Like many states, Louisiana has a tax policy known as a “homestead exemption,” which allows homeowners to save money on property taxes for the house they actually live in (known as the ‘primary residence’ or ‘homestead’). Usually, the first $75,000 of a home’s value isn’t taxed, which can lower a tax bill by potentially thousands of dollars a year and make owning a home more affordable. But in order to qualify for this exemption, someone needs to be listed as the legal owner of the property. In Louisiana, this can happen through a legal process called succession, and this is usually how inherited properties get transferred from their previous owner to the family member who inherits the house. These successions can be complicated and expensive, which leaves many families stuck – they live in their inherited homes, but can’t access the tax break because, on paper, they aren’t the legal owner. The legal process becomes even more complicated the longer it goes undone, making things even more difficult for lower-income families.

In 2022, Ascension Parish Assessor MJ Smiley set out to fix this problem and began a legal aid program. He started by partnering with a nonprofit law group, and from there the program expanded to include lawyers who volunteered their services and other assessors’ offices across Southeast Louisiana. Through this collaboration, families who previously couldn’t access the legal help they needed were able to go through the succession process, secure the required paperwork and qualify for homestead exemptions. The program has been so successful that in 2025, Smiley’s office received an award from the Louisiana Bar Association.

Sources: the Louisiana Constitution; the Richland Parish Assessor’s Office; the Gonzales Weekly Citizen; the Advocate

Term limits: none; terms are four years

Eligibility: to run for Assessor, you must be eligible to vote in Louisiana, and have lived in Louisiana for at least two years and in the parish you want to represent for at least one year. Assessors need to complete a certification course.

Every parish in Louisiana has an assessor who is elected at-large by all the voters of the parish. Their main job is to assess the fair market value of properties in their parish, which is what taxes are based on. The job includes:

• Updating assessments for every property at least once every four years
• Assessors are responsible for houses, land (personal and commercial real estate), business equipment, and personal property like cars and boats
  Assessors are not responsible for big public utility properties – those are assessed by a state government office instead
• Handling tax exemptions
  Louisiana has a homestead exemption, and some other tax breaks for veterans, seniors, people with disabilities and nonprofit organizations

Even though the assessor plays a big role in peoples’ tax bills because they are responsible for the assessments, they do not set tax rates. They also don’t send out bills or collect payments (in Louisiana, that’s the local Sheriff’s job) and they don’t have the power to seize anyone’s property.

Sources: the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Qualifications of Candidates guide; Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1901 and 47:1907; Louisiana Assessors’ Association; Sabine Parish Assessor’s Office; Webster Parish Assessor; Orleans Parish Assessor’s Office

Term limits: none; terms are four years

Eligibility: to run for Commissioner of Revenue, you must be qualified to vote in Virginia, a resident of the area you want to represent, and have been a resident of Virginia for at least one year. 

Every county and independent city in Virginia has a Commissioner of Revenue. A commissioner’s main powers and responsibilities are:

• Property assessments
  This is the most important responsibility of the commissioner – the office evaluates properties and determines their value so the correct tax can be charged
• Administering tax relief programs
  Virginia has exemptions and deferrals available for seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities, as well as other relief programs, and the commissioner’s office helps taxpayers access those benefits
• Tax return assistance
  During tax season, the commissioner’s office helps people with their income tax returns
• Maintaining property ownership and tax records
  If you need official copies of paperwork for property or tax-related issues, this office is a great place to start

Sources: the Constitution of Virginia; the Code of Virginia 15.2-1636 and 58.1-3210; Arlington County Government; Grayson County Government; Buchanan County Government