(The Center Square) — Louisiana legislators are reintroducing key parts of the recently rejected Amendment 2, this time in a much more streamlined fashion.
Amendment 2, rejected by voters in March, had attempted a sweeping rewrite of Article 7 of the state constitution but was widely criticized for its complexity and length. Lawmakers are now trying a simpler approach with a pair of constitutional amendments focused on specific issues.
One amendment will combine two major funds and redirect the money to pay down debt owed to the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana. This plan would ultimately provide $2,000 stipends to teachers.
However, because the original amendment failed, the stipends remain unfunded. Even if the new proposals pass, teachers will not receive payments until November 2026.
Instead of combining several issues into one proposal, lawmakers have split them. House Bill 472 focuses on budget and revenue stabilization changes, while HB473 would reappropriate those savings to cover the teacher stipends. Both amendments passed committee favorably.
Originally 130 pages long, HB472 has now been condensed to just six pages, now only functioning to combine the Revenue Stabilization Fund and the Budget Stabilization Fund.
During a recent hearing, Emerson, who is carrying the bill, explained why legislators shifted strategies.
“After the failure of Amendment 2 on March 29, we wanted to revisit some of the topics,” Emerson said. “I got a lot of feedback — many people told me they liked the concepts but said it was too much at once and became confusing.”
He said the original version had to reprint the entire Article 7 because it touched on multiple subjects, creating a bill that ran over 115 pages.
“Our desire was not to make it that long,” Emerson said. “The public and members of the Legislature overwhelmingly asked us to focus on a single issue.”
“As the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund phases out, mineral revenues will instead flow directly into the general fund, increasing recurring revenues,” Emerson said. “We’re removing the $600 million corporate collection cap that limited what could be deposited into the general fund.”
Other legislation introduced functions to phase out the state’s inventory tax, another piece of the March amendment that failed.
