Louisianans will soon decide whether to accept another four amendments to the state constitution after voters overwhelmingly agreed to sweeping constitutional changes in October.
In the Nov. 18 general election, voters will decide whether the state should allow tax exemptions for first responders and restrict its overall spending. Questions over defunct state funding accounts and veto override procedures will also be on the ballot.
Looking for information about what else is on the ballot? See the full lists here for the New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Shreveport-Bossier areas.
In the Oct. 14 primary, state voters agreed to strengthen language protecting the right to worship, set aside more money for the state’s pension funds, bar local officials from accepting help when administering elections and allow local governments to deny tax exemptions to nonprofit slumlords.
Here’s what you need to know about the other proposed amendments. Early voting for November’s election runs through Nov. 11, excluding Friday, Nov. 10, which is Veterans Day, and Sunday, Nov. 5.
For decades, state legislators did not need to worry about the veto override rules laid out in the 1974 Louisiana Constitution — until 2021, they never held a veto session.
But that changed as an increasingly right-wing Legislature butted heads with Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards; legislators have convened veto sessions during each of the last three years.
In 2022, they ran into confusion when the constitution called for a veto session during the annual general session.
“Nobody really knew what to do,” said Steven Procopio, president of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana.
Legislators ended up pausing the regular session to hold the veto session, Procopio said, but “no one really felt comfortable with it.”
Amendment 1 seeks to address that confusion by allowing legislators to hold veto override votes during an ongoing session rather than suspending that session.
“If they have a different session going on, they don’t have to suspend it,” said Procopio. “They can just vote on the veto overrides during whatever session they’re already in.”
The bill that put Amendment 1 on the ballot faced no opposition in the House or Senate, according to vote tallies posted to the egislature’s website.
If Amendment 2 passes, it will eliminate six inactive state funds from the constitution, according to a PAR Louisiana report. With a balance of roughly $600, only one of those funds has any money in it, the report said.
State Rep. Polly Thomas, R-Metairie, who authored the amendment, said it grew out of PAR’s research.
“They had done some research and had identified those funds as being inactive and having no money in them,” Thomas said. “In checking with the treasury, some of them have been inactive for over 20 years, so there’s no reason for them to remain in our constitution.”
Thomas described the change as “a clean-up measure.”
Like Amendment 1, Amendment 2 appears to have faced little to no pushback from legislators; no one voted against the bill to put it on the ballot.
But Procopio said opponents might argue that the funds exist for a reason and could one day be useful.
The funds include the Atchafalaya Basin Conservation Fund, the Higher Education Louisiana Partnership Fund and the Millenium Leverage Fund. They also include the Agricultural and Seafood Products Support Fund, the First Use Tax Trust Fund and the Louisiana Investment Fund.
Proposed by state Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, Amendment 3 would allow local governments to establish property tax exemptions for first responders. Qualifying personnel would include police officers, firefighters and emergency medical services providers.
Duplessis hopes the amendment will help governments incentivize first responders to move to their parishes, he said.
“Obviously there’s a shortage of first responders,” he said. “(The measure) is modest, but we know just in talking with first responders that a lot of times it’s not just salary, it’s other incentives like this that show they’re valued and appreciated.”
The amendment would not mandate that local governments implement the exemption, which Procopio said differentiates it from other Louisiana tax exemptions for special groups.
But state Sen. Barrow Peacock, R-Bossier City, who voted against putting Amendment 3 on the ballot worried that if the change passes, it will be hard for parishes not to implement it.
Generally, he said, he does not believe carving out exemptions for special groups is good tax policy.
“I fully support our law enforcement and our firefighters,” he said. “But I don’t believe that you should have carve-outs.”
The last amendment on the ballot concerns when legislators can spend money from a fund the state established in 2016.
Known as the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund, the account collects a portion of higher-than-usual corporate tax revenue, according to Procopio.
The fund is meant to prevent the state from depending on corporate tax revenue, which can be volatile, Procopio said.
It has already amassed $2.2 billion, according to PAR’s report on the amendments.
Procopio said the state constitution currently allows the Legislature to access those funds in two circumstances: once the fund hits $5 billion, they can spend 10% of it on infrastructure improvements; or, in the case of an emergency, they can spend the money with a two-thirds majority vote.
State Rep. Stuart Bishop, R-Baton Rouge, believes the latter provision gives legislators too much leeway.
