What Louisiana's 10 November Amendments Could Mean For You

Louisiana voters will decide 10 proposed constitutional amendments on November 3, 2026, covering property taxes, senior benefits, veterans’ families, criminal bail, governor term limits and more. Each amendment is a separate decision, and some would require additional local approval or legislation before residents could receive a benefit. (sos.la.gov)

Amendment 1 Would Let A Veteran’s Surviving Spouse Keep A Tax Break When Moving

A surviving spouse who qualifies for the additional property tax exemption available through a deceased disabled veteran currently must remain in the qualifying home to keep that benefit. This amendment would allow the spouse to transfer the exemption once to another property that qualifies for the homestead exemption. The transferred benefit would be capped at the amount claimed on the previous home in its last qualifying year, and the assessor could require documentation. The change would take effect January 1, 2027.

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A YES vote allows that one-time transfer to another qualifying home.

A NO vote keeps the existing requirement that the spouse remain the owner and occupant of the original property to receive the exemption. (legis.la.gov)

Amendment 2 Would Change How Local Governments Preserve Their Property Tax Limits

This amendment concerns the maximum property tax rate a local taxing body can charge after reassessment. Under current rules, a taxing body that charges less than its previous maximum must restore that maximum before the next reassessment or lose the ability to return to it. The amendment would let the body continue charging less while preserving the previously authorized maximum until that authorization expires. Raising the rate would still require a public hearing and a two-thirds vote of the taxing body, but no additional public election.

A YES vote lets taxing bodies preserve their previously authorized maximum while charging a lower rate.

A NO vote keeps the current rule requiring them to restore the maximum before the next reassessment to preserve it. (legis.la.gov, legis.la.gov)

Amendment 3 Would End Bail After Conviction For Certain Crimes Against Children

This amendment would prohibit any post-conviction bail for someone convicted of an aggravated offense against a minor, using the definition of aggravated offenses in Louisiana’s sex offender registration law. The distinction is that it applies after conviction, including while a conviction is being appealed. It would not create a blanket ban on pretrial bail for everyone accused of a crime involving a child.

A YES vote prohibits bail after conviction for the covered offenses against minors.

A NO vote leaves existing post-conviction bail rules in place. (legis.la.gov)

Amendment 4 Would Stop Former Governors From Returning After Reaching A Lifetime Limit

Louisiana currently limits consecutive service as governor, allowing someone who reaches that limit to sit out a term and later seek the office again. This amendment would replace that restriction with a lifetime limit: anyone who has served more than one and a half terms as governor could not be elected governor again. Service would count toward that limit even if the terms were separated by a break.

A YES vote permanently bars anyone who has served more than one and a half terms from being elected governor again.

A NO vote keeps the consecutive-term restriction and the possibility of returning after sitting out a term. (legis.la.gov)

Amendment 5 Would Give Retirement Systems More Control Over Paying Pension Debt

Louisiana requires at least 25 percent of state revenue officially classified as nonrecurring, or one-time money, to go toward unpaid obligations in state retirement systems. Those systems currently must apply that money to their oldest unfunded pension debt first. This amendment would remove the oldest-first requirement and allow each system to apply the money to another part of its unfunded pension obligations. The requirement to dedicate the money to pension debt would remain.

A YES vote allows retirement systems to choose which unfunded pension obligations receive those payments.

A NO vote continues requiring the oldest unfunded pension debt to be paid first. (legis.la.gov)

Amendment 6 Could Give Qualifying Seniors A Larger Property Tax Break As They Age

This amendment would authorize an additional property tax exemption for homeowners 65 and older who qualify for Louisiana’s special assessment level and whose homes receive the homestead exemption. The extra exemption would increase with age, starting at $6,000 of assessed value for ages 65 through 68 and reaching $30,000 for ages 81 and older. Those amounts represent taxable assessed value, not dollars taken directly off a tax bill. The benefit could begin in 2028, but only in parishes or municipalities where voters approve it in a separate local election.

A YES vote authorizes communities to offer this additional senior exemption with local voter approval.

A NO vote leaves existing benefits in place without authorizing this new age-based exemption. (legis.la.gov)

Amendment 7 Would Allow Public Money To Replace Hazardous Water Lines On Private Property

A drinking-water service line can cross both public and privately owned property before reaching a home or business. This amendment would expressly allow local governments and other political subdivisions to use public funds to identify, inventory, remove or replace qualifying hazardous service lines on utility customers’ property. The covered materials would be those specified in the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, including subsequent versions of that rule. Passage would authorize the spending but would not guarantee every customer a publicly funded replacement.

A YES vote allows public funds to pay for the covered work on customers’ private property.

A NO vote leaves the Constitution without this additional permission for that spending. (sos.la.gov)

Amendment 8 Would Bar Foreign Adversaries From Forcing Property Owners To Sell

Louisiana permits certain private entities authorized by law to take property through expropriation, a legal process requiring a public and necessary purpose and compensation to the owner. This amendment would prohibit that power from being used by a private entity that is a foreign adversary or an agent of one. It addresses forced property acquisition through expropriation rather than ordinary purchases negotiated with willing sellers.

A YES vote adds a constitutional ban on expropriation by those foreign adversaries and their agents.

A NO vote keeps existing expropriation requirements without adding that specific ban. (legis.la.gov)

Amendment 9 Would Let More Homeowners Qualify For A Property Assessment Freeze

This amendment would raise the income ceiling for Louisiana’s special assessment level to $150,000 in adjusted gross income beginning in 2027. That could allow more homeowners who meet the program’s other qualifications to freeze their home’s taxable assessed value. For married applicants filing separately, income from both returns would count toward the ceiling, and annual inflation adjustments would begin in 2028. An assessment freeze protects the assessed value used to calculate taxes; it does not guarantee that the total tax bill can never change.

A YES vote establishes the $150,000 income ceiling, expanding eligibility for otherwise-qualified homeowners.

A NO vote retains the existing income ceiling and its inflation adjustments. (legis.la.gov)

Amendment 10 Would Allow Tax Incentives For Restoring Run-Down Properties

This amendment would authorize an optional property tax exemption for blighted or derelict properties that have been rehabilitated. Lawmakers would have to define qualifying properties, establish how long the exemption lasts and set the conditions and procedures local governments would follow to administer it. Approval would create the constitutional authority for the exemption, rather than automatically give every renovated property a tax break.

A YES vote allows this exemption and requires lawmakers to establish its eligibility and administration rules.

A NO vote leaves the Constitution without this new exemption for rehabilitated blighted or derelict properties. (legis.la.gov)