Today, Leaders for a Better Louisiana is releasing its analysis and recommendations on the five constitutional amendments on the May 16 ballot. Better Louisiana supports Amendments #3, #4, and #5 and takes no position on Amendments #1 and #2.
Amendments #3 and #4 should be familiar to voters. They are parts of the comprehensive rewrite of Article VII of the constitution which voters rejected in March of 2025. That was an extremely lengthy amendment which proposed numerous changes to the constitution in the areas of taxation, expenditures, administration of various trust funds, and the state and local tax systems.
While it would have made a number of positive changes to state policies, at 115 pages it was long, complicated, and likely too much for voters to digest in a single amendment. Recognizing that, lawmakers revisited two of its major provisions last year and is now offering them once again to voters as separate more easily understandable amendments.
Both of these amendments are significant for the state. One utilizes about $2 billion in revenues from three education trust funds to pay down debt in the retirement system for teachers and directs the savings to teacher pay raises. The other gives local governments the option to eliminate, phase out, or reduce their business inventory tax.
Last year, Better Louisiana supported the original revisions to Article VII of the constitution. We believe the two pieces lawmakers are sending back to voters are also worthy of approval.
“Amendments #3 and #4 were important pieces of last year’s proposal,” said Adam Knapp, CEO of Better Louisiana. “It was unfortunate they got lost in some of the confusion over that very long amendment. We hope this year voters will see the value of eliminating debt in the teachers’ retirement system, authorizing permanent pay raises for educators, and giving local governments the tools to make Louisiana’s tax structure more competitive. We believe passage of these amendments will provide two big wins for our state.”
The other three amendments on the ballot are also consequential. They deal with a major change to the state’s civil service system, an increase in the mandatory retirement age for judges, and the creation of a new school district in East Baton Rouge Parish.
This year Better Louisiana has once again analyzed the amendments and offered our thoughts and recommendations. Our hope is that voters will use this guide and other resources that are available to familiarize themselves with the issues before they cast their votes.
Changing our constitution is not something we should undertake lightly. If we make a mistake, it is often difficult to repair in short order. Nevertheless, deciding constitutional matters is one of our important responsibilities as citizens, and we hope voters will consider these proposals thoughtfully and make their voices heard.
Early voting begins May 2 and runs through May 9.
