HLS 23RS-359 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 277
BY REPRESENTATIVE BAGLEY
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
TAX/SEVERANCE TAX: (Constitutional Amendment) Provides relative to severance tax
revenues remitted to parishes in which the associated severance occurs
1 A JOINT RESOLUTION
2Proposing to amend Article VII, Section 4(D)(3) and (4) of the Constitution of Louisiana,
3 relative to state severance tax revenues; to increase the limit on the amount of such
4 revenues remitted to parishes; to authorize the legislature to enact laws relative to the
5 expenditure by parishes of such remitted amounts; to repeal provisions for an
6 increase in state severance tax revenues to be remitted to parishes contingent upon
7 certain conditions; to implement provisions pertaining to deposit of certain revenues
8 into the Atchafalaya Basin Conservation Fund; to provide for submission of the
9 proposed amendment to the electors; to provide an effective date; and to provide for
10 related matters.
11 Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members
12elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of
13Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to
14amend Article VII, Section 4(D)(3) and (4) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as
15follows:
16 §4. Income Tax; Severance Tax; Political Subdivisions
17 Section 4.
18 * * *
19 D.
20 * * *
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HB NO. 277
1 (3)(a) Effective July 1, 2007 2024, subject to the limitation provided in
2 Subsubparagraph (b) of this Subparagraph, one-fifth of the severance tax on all
3 natural resources other than sulphur, lignite, or timber shall be remitted to the
4 governing authority of the parish in which severance or production occurs.
5 (b) The initial maximum annual amount remitted to the a parish in
6 accordance with this Subparagraph in which severance or production occurs shall not
7 exceed eight hundred fifty thousand ten million dollars. The maximum amount
8 remitted shall be increased each July first, beginning in 2008, by an amount equal to
9 the average annual increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers, as
10 published by the United States Department of Labor, for the previous calendar year,
11 as calculated and adopted by the Revenue Estimating Conference.
12 (c) The legislature may enact laws providing for the use by parishes of
13 amounts remitted in accordance with this Subparagraph.
14 (4) Effective April 1, 2012, the provisions of this Subparagraph shall be
15 implemented if and when the last official forecast of revenues adopted for a fiscal
16 year before the start of that fiscal year contains an estimate of severance tax revenues
17 derived from natural resources other than sulphur, lignite, or timber in an amount
18 which exceeds the actual severance tax revenues from such natural resources
19 collected in Fiscal Year 2008-2009. Upon the adoption of such official forecast, the
20 Revenue Estimating Conference shall certify that the requirements for the
21 implementation of the provisions contained in this Subparagraph have been met. In
22 such event, the following distributions and allocations of severance tax revenues and
23 other revenues provided in this Subparagraph shall be effective and implemented for
24 the fiscal year for which the official forecast was adopted, and each year thereafter.
25 The legislature shall provide by law for the administrative procedures necessary to
26 change the severance tax allocation to parishes from a calendar year basis to a fiscal
27 year basis.
28 (a) Remittance to parishes.
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HB NO. 277
1 (i) In the first fiscal year of implementation of this Subparagraph, the
2 maximum amount of severance tax on all natural resources other than sulphur,
3 lignite, or timber which is remitted to the parish in which severance or production
4 occurs shall not exceed one million eight hundred fifty thousand dollars. For all
5 subsequent fiscal years, the maximum amount remitted to a parish shall not exceed
6 two million eight hundred fifty thousand dollars.
7 (ii) On July first of each year the maximum amount remitted to the parish in
8 which severance or production occurs, as provided in Item (i) of this
9 Subsubparagraph, shall be increased by an amount equal to the average annual
10 increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for the previous
11 calendar year, as published by the United States Department of Labor, which amount
12 shall be as calculated and adopted by the Revenue Estimating Conference.
13 (iii) Of the total amount of severance tax revenues remitted in a fiscal year
14 to a parish governing authority pursuant to the provisions of this Subparagraph, any
15 portion which is in excess of the amount of such tax revenues remitted to that parish
16 in Fiscal Year 2011-2012 shall be known as "excess severance tax". At least fifty
17 percent of the excess severance tax received by a parish governing authority in a
18 fiscal year shall be expended within the parish in the same manner and for the same
19 purposes as monies received by the parish from the Parish Transportation Fund.
20 (b) Deposit into the Atchafalaya Basin Conservation Fund.
