On March 29, Louisiana voters will decide whether to overhaul the longest and most complex section of the state constitution.
Amendment 2 would wipe out a rainy-day state savings account, and trust funds that finance critical education programs. It would limit Louisiana’s flexibility to respond to changing economic conditions, and help cement an upside-down tax structure where people with low incomes pay higher state and local taxes than those at the very top.
The amendment is being presented in language that is misleading, and which fails to capture the true extent of what voters are being asked to consider. A new issue brief from Invest in Louisiana takes a deeper look at Amendment 2.
“The bill that created Amendment 2 is more than 100 pages long, but the language that voters will see on their ballots contains less than 100 words,” said Paul Braun, state budget and tax policy analyst for Invest in Louisiana and author of the brief. “The deeper you dig into Amendment 2, the worse it gets.”
Contrary to Amendment 2’s ballot language, the proposal does not include a permanent teacher pay raise. Teachers and support staff would not see any more money in their paychecks, they just would not lose a temporary pay bump that state lawmakers have provided the last two years.
Passing Amendment 2 would make it harder for our leaders to address the real problems that Louisiana faces. Understanding the ballot language and the more complex policy changes beneath it makes that clear.
Click here to read the full issue brief.
Click here to register for a webinar Invest in Louisiana is hosting on March 12 at 12 p.m. to discuss Amendment 2 and its implications.
In the latest episode of the Didja Know? Podcast, Invest in Louisiana’s Jan Moller and Paul Braun explain why Amendment 2 would take Louisiana in the wrong direction. Listen here.