Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Measure to let Saint Helena voters decide term limits fails in committee
Summary
Representative Robbie Carter’s local option bill to put parish term limits on the Saint Helena ballot failed in committee after a roll-call vote produced three yeses and ten nays; opponents included the parish police jury which submitted a resolution opposing the bill.
Representative Robbie Carter presented House Bill 208, a local-option bill to allow Saint Helena Parish voters to decide whether to adopt three four-year term limits for members of the parish governing authority. Carter said he brought the bill to let local voters decide whether they want term limits; he told members he had constituent requests for the measure.
Edward Gallman, a Saint Helena Parish building official speaking for the police jury, indicated the police jury had passed a resolution opposing the bill and urged the committee to respect local decision-making. Members debated whether the county governing body or voters should be the first avenue to introduce term limits; some members noted that many parishes already have term limits established by local charters and that the committee should be careful about mandating rules on local governments.
Representative Freiberg recommended moving the bill favorably to allow voters to decide; Representative Henry objected and requested a roll-call vote on the motion to move favorably. The committee conducted a roll call that produced three yeses and ten nays; the motion failed and HB 208 did not advance.
Chair Gabbard recorded the result and the bill was not moved to the floor.
