeks to protect rights that are inherent in the individual. This is completely consistent with the Declaration of Independence - rights come from our Creator, not from government. They are not given by government, and they cannot be taken away by government.
- Second, the purpose of the Second Amendment is not to facilitate hunting, marksmanship sports, or to encourage historical collectors. The reason the Framers wrote that amendment was to forever guarantee that the People were secure in their "Right of Revolution" that is, their right to alter or abolish their form of government, and to create a new one, if the present one set out on a path to destroy their Life, Liberty, or Property. Restriction of personal arms is the first tool of despots. As long as individuals remain armed, government will be rightfully in check from straying too far afeild towards tyranny. Note, as Libertarians, we do not condone the initiation of the use of force, but we do recognize the right to use force, if necessary, to defend one's life, liberty and property, or that of another in self-defense, especially from a despotic government.
- Third, reference to the "militia" in the Second Amendment is not a reference to some organized military force, but rather to the general able bodied population. An armed population, the Framers understood, was "necessary to the security of a free state."
- Certainly, the proposed amendment still leaves open a crack in the door for unlawful infringements upon this most fundamental and basic right, but it is far superior to the present language in our State Constitution which might be exploited without much effort.
Earlier Notice of Public Retirement Bills
State Platform Position
- Constitutions — They should not be amended for light or transient causes, nor should their basic provisions be constructed so as to require amendment to assent to laws which would otherwise be in the purview of the Legislature or the People themselves.
- Budgets — Government has the duty and obligation to spend within the means of the Treasury. Debt should not be incurred unless in dire emergency as invasion or rebellion or natural disaster as shall not admit of any other remedy.
National Platform Position
- Retirement and Income Security — Retirement planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the government.
- Government Finance and Spending — Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations without their consent.
What this means for this amendment
- Public retirement systems are merely a tax upon future generations for work that is no longer being performed. Public service is not a right, and the receipt of any money out of the public Treasury is a privelege. No one is obligated to work for government. If the pay for government service, and the satisfaction of serving your fellow citizen is not compensation enough for the job, then one is free to find work for a private company or firm. Everyone is responsible for their own retirement and income security.
- While certainly, there is sufficient notice of any new bill before the legislature, if not providing even more notice for these specific types of bills results in reforms, cuts to, or abolition of public retirement in Louisiana, that result would be wholly consistent with the Libertarian platforms. Additionally, since government has a duty to spend within its means, if a public retirement system is for whatever reason, underfunded, the Legislature must have the flexibility to alter benefits if necessary to prevent incurring debt or having to make cuts to present employee salaries for essential functions. Special rules for filing such bills may serve to hinder this flexibility and foist either massive debt or draconian cuts in the future, all to subsidize the privilege of retirement for people who are no longer providing public services.
- Finally, such measures as these are best left to laws which can be passed by the Legislature and special exceptions for this or that type of law, especially based solely on a subject matter, should not be in the Constitution.
Homestead Exemption for Veterans’ Spouses
State Platform Position
- Constitutions — They should not be amended for light or transient causes, nor should their basic provisions be constructed so as to require amendment to assent to laws which would otherwise be in the purview of the Legislature or the People themselves.
- Taxes — Taxation should be limited in its scope and light in its impact. Direct, apportioned taxes are preferred for both state and national revenue. Louisiana must ensure that the tax laws are not misapplied or improperly enforced to the detriment of the citizen.
National Platform Position
- Representative Government — We advocate initiative, referendum, recall and repeal when used as popular checks on government.
What this means for this amendment
- Libertarians favor as small of a tax burden as is only absolutely necessary to fund essential functions of government. As well, this amendment merely perfects a previous amendment which had a glaring omission in it for this very real and likely scenario. Thus, lowering someone's tax burden, and certainly for this purpose, is well in line with the Libertarian platforms.
- Since the previous amendment was the authorization to setup a referendum on increased tax exemptions to veterans and their spouses, it would be more proper if this particular amendment left the question up to the voters of each parish as well. However, it should be noted that this would produce perhaps a more complicated landscape of variations in property taxation within the State, and that this language should have been included in the original amendment which was already passed. Like many other amendments on the ballot this election and in previous elections, this amendment clutters up the Constitution with yet more language that is specific to only a certain group or class of citizen rather than serving as a more general framework for how government is to operate.
- Passage of this amendment would create a more simple and uniform system for these special exemptions, lighten the tax burden for those who offered themselves in military service to the nation, but this same result might be achieved better by repealing the property tax language from our Constitution entirely, and leaving these details up to the Legislature. Note, taking the approach of removing this subject from the Constitution does not also remove public input or approval for such exemptions. The Legislature can still offer the exemption, as it is worded now, or with this new amendment, as a standard referendum item in an election, instead of as part of our Constitution.
