As St. Tammany Parish residents file into the voting booths on Tuesday, November 6, they will be faced with not only choosing a President, but nine amendments to the Louisiana Constitution, a parish millage renewal for public health services, and a decision on school board term limits. Vetted by the Governmental Affairs Committee and voted on by the Board of Directors, St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce has taken a position to support six of the nine amendments, as well as support for both the millage renewal and term limits.

The Chamber is in support of Amendment #2 (Guns); #3 (Prefiling and Notice of Retirement Bills); #4 (Property Taxes for Spouses); #5 (Forfeiture of Retirement Benefits); #7 (Boards and Commissions with Membership Tied to Congressional Districts); and #8 (Property Taxes for Businesses). No position was taken on Amendment #1 (Medicaid Trust Fund); #6 (Property Tax in New Iberia) and #9 (Crime Prevention Districts).

The Chamber Board also came out in full support of the renewal of a dedicated ad valorem tax of 1.84 mills for public health services. The largest expenditure from this fund supports suicide prevention in St. Tammany Parish.

Voters will also be asked to decide whether term limits should be established for their local school board members. The Chamber recommends voting yes. If the proposal passes, the clock on term limits would start Jan. 1, 2014, so past service before that date will not count. From that date forward, members will only be able to serve three consecutive four-year terms.

For more information on these election issues, including summaries of all nine amendments, visit our governmental affairs portal.