Louisiana voters overwhelmingly rejected four proposed amendments to the state constitution on Saturday, including a complex overhaul of the provisions that govern state tax and budget policy. The vote was a wholesale rejection of plans that were rushed through the Legislature in a November special session at Gov. Jeff Landry’s request, with minimal public input. While Landry was expecting just 12% of registered voters to show up at the polls, actual turnout was much higher at 21%. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Alyse Pfeil reports:
“It’s clear from the stunning repudiation of all four of these amendments that the governor and the Legislature, at least in this case, are out of step with the vast majority of people who voted,” said Pearson Cross, a professor of Louisiana and American politics at the University of Louisiana-Monroe.
The rejection vote came from a broad cross-section of voters in every corner of the state, despite a heavy last-minute push from Landry and strong backing from business interests for Amendment 2, the tax and budget measure:
Even in Landry’s hometown parish of St. Martin, 51% of voters said “no” to Amendment 2. In Jefferson Parish — where 55% of voters backed President Donald Trump, and where Landry in 2023 defeated Democrat Shawn Wilson 40% to 26% in the governor’s race — two-thirds of voters rejected it. “It was the perfect storm of disaster,” Couvillon said.
Amendment 2 was a prime example of how bad process leads to bad policy:
Cross called Amendment 2 “a hodgepodge of numerous elements designed to remake Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution” that “had way too much going on.” “Mostly that was a result of the governor and the people who wrote the amendment trying to shoehorn all their constitutional changes into the form of a constitutional amendment,” Cross argued, a move borne out of an earlier failed attempt to rewrite the entire constitution.
Invest in Louisiana’s analysis of Amendment 2 is here. The other amendments would have allowed the legislature to create new “specialty” courts to handle specific types of cases, put more children in adult prisons, and add new election dates to the crowded calendar. State leaders should listen to the statement voters gave them on Saturday by focusing on policies that will help families thrive and do so in an open and transparent manner.
The EITC turns 50
Tax credits for working people and families, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, have a proven track record of lifting people out of poverty and putting children on the path to a brighter future. The EITC helps people who work, but earn low incomes, and returns money back to communities. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s Neva Butkus provides a history of the EITC and its numerous benefits:
State and local taxes are overwhelmingly regressive, requiring low and middle-income families to pay more of their income in taxes than wealthier taxpayers. This makes the EITC a helpful and important tool at the state level. Refundable tax credits can offset the upside-down nature of state and local tax systems, which often rely heavily on regressive sales, excise and property taxes. … The EITC may have begun as a way to modestly boost the wages of low-income workers and families, but today it is undeniably an important tool available to lawmakers to lift up workers, reduce the regressivity of state and local tax systems, and tackle one of our nation’s biggest problems: poverty.
Growth in state rainy-day funds slowed
State rainy-day funds have been propped up over the past few years by federal dollars and a supercharged post-pandemic economy that generated a surge of tax revenue. But growth in rainy day funds cooled in the 2024 fiscal year as pandemic aid expired and tax collections returned to normal levels. Pew’s Justin Theal and Page Forrest explain how states should handle budget reserves as the federal government pulls back and the prospect of a tariff-induced recession increases:
Reserves cannot permanently replace potential cuts to such federal funding, but they can serve as a temporary bridge, giving policymakers time to assess their options. And with recession risks rising, states may also need reserves for their traditional purpose of helping to close shortfalls during economic downturns. To navigate these competing demands, states should use fiscal management tools, especially long-term budget assessments and stress tests, to ensure that their savings levels are adequate and should regularly update these analyses to adapt to the rapidly evolving fiscal landscape.
Louisiana could run for 31.3 days using only rainy-day funds.
EPA cuts funding for state agencies and nonprofits
The Environmental Protection Agency is cutting nearly $70 million in federal funding for Louisiana agencies and nonprofits. The move, which is part of the Trump administration’s broader goal of slashing the federal government and nixing diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, targets grants for monitoring air quality and disaster response in Louisiana. The Times Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Josie Abugov reports:
Many of the Louisiana organizations named in a list of roughly 400 grants are decades-old environmental nonprofits, such as the Louisiana Bucket Brigade and The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. But state agencies, such as the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, and commercial entities were also included. The feds are seeking to trim around $1 million apiece from the state’s chief environmental agency, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Port of New Orleans, according to the records.
Number of the Day
21% – Statewide turnout rate for Saturday’s election. (Source: Louisiana Secretary of State)