Forfeiture of Public Retirement Benefits
State Platform Position
- Constitutions — They should not be amended for light or transient causes, nor should their basic provisions be constructed so as to require amendment to assent to laws which would otherwise be in the purview of the Legislature or the People themselves.
- Accountability — All public officials, elected or otherwise are fully and personally, legally and financially accountable to the people. Non elected positions should be bonded, and All Officials should be subject to a Grand Jury of the People, assembled for the purpose, should they be deemed to have violated their oath of office, the law, or enjoy personal benefit while acting under color of law.
National Platform Position
- Retirement and Income Security — Retirement planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the government.
What this means for this amendment
- As noted above, public retirement systems violate several principles of legally and financially sound government. Furthermore, any public servant, elected, appointed or hired, should be fully accountable to the People and if they are found to have committed serious crimes while in public service, should certainly not be eligible for ANY further public benefit or compensation, and should have to repay to the public treasury, any monies gained from the Treasury while engaging such criminal behavior.
- However, there is a concern that this amendment does not go far enough, both in its reach for what a public servant is allowed to keep, and in that it does not apply to any current public servant, or to any benefit accrued before passage of the amendment, even if it is later found that the employee or official was engaged in criminal behavior before the amendment was passed.
- The amendment erroneously considers contributions to any retirement plans or pensions coming from the employee as not being "public." This language is in error, because for a public salaried official or employee ALL of the money they are paid out of the Treasury is essentially "public."
- This particular amendment also violates the principle of maintaining the Constitution as a general framework of government, and the specific language of the amendment is entirely too detailed. A more general provision would be in order, or best left to standard law passed by the Legislature, and perhaps approved directly by the voters.
Property Tax Exemption Authority for New Iberia
State Platform Position
- Constitutions — They should not be amended for light or transient causes, nor should their basic provisions be constructed so as to require amendment to assent to laws which would otherwise be in the purview of the Legislature or the People themselves.
National Platform Position
- none
What this means for this amendment
- This amendment is a constitutional mess waiting to happen. Passage of such a specific provision is sure to invite other municipalities to want their own special amendments in the future. If the provision were more general to any or all municipalities, then a further review of the merits of this change might be in order, but creating a special rule just for one town in the Constitution is entirely inappropriate. If the Legislature really wants to offer this special rule for just this one town, it should seek to repeal the restrictive language in the present Constitution which makes it necessary to offer this language as an amendment in the first place.
Membership of Certain Boards and Commissions
State Platform Position
- Constitutions — They should not be amended for light or transient causes, nor should their basic provisions be constructed so as to require amendment to assent to laws which would otherwise be in the purview of the Legislature or the People themselves.
National Platform Position
- none
What this means for this amendment
- This amendment is being offered to correct current language which ties the size of these boards to Congressional Districts. Note, this amendment does not abolish the language that is causing this mess in the first place. It is merely temporarily smoothing out the transition from more to fewer members on the boards. Perhaps a better solution would be to repeal the original language in the present Constitution. This is a prime example of why detailed and specific language does not belong in a Constitution, and how placing it there will eventually necessitate more amendments to correct flaws in the future.
Non-Manufacturing Tax Exemption Program
State Platform Position
- Constitutions — They should not be amended for light or transient causes, nor should their basic provisions be constructed so as to require amendment to assent to laws which would otherwise be in the purview of the Legislature or the People themselves.
National Platform Position
- none
What this means for this amendment
- Again, this is a matter best left to a local option referendum, or to the Legislature. Special cases and exemptions and procedures should not be included in a Constitution.
More Notice for Crime Prevention District Bills
State Platform Position
- Constitutions — They should not be amended for light or transient causes, nor should their basic provisions be constructed so as to require amendment to assent to laws which would otherwise be in the purview of the Legislature or the People themselves.
National Platform Position
- none
What this means for this amendment
- Such measures are better left to the Legislature, or for legal initiative and referendum. The Constitution should not include such specific and detailed language concerning special subjects, particularly about legal process or rules of order of the Legislature.
Ballot Proposition
Note, this question will only appear on the ballot in parishes which do not already have such term limits
Term Limits for Local School Board Members
State Platform Position
- none specific
National Platform Position
- Representative Government — We advocate initiative, referendum, recall and repeal when used as popular checks on government.
What this means for this proposition
- Since this is not a Constitutional amendment, and merely a local option referendum question, it is consistent with the Libertarian platforms.