Louisiana voters will see five constitutional amendments on the May 16 statewide ballot. A recent webinar by the Public Affairs Research Council brought policy experts to weigh in on those proposals. Sheridan White of the LSU Manship School News Service reports on the opposition to Amendment 2, which would create a new school district for the breakaway city of St. George in East Baton Rouge Parish:
[Invest in Louisiana Executive Director Jan Moller] noted that St. George is a wealthier, majority-white area and warned that the separation could significantly harm East Baton Rouge schools. According to estimates he cited, the parish could lose about 12% of its students and 25% of its funding, creating a potential $71 million budget gap. He also argued that school choice for St. George families could become more limited in accessing magnet parish schools. “If you don’t think this can happen, that it only affects Baton Rouge, it might be coming to your community next,” Moller said.
Amendment 3 would eliminate state education trust funds that support higher education and K-12 schools. Money from those funds would be used to pay off teacher retirement debt, which in theory, will allow local districts to raise teacher salaries. Moller thinks there has to be a better way:
Moller opposes the amendment, noting that voters have rejected similar proposals in the past. He also argued that the proposed pay increase would not keep pace with inflation – it essentially would replace a $2,000 annual stipend with a $2,250 permanent pay raise – and pointed out that Louisiana teachers earn about $10,000 less than the national average. He suggested that lawmakers should generate new revenue rather than reallocate existing funds.
The Power Coalition for Equity and Justice’s Power to the People Roadshow is making stops this week in Baton Rouge (Tuesday) and Lake Charles (Wednesday). The events will cover the five constitutional amendments on the May 16 ballot.
Child welfare agency in the crosshairs
There’s a renewed effort in the Legislature to dismantle the Department of Children and Family Services and transfer its duties to other state agencies. Senate Bill 462 by Sen. Patrick McMath started out as a benign measure to provide training for DCFS employees. But it was overhauled last week and now aims to eliminate the entire agency (but not its functions). Kylah Babin of the LSU Manship School News Service reports:
Upon McMath’s request, the bill was deferred for a week to give the public and lawmakers time to discuss his proposal. … [Gov. Jeff Landry] met with McMath, DCFS Secretary Rebecca Harris and Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, to discuss how to solve the DCFS issues. … Henry told reporters that although he had not taken a stance on McMath’s bill, he anticipated a situation where DCFS services could be “reduced or shared with other agencies.”
Responding to changes in federal funding
The Trump administration is shifting some of the financial responsibility of health care, food assistance and recovering from natural disasters from the federal government to states. Pew’s Rebecca Thiess explains ways that state lawmakers can prepare for these new fiscal pressures:
One of the most comprehensive efforts occurred in New Mexico, where legislators established an interim subcommittee to assess challenges and opportunities related to the federal funds that the state receives. The Federal Funding Stabilization Subcommittee held six meetings over seven months, giving members a deeper understanding of the various federal funding streams that support state programs and policymaking.
States should make planning and adjusting to changes in federal funding a permanent part of their budget process:
Specifically, the existence of a permanent Federal Funds Stabilization Subcommittee connects with Pew’s findings that taking proactive steps to better understand federal funding and what it pays for can help state officials manage their funding sources and plan for disruptions or uncertainty around that funding. And while there are a number of ways to implement these practices, a permanent committee dedicated to federal funds would help with funding transparency as well as strategic coordination to advance state priorities.
When the tax base walks out the door
When a major employer such as a factory or corporate headquarters leaves a community, much of the focus centers around job losses. Governing’s Craig S. Maher explains why local leaders need a fiscal strategy when a large chunk of their tax base exits:
Sales taxes will soften first, property values will adjust more slowly, and infrastructure and service costs will remain. Managing that gap requires more than economic recovery. It requires a fiscal strategy: protecting the tax base, managing cash flow and repositioning assets before revenue losses become structural. That means planning for phased revenue loss, managing near-term cash flow disruptions and moving quickly to stabilize major properties before they become long-term fiscal liabilities.
There are ways local leaders can shift from economic development to fiscal management:
• Build multiyear revenue forecasts immediately — not after the first budget gap appears. Model phased declines across sales, property and intergovernmental revenues. Avoid treating the shock as a single-year event.
• Plan for cash flow disruption early. Delinquent taxes and lagged revenues will hit before structural decline is fully visible. …
• Reassess incentive exposure. Treat incentives as risk-bearing commitments and design future agreements with enforceability and downside protection in mind.
Number of the Day
-12% – Decline in eviction filings in New Orleans in 2025 compared to the city’s baseline average. (Source: Eviction Lab)