Tangipahoa Parish

Shall Article II, Section 2-01, Subsection B, Paragraph 1 of the Home Rule Charter for the City of Hammond be amended to read as follows: B. (1) A member of the Council shall be elected for a four (4) year term concurrent with that of the mayor and shall be eligible for re-election; but no person shall be eligible as a candidate for election or re-election to the office of city council for the term immediately following the third consecutive term to which that person was elected as a member of the city council, except as otherwise provided by this charter.

Shall Article II, Section 2-04, Subsection A of the Home Rule Charter for the City of Hammond be amended to read as follows: A. Council members shall be paid one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per month until changed by ordinance. The president of the council shall be paid an additional five hundred dollars ($500.00) per month until changed by ordinance. No ordinance changing the compensation of a council member shall be adopted during the last year of a term of office, and no such ordinance shall become effective during the term of the council adopting the ordinance.

Shall Article III, Section 3-05 of the Home Rule Charter for the City of Hammond, dealing with the mayor's absence and disability, be amended to allow the city council to appoint a person, except for current city council members, to serve as acting mayor if the director of administration is unable to serve, all as set forth in Ordinance No. 12-5291 C.S. adopted by the City Council on April 17, 2012, which Ordinance sets forth the full text of the proposed Charter amendment and is on file with the Hammond City Council Clerk and available for public inspection.

Shall Article IV, Section 4-02 of the Home Rule Charter for the City of Hammond be amended to add a Subsection E to read as follows: E. The Council, upon approval by a majority vote of the authorized membership of the council, shall be allowed to hire its own legal advisor in case it deems it necessary, on an issue by issue basis.

Shall Article IV, Section 4-04 of the Home Rule Charter for the City of Hammond be amended to add a Subsection C to read as follows: C. The police chief must meet all requirements of the municipal fire and police civil service laws of the State of Louisiana as applicable to the City of Hammond, including being a citizen of the United States. The police chief candidate must meet one of the following qualifications: (1) Must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher education in criminal justice, police administration, public administration, or other related curriculum and at least six (6) years experience of progressively responsible positions in law enforcement, at least two (2) years of which must have been in positions which include administrative or supervisory responsibilities. Law enforcement experience should include work in positions which would provide background in patrol operations, criminal investigations, police training, and related areas of police department operations and management, or; (2) Must have an associate degree from an accredited institution of higher education in criminal justice, police administration, or other related curriculum, or a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher education in an unrelated curriculum and at least eight (8) years experience of progressively responsible positions in law enforcement, at least two (2) years of which must have been in positions which include administrative or supervisory responsibilities. Law enforcement experience should include work in positions which would provide background in patrol operations, criminal investigations, police training, and related areas of police department operations and management.

Shall Article IV, Section 4-05 of the Home Rule Charter for the City of Hammond be amended to add a Subsection C to read as follows: C. The fire chief must meet all requirements of the municipal fire and police civil service laws of the State of Louisiana as applicable to the City of Hammond, including being a citizen of the United States. The fire chief candidate must meet one of the following qualifications: (1) Must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher education in fire science, fire administration, public administration, or other related curriculum and at least six (6) years experience of progressively responsible positions in fire service, at least two (2) years of which must have been in positions which include administrative or supervisory responsibilities. Fire service experience should include work in positions which would provide background in fire prevention and investigation, fire training, and related areas of fire department operations and management, or; (2) Must have an associate degree from an accredited institution of higher education in fire science, fire administration, or other related curriculum, or a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher education in an unrelated curriculum and at least eight (8) years experience of progressively responsible positions in fire service, at least two (2) years of which must have been in positions which include administrative or supervisory responsibilities. Fire service experience should include work in positions which would provide background in fire prevention and investigation, fire training, and related areas of fire department operations and management.

Shall Article VII, Section 7-02 of the Home Rule Charter for the City of Hammond be amended to read as follows: Section 7-02. Conflict of Interest Any City officer, official or employee who has a substantial financial interest, direct or indirect or by reason of ownership of interest in any limited liability company, partnership, or any other business corporation, in any contract with the City or in the sale of any land, material, supplies or services to the City or to a contractor or subcontractor supplying the City shall make known that interest and shall be prohibited from voting or otherwise participating in the capacity of a City officer or employee in the making of such sale or in the making or performance of such contract. Any City officer, official or employee who willfully conceals such a substantial financial interest or willfully violates the requirements of this section shall be guilty of malfeasance in office or position and shall forfeit the office or position. Violation of this section with the knowledge, express or implied of the person, partnership, company or corporation contracting with or making a sale to the City shall render the contract or sale void.

