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Commission clears 1% Opelousas sales-tax proposition for August special election under new state law
Summary
The State Bond Commission approved placing a 1% sales-tax proposition for the City of Opelousas on a special election ballot Aug. 16 after state law (HB532/Act 6) allowed municipalities of specified sizes to call elections on otherwise unavailable dates.
The State Bond Commission on June 11 approved an item to present a 1% sales-tax proposition for the City of Opelousas to voters at a special election on Aug. 16.
Staff told commissioners the city had planned to put the proposition on the May 3 ballot after being notified by its auditor that the tax was set to expire May 31. Because of noticing requirements and public meetings law timing, the city could not adopt an authorizing resolution before the secretary of state’s proposition deadline for the May ballot. Representative Miller authored HB 532 in the 2025 regular session to amend the election code to allow municipalities with a population between 15,000 and 16,000 to call an election on a date otherwise provided in the election code.
Staff said the bill requires two-thirds approval of the State Bond Commission membership, governor approval and secretary of state approval of the election date and that HB 532 was signed into law as Act 6. The proposition’s presentation to voters is being reviewed by the Bond Commission staff, the attorney general’s office and the secretary of state’s office, and staff recommended the item meet the technical requirements for placement on the special election ballot.
Representative Reiser moved approval of item 3; Senator Miguez seconded the motion. Hearing no objection, the commission approved the item. The staff presentation noted the item’s effective date is limited; staff said the statutory change is effective until Dec. 31 of this year.
