Nearly two-thirds of Louisiana voters have rejected all four state constitutional amendments championed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. The amendments involved changes to the courts (65 percent opposed), judicial elections (64 percent opposed), government spending and a teacher pay increase (65 percent opposed), and juvenile justice (66 percent opposed).
The biggest blow to Landry was the rejection of Amendment 2, which would have significantly rewritten portions of the state constitution. A lawsuit had already attempted to strike the amendment from the ballot for misleading language, but the Louisiana State Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the suit, stating that "the voters rather than the courts should decide." The voters have now done exactly that.
If it had passed, Amendment 2 would have given the legislature control of several tax and budgeting policies that currently require direct approval from voters, granting lawmakers more spending power. On the brighter side, the amendment would have instituted a much-needed government growth limit to help curb COVID-era state spending. The amendment also would have doubled the senior income tax deduction, made tax breaks harder to pass, decreased the individual state income tax cap from 4.75 percent to 3.75 percent, and made a statewide teacher pay raise permanent.
