HLS 16RS-157 ORIGINAL
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 153
BY REPRESENTATIVE LEGER
PUBLIC OFFICIALS: (Constitutional Amendment) Prohibits felons from qualifying for or
holding offices of public trust
1 A JOINT RESOLUTION
2Proposing to amend Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to public
3 office; to prohibit a person who is convicted of a felony from qualifying for or taking
4 public elective office or appointment of honor, trust, or profit in the state; to provide
5 an exception for persons who are pardoned by certain officials; to provide for
6 submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; and to provide for related
7 matters.
8 Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members
9elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of
10Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to
11amend Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows:
12 §10. Right to Vote; Disqualification from Seeking or Holding Public Office
13 Section 10.(A) Right to Vote. Every citizen of the state, upon reaching
14 eighteen years of age, shall have the right to register and vote, except that this right
15 may be suspended while a person is interdicted and judicially declared mentally
16 incompetent or is under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony.
17 (B) Disqualification. The following persons shall not be permitted to qualify
18 as a candidate for elective public office or take public elective office or appointment
19 of honor, trust, or profit in this state:
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HLS 16RS-157 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 153
1 (1) A person who has been convicted within this state of a felony and who
2 has exhausted all legal remedies, or who has been convicted under the laws of any
3 other state or of the United States or of any foreign government or country of a crime
4 which, if committed in this state, would be a felony and who has exhausted all legal
5 remedies and has not afterwards been pardoned either by the governor of this state
6 or by the officer of the state, nation, government, or country having such authority
7 to pardon in the place where the person was convicted and sentenced.
8 (2) A person actually under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a
9 felony.
10 Section 2. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted
11to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on November 8,
122016.
13 Section 3. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at the election,
14there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted
15to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as
16follows:
17 Do you support an amendment to prohibit a person convicted of a felony
18 from qualifying for or taking public elective office or appointment of honor,
19 trust, or profit in the state and to exclude from the prohibition a person who
20 has been pardoned? (Amends Article I, Section 10)
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 153 Original 2016 Regular Session Leger
Abstract: Prohibits a person who has been convicted of a felony from qualifying for or
taking public elective office or appointment of honor, trust, or profit in the state.
Provides an exception for persons pardoned by the appropriate officer.
Present constitution provides that the right to register and vote may be suspended while a
person is interdicted and judicially declared mentally incompetent or under an order of
imprisonment for conviction of a felony.
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HLS 16RS-157 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 153
Proposed constitutional amendment retains present constitution and prohibits the following
from qualifying as a candidate for elective public office or taking public elective office or
appointment of honor, trust, or profit in this state:
(1)A person who has been convicted within this state of a felony and who has exhausted
all legal remedies, or who has been convicted under the laws of any other state or of
the U.S. or of any foreign government or country of a crime which, if committed in
this state, would be a felony and who has exhausted all legal remedies and has not
afterwards been pardoned either by the governor of this state or by the officer of the
state, nation, government, or country having such authority to pardon in the place
where the person was convicted and sentenced.
(2)A person actually under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony.
Provides for submission of the proposed amendment to the voters at the statewide election
to be held Nov. 8, 2016.
(Amends Art. I, §10)
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.