Shall Article VII, Section 7-04 of the Home Rule Charter for the City of Hammond be amended to read as follows: Section 7-04. Amending or replacing the charter A. Proposals to amend or replace this charter may be made both by the council and by petition signed by not less than twenty-five (25) percent of the qualified voters of the City. The procedures and time limits for filing such a petition, for holding a public hearing on the matter and for calling an election on the petition request shall be the same as provided for in Section 6-01 (Initiative and Referendum). A petition shall contain the full text of the proposed amendment. B. Proposals to amend or replace this charter shall be submitted for ratification to the qualified voters of the City, preferably in an election already scheduled for other purposes, otherwise in a special election called by the council. The results shall be determined by a majority vote of the electors voting on any particular proposal. C. Proposals by the council and by petition may be submitted to the voters at the same election and voters may, at their option, accept or reject any or all such proposals. Should conflicting proposals be approved at the same election, the one receiving the greater number of affirmative votes shall prevail to the extent of such conflict. D. Proposals to amend or replace this charter shall not be submitted more often than every two (2) years and no amendment or replace shall shorten the term for which any official was elected or reduce the salary of office for that term.

Shall the Parish of Tangipahoa, State of Louisiana (the "Parish"), under the provisions of Article VI, Section 29 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, as amended, and other constitutional and statutory authority, be authorized to renew the levy and collection, and adopt an ordinance providing for such levy and collection, of a tax of one percent (1%) (the "Tax") (an estimated $16,221,094 is reasonably expected at this time to be collected from the levy of the Tax for an entire year), upon the sale at retail, the use, the lease or rental, the consumption, and the storage for use or consumption, of tangible personal property and on sales of services in the Parish for a period of four (4) years, beginning December 31, 2013, with the net proceeds of the Tax (after deducting the reasonable and necessary cost of collecting and administering the Tax) to be dedicated and used exclusively for the following purposes: twenty-five percent (25%) of the proceeds of the Tax to be used to pay the cost of operation of local government and seventy-five percent (75%) of the proceeds of the Tax to be used to fund the Parish Road and Bridge Fund in order to pay the cost of road and bridge maintenance and improvements within the Parish?

"LOCAL OPTION ELECTION Within Tangipahoa Parish School District: Shall the number of terms of office that any member of the school board may serve be limited to three consecutive four-year terms?"

Do you support an amendment to prohibit monies in the Medicaid Trust Fund for the Elderly from being used or appropriated for other purposes when adjustments are made to eliminate a state deficit? (Adds Article VII, Section 10(F)(4)(g))

Do you support an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Louisiana to provide that the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental right and any restriction of that right requires the highest standard of review by a court? (Amends Article I, Section 11)

Do you support an amendment to require legislation effecting any change to laws concerning retirement systems for public employees that is to be prefiled to be filed no later than forty-five days before the start of a regular legislative session and to require the completion of public notice requirements regarding legislation effecting such a change no later than sixty days before introduction of the bill? (Amends Article III, Section 2(A)(2), Article X, Section 29(C), and Article XIII, Section 1(A))

Do you support an amendment to exempt from ad valorem taxation, in addition to the homestead exemption, the next seventy-five thousand dollars of value of property owned and occupied by the spouse of a deceased veteran with a service-connected disability rating of one hundred percent who passed away prior to the enactment of the exemption? (Effective January 1, 2013)(Amends Article VII, Section 21(K)(1))

Do you support an amendment to provide for the forfeiture of public retirement benefits by any public servant who is convicted of a felony associated with and committed during his public service? (Adds Article X, Section 29(G))

Do you support an amendment to authorize the granting of ad valorem tax exemption contracts by the city of New Iberia for property annexed by the city after January 1, 2013? (Adds Article VII, Section 21(L))

Do you support an amendment, relative to the membership of constitutional boards and commissions that have members who are selected from congressional districts, to retain the existing number of members and to provide for implementation of membership from reapportioned congressional districts by filling vacancies first from under-represented districts and then from the state at large? (Amends Article VIII, Sections 5(B)(1), 6(B)(1), and 7(B)(1) and Article X, Sections 3(A) and 43(A); Adds Article VIII, Section 8(D))

Do you support an amendment to authorize the granting of ad valorem tax exemption contracts by the Board of Commerce and Industry for businesses located in parishes which have chosen to participate in a program established for the granting of such contracts? (Effective January 1, 2013) (Adds Article VII, Section 21(L))

Do you support an amendment to provide that no law relative to the creation of a special district, the primary purpose of which includes aiding in crime prevention and security by providing for an increased presence of law enforcement personnel in the district or otherwise promoting and encouraging security in the district, shall be enacted unless three separate notices of the proposed law are published at least thirty days prior to introduction of the bill, which notice shall set forth the substance of the proposed law and whether the governing authority of the special district would be authorized to impose and collect a parcel fee within the district, whether the parcel fee will be imposed or may be increased without an election, and the maximum amount of such fee? (Amends Article III, Section 13)