Municipal association backs five amendments

The Louisiana Municipal Association is urging voters to approve five constitutional amendments on the Nov. 2 ballot. The LMA, which represents more than 300 cities, towns and villages across the state, says it backs Amendment 2, which would give parishes a bigger share of severance taxes. The group also supports Amendment 6, which would require legislative approval to change the benefits of any public retirement system and call for a two-thirds vote of the Legislature, instead of a simple majority, to make changes in public retirement benefits that would cost more money. Amendment 7, which would change the rules for tax sale auctions and allow tax collectors to charge additional penalties for nonpayment of property taxes, was also endorsed. Amendment 8, which would let government resell expropriated property that has been declared a public safety hazard without offering it back to the previous owner at current market value, is supported by the LMA. And the group backs Amendment 10, which would allow criminal defendants to waive their right to a jury trial in non-capital cases only if the waiver were made at least 45 days prior to the beginning of trial.