Victor Theodore Stelly (January 11, 1941 – December 26, 2020) was an American politician who was a member of the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

, best known for the since repealed Stelly Plan tax-shifting amendment. He was also a member of the Louisiana Board of Regents for Higher Education from 2007 through 2013, resigning before his term ended because he was dismayed at cuts to higher education. In 2006, Stelly was selected to the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame.

Political career

Stelly authored an amendment to the Louisiana State Constitution which became known as the Stelly Plan. This amendment eliminated the state sales tax on food, drugs, and utilities and raised the state income tax. Lost state revenue was replaced with a state income tax increase primarily paid by upper bracket taxpayers.

Personal life

Stelly was born in

Carencro, Louisiana Carencro (; historically ) is a city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Lafayette. The population was 7,526 at the 2010 census, up from 6,120 in 2000; at the 2020 census, its population was 9, ...

, and moved to

Zachary, Louisiana Zachary is a city in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies north of the city of Baton Rouge, and had a population of 14,960 at the 2010 census, up from 11,275 in 2000. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Zachary's ...

, when he was four years old. His father, Gordon Stelly, was a petro-chemical operator, and his mother Dorothea Olive Martin Stelly, was a stay-at-home mother. He was an All-State football player at Zachary High School and graduated from Northwestern in Natchitoches where he also played football. He taught high school in Louisiana, getting his M.A. from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

in 1965. Stelly was also an insurance agent for 25 years in Moss Bluff.

Death

Stelly died from complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

on December 26, 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana The first presumptive case relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana was announced on March 9, 2020. Since the first confirmed case, the outbreak grew particularly fast relative to other states and countries. , there have been 1,454,828 cumu ...

, just 15 hours before his wife Terry died of the same illness and sixteen days short of his 80th birthday. His papers are held by the Archives and Special Collections Department of the Frazar Memorial Library at

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. M ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stelly, Vic 1941 births 2020 deaths Louisiana Republicans Louisiana independents Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Educators from Louisiana High school football coaches in Louisiana Louisiana State University alumni Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana Northwestern State Demons football players 20th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature 21st-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature