The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - When voters go to the polls on three constitutional amendments touted as critical to restoring Louisiana's eroding coast, a yearlong effort by Gov. Mike Foster and state officials to set the stage for a major restoration plan will be put to the test.

The amendments - listed as Nos. 1, 2 and 3 and among 15 on the ballot - would allow lawmakers to earmark millions of dollars for coastal restoration and limit the state's liability for damages to private property caused by coast-saving projects.

"I think it will be a good barometer of statewide commitment," said Len Bahr, director of applied science in the governor's Office of Coastal Activities.

The amendments are meant to lay some of the bureaucratic, financial and legal groundwork for a $14 billion restoration expected to go before Congress next year. Officials argue that if voters reject the amendments, it would be difficult to convince the federal government that Louisiana is ready to hold up its end of the plan.

First, Louisiana needs to avoid getting broadsided by lawsuits claiming huge damages from restoration projects. Oystermen won a $2 billion judgment by alleging that the Caernarvon freshwater diversion destroyed their oyster beds.

Amendment No. 3 would limit state liability to "fair market value" of damaged property in line with federal standards. If passed, it would be applied retroactively and possibly apply to the $2 billion judgment awarded to oystermen in Lake Borgne and Breton Sound.

"It allows us to go forward with science rather than the cost of litigation," said Jim Marchand, Gov. Mike Foster's policy adviser on natural resources.

Also, he said, Louisiana needs to have "the same legal regime and legal standards that the federal government uses" for the big restoration plan to be acceptable to Congress.

The amendment, which spells out that liability will be limited only for coastal restoration projects, has drawn the ire of the oyster industry.

"Number three sets up coastal residents in Louisiana as second-class citizens," said Mike Voisin, chairman of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force.

He said the Legislature should have crafted an amendment that limited liability not just in coastal restoration projects.

Voters had "better read and understand that they're giving up something that someone in Baton Rouge and Shreveport will have," he said. "If a crane is on a barge and it falls over and kills your horse, they can limit liability."

"Even though we are asking citizens to limit their rights, it is those same citizens who will benefit," Marchand said.

Officials worry that other groups - such as shrimpers - could sue the state for damages.

The big plan for the coast also would entail Louisiana to come up with its own money to match federal dollars.

Amendment 1 handles part of this by increasing a cap on the pool of money earmarked for coastal projects from $40 million to $500 million.

"That was absolutely urgent," Bahr said. "The $40 million cap seemed too confining, especially as the projects get bigger."

The amendment also allows at least $35 million a year in mineral settlement money, budget surpluses and other one-time windfalls to go into the pool of money to fight land loss.

Amendment 2 stipulates that if the state sells the remaining 40 percent of its tobacco settlement money, up to 20 percent could be used for coastal restoration if the federal government matches the money.

Jim Brandt, president of the Public Affairs Research Council, said these two amendments "may be in danger of being oversold" to voters.

He said the amendments do not guarantee money and that the state would still need to come up with much more money to match federal dollars. A cost-sharing ratio has not been established.

"This is a very, very small down payment on what the state will have to come up with," he said.

While the amendments deal with technical and bureaucratic issues, the election carries political meaning.

By voting for the amendments, Louisiana would "send a strong message to Washington" about how serious the state is, Foster has said.

"If the voters don't step up to the plate, there is no reason to believe that the taxpayers in the rest of the country will commit any of their dollars to saving south Louisiana," said Mark Davis, executive director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. "We all complain about how decision-makers shirk to make the hard decisions, but this is one of those moments when we are the decision-makers."

"They send a signal to the country that we will not depend solely on the feds to bail us out," Bahr said.

There are no recent polls to say where voters stand on the amendments. But officials are "cautiously optimistic" that they will pass, said Sidney Coffee, a spokeswoman for the governor's Office of Coastal Activities.

The governor is featured in radio spots pushing for the amendments. In the ads, Foster says, "Just remember to save our coast, it's as easy as 1,2,3."

Coffee, state director of Foster's public awareness campaign called "America's Wetland," said fund-raisers have brought in $30,000 to pay for the radio commercials. No TV ads are planned.