Landry praises Louisiana’s 1973 constitutional convention. His could not be more different.

During a press conference Thursday at the Capitol, Landry defended attacks on his proposed constitutional convention, in which he wants legislators and 27 delegates he will appoint to meet for two weeks to rewrite the state’s foundational document. (Piper Hutchinson/Louisiana Illuminator)

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry wants a new constitution. He wants it soon, but he won’t say what he wants in it. 

During a press conference Thursday at the Capitol, Landry defended attacks on his proposed constitutional convention, in which he wants legislators and 27 delegates he will appoint to meet for two weeks to rewrite the state’s foundational document. 

“This is about giving the Legislature more tools,” Landry said. “Anybody that says that ‘Governor, you’re just trying to consume more power,’ I am here to tell you all in front of you all that is completely nonsense.” 

Landry argued he is not trying to rewrite the constitution, just move some of its provisions into statute. In doing so, it becomes much easier for the Legislature to change provisions it doesn’t like. 

Two weeks isn’t a rushed timeline, according to the governor, because lawmakers and delegates are merely restructuring the constitution. Landry said he thinks it would be most democratic to have the document on the November ballot, when he predicts a contentious presidential election will lead to high voter turnout. 

Transparency isn’t an issue, Landry said, because he had a transition council on constitutional reform. Critics merely need to check out the council’s public report — which totaled 250 words on how to reform one of the world’s longest constitutions — and take a look at the members of the council, who he said came from diverse backgrounds. The names of those individuals were not made public until a reporter asked about them at Thursday’s press conference. 

Landry also declined to take a stance on what he wants taken out of the constitution, saying the homestead exemption on property taxes for primary residences and the Minimum Foundation Program for K-12 school funding could stay in the document if lawmakers want to keep it there. Despite alluding to special interests protected in the current constitution, he declined to name them. 

The governor alluded toward tax reform and removing constitutional protections for some funding so that higher education and health care no longer remain the only portions of the budget that can be easily cut when a fiscal crisis hits. He declined to name which constitutional budget protections should be removed and incorrectly implied that K-12 funding was not protected. Voters placed the Minimum Foundation program, which protected K-12 funding, in the constitution in 1987.

Perhaps most strikingly, Landry praised the work of the constitutional convention of 1973 while defending a bill that calls for a convention that could not differ more strikingly from it. 

The work of the framers of Louisiana’s current constitution is documented by political journalist Jeremy Alford in his 2020 book “The Last Constitution.” 

The document was forged at the behest of a similarly freshly inaugurated, Catholic, Cajun populist governor: Edwin Edwards. 

Edwards, no relation to former Gov. John Bel Edwards, campaigned heavily on a new constitutional convention, unlike Landry who did not raise the issue until after his election. 

“The key to the Convention’s success was compromise, and a willingness among the delegates to reach a consensus in order to get the constitution passed,” Edwards wrote in an epilogue to Alford’s book. “For example, at the time, I was advocating for one board over all the colleges, but there was a great deal of opposition from the areas with local colleges. I understood that, so we acquiesced.” 

“It is a trait that we find missing in many politicians today,” Edwards added. 

While Edwards influenced the crafting of the document, delegates often bucked him, insisting on their own independence. 

The constitutional convention of 1973 — referred to by many as CC73 — was composed primarily of elected delegates. Some were state lawmakers, but many were other officeholders or simply interested citizens who put themselves forward as candidates. 

In Landry’s proposal, House Bill 800, carried by Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, the Legislature appoints its members as the delegates, bypassing popular elections. 

Like CC73, Beaullieu’s bill gives the governor 27 appointees. But it gives Landry full control over the appointments, whereas Edwards had to select half of his from a list submitted by interest groups, such as the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana (PAR) and labor unions, Alford wrote. 

Beaullieu said he didn’t want to give special interest groups the ability to “put their hands all over the constitution,” though his bill allows private groups to donate funds to finance the crafting of the document. 

Landry has released his list of appointees, who are primarily Republican allies, though he also includes Louisiana Democratic Party Chair Randal Gaines, East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and PAR President Steven Procopio. 

While House Bill 800 only gives delegates two weeks to complete its work — leading many to believe the new constitution is already written — CC73 met for the better part of a year, often spending weeks at a time on individual articles. The delegates deliberated and debated many hours, for days ​​at a time, often meeting on weekends. 

The delegates spent so much time together that two who met on the convention floor — Chalin Perez and Lynn Perkins — fell in love and later married, Alford details in his book. 

Beaullieu said he considered the framework of the 1973 convention, but said he came up against the time concern due to Landry wanting to put the constitution on the ballot this fall. Beaullieu added the framers needed more time because they were actually rewriting the document, whereas he intends to move existing language into statute. 

The Beaullieu bill contains none of the elements that contributed to the 1973 constitutional convention, which voters approved in 1974. 

The fate of Beaullieu’s proposal is far from certain. While the House and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the legislation, it still needs approval from the House Appropriations Committee as well as approval from two-thirds of the House and Senate. 

Senators have been less enthusiastic about the proposal. While the House has been in overdrive to complete their work early to begin the constitutional convention on May 20, the Senate has been working at a much slower pace, often adjourning for the week on Wednesday. 

Beaullieu’s bill will be discussed Monday by the House Appropriations Committee.

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