21 (i) (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this constitution to the
22 contrary, after allocation of money to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as
23 provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of this constitution, and after satisfying the
24 required allocations in Subsubparagraph (a) of this Subparagraph (3) of this
25 Paragraph, Paragraph (E) of this Section, and Article VII, Sections 10-A and 10.2 of
26 this constitution, an amount equal to fifty percent of the revenues received from
27 severance taxes and royalties on state lands in the Atchafalaya Basin, but not to
28 exceed ten million dollars each fiscal year, shall be deposited by the treasurer into
29 the Atchafalaya Basin Conservation Fund, hereinafter referred to hereafter in this
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HB NO. 277
1 Subparagraph as the "fund", which is hereby created as a special fund in the state
2 treasury. The monies in the fund shall be invested by the treasurer in the manner
3 provided by law, and interest earned on the investment of these monies shall be
4 deposited in and credited to the fund. All unexpended or unencumbered monies
5 remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund.
6 (ii) (b) The monies in the fund shall be used exclusively for projects
7 contained in the state or federal Basin master plans or an annual Basin plan
8 developed and approved by the advisory or approval board created by law
9 specifically for that purpose, or to provide match for the Atchafalaya Basin
10 Floodway System, Louisiana Project. Each year's plan for the expenditure of monies
11 appropriated from the fund shall be subject to the approval of the appropriate subject
12 matter committees of the legislature.
13 (iii) (c) Of the monies appropriated in any fiscal year, eighty-five percent
14 shall be used for water management, water quality, or access projects, and the
15 remaining fifteen percent may be used to complete ongoing projects and for projects
16 that are in accordance with the mission statement of the state master plan. However,
17 no more than five percent of the monies appropriated in any fiscal year may be used
18 for the operational costs of the program or the department.
19 * * *
20 Section 2. Be it further resolved that the provisions of the amendment contained in
21this Joint Resolution shall become effective July 1, 2024.
22 Section 3. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted
23to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on October 14,
242023.
25 Section 4. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at the election,
26there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted
27to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as
28follows:
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HB NO. 277
1 Do you support an amendment to increase the limit on the amount of state
2 severance tax revenue paid to parishes, to authorize the legislature to enact
3 laws for spending of this revenue by parishes, to repeal a previously adopted
4 system for increasing the limit on state severance tax revenue paid to
5 parishes which has never been implemented, and to implement provisions of
6 the current constitution for the use of certain severance tax revenues for
7 Atchafalaya Basin conservation projects? (Effective July 1, 2024) (Amends
8 Article VII, Section 4(D)(3) and (4))
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 277 Original 2023 Regular Session Bagley
Abstract: Increases the limit on state severance tax revenue remitted to parishes in which
the severance generating the revenue occurs.
Present constitution requires that 20% of the state severance tax on natural resources other
than sulphur, lignite, or timber be remitted to the governing authority of the parish in which
severance or production occurs. Provides that the maximum annual amount of severance tax
revenue remitted to a parish was $850,000 effective July 1, 2007 and that this amount shall
be adjusted for inflation each July first, beginning in 2008, by an amount equal to the
average annual increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The inflation-adjusted
maximum amount to be remitted to parishes equals $1,146,603 in Fiscal Year (FY)
2022-2023.
Proposed constitutional amendment amends present constitution to provide instead that,
effective July 1, 2024, the maximum annual amount of state severance tax revenue remitted
to a parish in which severance or production occurs shall be $10,000,000 and that this
amount is static and not to be adjusted according to the CPI or any other index or factor.
Proposed constitutional amendment authorizes the legislature to enact laws providing for the
use by parishes of amounts remitted pursuant to proposed constitutional amendment.
Present constitution provides for increasing state severance tax revenue amounts remitted
to parishes if certain conditions are met. Provides for a schedule of increases to be
implemented if and when the official forecast of severance tax revenues for a fiscal year
exceeds actual severance tax collections from Fiscal Year 2008-2009. Provides further for
the expenditure by parishes of certain amounts remitted in accordance with this schedule.
Proposed constitutional amendment repeals present constitution.
Present constitution creates the Atchafalaya Basin Conservation Fund (fund) and authorizes
specific uses of monies in the fund. Provides that after the allocation of severance tax
revenues required by present constitution, as amended by proposed constitutional
amendment, 50% of the revenues received from severance taxes and royalties on state lands
in the Atchafalaya Basin, not to exceed $10,000,000 each fiscal year, shall be deposited into
the fund. Proposed constitutional amendment retains present constitution.
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HB NO. 277
Present constitution provides that provisions pertaining to the fund are implemented when
certain conditions are met.
Proposed constitutional amendment repeals present constitution.
Provides for submission of the proposed amendment to the voters at the statewide election
to be held Oct. 14, 2023.
Effective July 1, 2024.
(Amends Const. Art. VII, §4(D)(3) and (4))
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