Louisiana residents approved multiple changes to the state constitution, including granting local governments the ability to create property tax exemptions for first responders and closing out six inactive state funds. Additionally, a measure was passed to overhaul the Legislature’s veto override procedures and give lawmakers more flexibility in holding override votes during any ongoing session. However, a proposal to limit access to one state fund was rejected by voters. This marks the state’s seventh constitutional change in the current election cycle.
One major amendment approved allows local governments to provide tax exemptions to first responders such as police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical service providers. This was seen as a way to address first responder shortages in the state. Another amendment closed out six state treasury accounts that were inactive and mostly empty. Additionally, the measure overhauling the Legislature’s veto override procedures passed, providing lawmakers with more flexibility in holding override votes during any ongoing session. However, a proposal to limit when lawmakers can access one state fund did not receive enough support from voters. The result is that Louisiana has now seen a total of seven constitutional changes during this election cycle, indicating a significant time of reform for the state’s government.
In addition to these changes, another rejected amendment aimed to restrict when legislators could use money from the state’s Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund, which accumulates higher-than-usual corporate tax revenue. Supporters of the rejected amendment argued that the current law’s language allowing access to the fund in case of an emergency was too vague, but voters disagreed with the proposed changes. With most of the amendments receiving little pushback from legislators, Louisiana has seen a substantial number of changes to its state constitution during this election period.
