ENROLLED
2018 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 42
BY REPRESENTATIVES BARRAS, ABRAHAM, ABRAMSON, AMEDEE, ANDERS,
ARMES, BACALA, BAGLEY, BAGNERIS, BERTHELOT, BILLIOT, BISHOP,
BOUIE, BRASS, CHAD BROWN, TERRY BROWN, CARMODY, CARPENTER,
GARY CARTER, ROBBY CARTER, STEVE CARTER, CHANEY, CONNICK,
COUSSAN, COX, CREWS, CROMER, DANAHAY, DAVIS, DEVILLIER,
DWIGHT, EDMONDS, EMERSON, FALCONER, FOIL, FRANKLIN, GAINES,
GAROFALO, GISCLAIR, GLOVER, GUINN, HALL, JIMMY HARRIS, LANCE
HARRIS, HAVARD, HAZEL, HENRY, HENSGENS, HILFERTY, HILL,
HODGES, HOFFMANN, HOLLIS, HORTON, HOWARD, HUNTER, HUVAL,
IVEY, JACKSON, JAMES, JEFFERSON, JENKINS, JOHNSON, JONES,
JORDAN, NANCY LANDRY, TERRY LANDRY, LEBAS, LEGER, LEOPOLD,
LYONS, MACK, MAGEE, MARCELLE, MARINO, MCFARLAND, MIGUEZ,
DUSTIN MILLER, GREGORY MILLER, MORENO, JAY MORRIS, JIM
MORRIS, NORTON, PEARSON, PIERRE, POPE, PUGH, PYLANT, REYNOLDS,
RICHARD, SCHEXNAYDER, SEABAUGH, SHADOIN, SIMON, SMITH,
STAGNI, STEFANSKI, STOKES, TALBOT, THIBAUT, THOMAS, WHITE,
WRIGHT, AND ZERINGUE
A RESOLUTION
To recognize the forty-fourth anniversary of the ratification of the Constitution of Louisiana
of 1974 and to commend the delegates of the Constitutional Convention of 1973 for
their extraordinary public service to the state of Louisiana.
WHEREAS, it is appropriate to recognize the forty-fourth anniversary of the
ratification of the Constitution of Louisiana of 1974 and to commend the delegates of the
Constitutional Convention of 1973 upon the successful confection of a new constitution, a
collaborative effort of representative democracy considered to be one of the most significant
achievements in Louisiana's history during the twentieth century; and
WHEREAS, the Constitution of Louisiana of 1974 lies at the epicenter of the
infrastructure of state government as a definitive legal instrument that clearly delineates the
rights of individuals, describes the distribution of powers among state officials and local
governments, and establishes both state and local civil service systems; and
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WHEREAS, the delegates of the Constitutional Convention of 1973 drafted the
eleventh version of the state's constitution since statehood in 1812; it had previously been
reworked in 1845, 1852, 1861, 1864, 1868, 1879, 1898, 1913, and 1921; and
WHEREAS, the predecessor to the Constitution of Louisiana of 1974, the
Constitution of Louisiana of 1921, had been amended more than five hundred times to
become a conflicted legal quagmire, the second most lengthy of all state constitutions,
containing more than two hundred fifty-five thousand words, a large number of outside
references, and an excessive amount of detail; and
WHEREAS, lawmakers and government watch-dog organizations such as the Public
Affairs Research Council raised objections to the antiquated 1921 Constitution as a
hindrance to economic growth and flexibility within state and local governments; and
WHEREAS, in 1971, gubernatorial candidate, Congressman Edwin W. Edwards, ran
on a campaign plank to implement a modern constitution and to streamline government;
when elected, he was stymied in his efforts to reorganize the executive branch due to the
inflexibility of the 1921 Constitution; and
WHEREAS, Act No. 2 of the 1972 Regular Session (House Bill No. 181 by
Representative McLeod and others) was the legislative instrument used to bring about
change through the creation of the Constitutional Convention of 1973, known as CC73, a
collective of one hundred five delegates elected by popular vote from existing districts of
the Louisiana House of Representatives and twenty-seven delegates appointed by the
governor; and
WHEREAS, the CC73 delegates came from all corners of the state; they represented
a cross-section of state demographics, as the greatest generation whose strength of character
was forged by the global conflict of World War II, as activists of the "New South" who were
the emerging national voice for minorities and women, and as a new generation of political
novices taking their first steps in public service; Philip Bergeron was the youngest elected
delegate at eighteen years of age; and
WHEREAS, the convention convened on January 5, 1973; the roll call of elected
delegates in order beginning with District One was: Jasper K. Smith, Alphonse Jackson, Jr.,
Wellborn Jack, V.C. Shannon, Tom Stagg, Frank Fulco, Dr. Emmett Asseff, Ford E. Stinson,
Charles "Buddy" Roemer, R. Harmon Drew, Bill P. Grier, Kenneth Dale Kilpatrick, E.L.
