BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A new law preventing anyone 70 or older from running for constable or justice of the peace in Louisiana is facing some stiff opposition — especially among the 160 officials who are about to be banned from re-election because of their age.
The mandatory retirement provision was signed into law in June with very little publicity. But now the law is drawing fire as the deadline for filing to run in the November election approaches next week.
Some say they intend to run for re-election even though the new law says they are too old.
Only one state lawmaker voted against the measure before it passed the Legislature in May. Some of those who voted for it say they didn’t realize what the bill actually called for.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