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"Bubba" Henry, Paul David Ginn, Shady Wall, Judge James L. "Jim" Dennis, Thomas W.
Leigh, R.M. Elkins, J.A. "Jim" McDaniel, Lantz Womack, Jim Brown, Terry R. Reeves,
Donald G. Kelly, H.M. "Mutt" Fowler, Richard S. Thompson, Chris J. Roy, Charles Slay,
Lynn Perkins, Cecil R. Blair, F.E. "Pete" Hernandez, Dr. J.E. Stephenson, Errol D.
Deshotels, A.J. Planchard, Dr. Gerald N. Weiss, Mack Abraham, Conway LeBleu, Greg
Arnette, Jr., Clyde Fontenot, Walter J. Champagne, Jr., Lawrence B. Sandoz, Jr., I. Jackson
Burson, Jr., Ralph L. Cowen, Pat Juneau, Heloise C. Corne, E.J. Chatelain, J. Burton Willis,
G. Hardee, Jr., Minos H. Armentor, Perry Segura, F.D. "Dan" Winchester, Anthony J.
Guarisco, Jr., Stanwood R. Duval, Jr., Charles A. Badeaux, Donald T. Bollinger, Walter I.
Lanier, Jr., Eual J. Landry, Sr., Gordon J. Martin, N.E. Carmouche, Louis J. Lambert, Jr.,
Jessel M. Ourso, Sr., Herman J. "Monday" Lowe, Richard H. Kilbourne, George Dewey
Hayes, Gary O'Neill, Harvey W. Cannon, Jr., Louis "Woody" Jenkins, Mary E. Wisham,
J.D. De Blieux, Robert J. Aertker, R. Gordon Kean, Jr., Calvin C. Fayard, Jr., Joseph "Joe"
E. Anzalone, Jr., Autley B. Newton, James T. "Jim" Burns, B. B. "Sixty" Rayburn, Alvin D.
Singletary, Edward J. "Eddie" D'Gerolamo, Wendell H. Gauthier, the Reverend James L.
Stovall, Joseph A. Conino, David Conroy, Harold J. Toca, John A. Alario, Jr., Dr. Frank J.
Ullo, Joseph F. Toomy, Matthew R. Sutherland, Earl J. Schmitt, Jr., Novyse E. Soniat, Moise
W. Dennery, Thomas A. Casey, Louis Landrum, Sr., Edward F. LeBreton, Jr., the Reverend
Avery C. Alexander, Anthony J. Vesich, Jr., Claude Mauberret, Jr., James G. Derbes,
Thomas A. Velazquez, Joseph I. Giarrusso, Sr., Louis G. Riecke, Sr., Philip O. Bergeron,
Johnny Jackson, Jr., George Ethel Warren, Elmer R. Tapper, Samuel B. Nunez, Jr., and
Chalin Perez; and
WHEREAS, delegates appointed by the governor to represent particular interests
included Edward N. Lennox, industry; Gordon Flory, labor; Horace C. Robinson, education;
Anthony M. Rachal, Jr., civil service; John L. "Jack" Avant, wildlife and conservation; Frank
M. Edwards, Jr., law enforcement; Albert Tate, Jr., judiciary; Ruth Miller, professions; Hilda
Brien, consumers; Robert J. Munson, agriculture; Max N. Tobias, Jr., youth; and Dorothy
Mae Taylor, racial minorities; and
WHEREAS, at-large delegates appointed by the governor for extraordinary expertise
in law and local governmental affairs included Tom Colten, Ambroise H. Landry, Pegram
J. Mire, Clyde F. Bel, Sr., Mary Zervigon, Joe N. Silverberg, John R. Thistlethwaite,
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Lawrence A. Chehardy, Kendall Vick, Judy Dunlap, J. K. Haynes, Richard P. Guidry,
J. Kenneth Leithman, Risley C. Triche, and Camille F. Gravel, Jr.; and
WHEREAS, delegates appointed to fulfill unexpired terms were Dean Louis Berry,
Emile Comar, Jr., Paul H. Goldman, R.W. "Buzzy" Graham, Norman "Pete" Heine, Louis
M. Jones, Corrine Maybruce, James W. Morris, Robert G. Pugh, Charles Wattigny, Carolyn
Guedry Badeaux, and Paula Sue Kilpatrick; and
WHEREAS, CC73 was a unicameral body comprised of one hundred thirty-two
delegates from all walks of life, including some of the best legal minds of the time; it was
a self-governing body that employed rules of procedure adopted by the convention, a
committee system, compromise and good humor, transparency of process with open debate,
news media access, and community involvement with public meetings held across the state
to gather public opinion and a sense of popular needs and wants, all of which advanced the
acceptance of a new constitution; and
WHEREAS, CC73 was reflective of the changing face of Louisiana's political scene;
among those involved were future leaders that included a governor, house clerk, senate
secretary, judges, mayors, outstanding attorneys-at-law, and future legislators, such as the
African American delegates who were the predecessors of an alliance that would become
the Legislative Black Caucus; there were young movers and shakers who were the vanguard
of the Young Turks of the 1970s in the Louisiana House of Representatives, and future state
officials who would contribute immeasurably to the executive, legislative, and judicial
branches of state and local government; and
WHEREAS, CC73 was a learning process that created a familiarity between
delegates and constituents who were often separated by distance and biased by cultural
stereotypes; and
WHEREAS, at times, the atmosphere of CC73 was highly contested, but mostly
congenial, and strong friendships were forged that have lasted over four decades; and
WHEREAS, the convention adjourned on January 19, 1974, having adopted a
proposed draft constitution; and
WHEREAS, the document was attested to with the signatures of its framers,
including chairman of the convention, E.L. "Bubba" Henry; vice chairmen, Ruth L. Miller,
Thomas A. Casey, the Reverend Avery C. Alexander, and Chris J. Roy; treasurer, Herman
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J. "Monday" Lowe; and the remaining convention delegates, which included among its
number, Senate President John A. Alario, Jr., then a member of the House of
Representatives; and
WHEREAS, CC73 was a great success; the delegation drafted a constitutional
blueprint for a basic form of state government that was laden with protections for the
individual; championed the tenets of equal opportunity, fair labor relations, and small
business interests; and expanded voter participation; and
WHEREAS, the draft constitution was submitted to and ratified by the people at a
special election held on April 20, 1974; by its own terms, the new constitution became
effective at midnight on December 31, 1974; and
WHEREAS, with their approach of change through positive deliberation, the
delegates of CC73 left a remarkable legacy of genuine public service to the citizenry of
Louisiana who in turn owe a great debt to these framers of the new constitution as their
contributions have made Louisiana a better and more prosperous state in which to live.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby recognize the forty-fourth anniversary of the
ratification of the Constitution of Louisiana of 1974 and commend the delegates of the
Constitutional Convention of 1973 for their extraordinary public service to the state of
Louisiana.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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